The Franklin CDU-680 is a USB device that has a built-in flash drive
containing network managers for winblows, OS-X, *AND LINUX*!
To date it is still the only one that has official Linux compatibility.
*HOWEVER* you must apparently initialize it (use it for the first time)
in a winblows or OS-X machine with their software in order for it to
learn (?) its network settings and such, but this is only required once.

http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=94&products_id=569

Also, if you Google it, Sierra Wireless has non-official
help with getting their stuff working: in particular, the USB cards
can be driven with the "usbserial" driver and more or less standard
AT modem commands.  You don't get some bells and whistles--in
particular,
RSSI (signal strength) isn't available--but it works.  I'm not sure if
the
same caveat (about having to connect it to a non-Linux machine) applies
with
these as well.

http://www.sierrawireless.com/faq/ShowFAQ.aspx?ID=601

I haven't checked the Merlin or other sites, but I have a feeling
they're
similar.  Again, though, the USB ones are easier (unlike with 802.11x)
and they have the distinct advantage of being usable with both laptops
and
desktops, which is why I looked them up first.

One thing to remember, though, if you haven't looked at it: all these
carriers charge $60 a month for the service!  Of those, they've all gone
to 5GB max transfer a month--although Sprint seems to remain an
exception,
maybe because their EV-DO Rev-A network is working much better than the
competition's and they also have WiMax (still vaporware for them since
the Clearwire fallout, though) and possibly Rev-C upgrades coming.
And I'm not just saying it works better, but DSLReports as well as
Speedtest.net show it as well.  (No I don't have them (yet).)

Another thing: you know how bad customer service is.  For data it can be
MUCH
worse if you don't at least get the next level of support.  And Sprint
(along
with Nextel, which I HAVE dealt with in the past) is well-known for
their
lousy customer service.

Disclaimers: I don't have any of these products, the only cellular data
I've
used being via tethering using GPRS years ago as well as web browsing
via
phone.  I have never been a customer of Sprint.  I am currently a
customer
of AT&T, but their 3G service (HSDPA) doesn't work nearly as good as
EV-DO
based on figures from DSLReports and others.  And finally, I don't work
for
3gstore.com, they just happen to sell that device.

Hope this all helps.

Mike

On Sat, 3 May 2008 01:52:24 +0000, "Jon M. Hanson"
<jon@the-hansons-az.net> said:
> Yes the cards are network specific and usually the only place to get them
> is from the carriers themselves.
> 
> Being that this is a Linux list, it's unlikely that you're going to find
> a broadband card that will work with Linux since there are so few
> manufacturers of them.
> 
> Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
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