Free Software Powered EDGE/Wifi Card

KevinDean · 03-14-2008, 03:13 PM

This is a hardware question, but given the specific nature of my requirements and the audience of this forum, I felt it would be best answered here.

I'm currently working on building a carputer for my Honda Element. I'm having some issues, however, with one very specific aspect - wireless internet connection.

I commute 110 miles a day for work so using Wifi (war driving) is NOT an option for a persistant internet connection. My current plan is to use an EDGE card from T-Mobile.

The catch is, however, that I do not run any software that does not meet the criteria set in the GNU Manifesto as "Free Software", sometimes called software libre. This is NOT a cost issue, it's a control and self-reliance issue. If there's no source code, the product is, in my mind, defective.

That said, I have NO idea if there are any products on the market that will allow an EDGE connection and be powered by Free Software. Can anyone recomment a product that would meet my needs? I'm currently thinking cellular based service is the answer, but I'm open to other options as long as it meets the software libre criteria.

More specifically, I plan to use my carputer for streaming internet radio from Shout/Icecast and SomaFM, so the connection MUST have speeds adequate enough to handle the stream and with latency low enough not to be choppy. My experience with my Neo1973 as a wireless gateway show that GRPS is too slow for my use.

Any input you guys have here would be GREATLY appreaciated. Thanks!

v8 scimitar · 03-15-2008, 06:12 AM

I dont know if this fits your license criteria or not but https://forge.vodafonebetavine.net/f...&release_id=19 ignore the vodafone branding, it works on all operators.

wolrah · 04-05-2008, 07:46 PM

A lot of the wireless data PC cards just show up as ordinary modems from the point of view of the computer. I used a Sprint EvDO card on Ubuntu at one time and it just appeared as a PC Card USB adapter with a USB->Serial chip on it which then talked to a modem that understood AT commands. I set the rate up and dialled it and it worked.

Another option would be to use Bluetooth through a compatible phone. Any data-capable phone will appear as a serial modem over Bluetooth. This is what I currently do from a Macbook Pro triple-booting OS X, Windows, and Ubuntu with a LG CU500 phone.

In both cases, no extra software was needed besides the standard bits used to establish a PPP connection over a modem, so no license concerns. I've done it from Debian a few times, and they have really strict licensing, so I'd assume that should work for you.

red_parchel · 04-09-2008, 08:31 PM

yes i had this 90% working in gentoo with my motorola e815, using the bluez stack, and ppp to dial up, i was not using EVDO, i was using normal dial up, everything worked great except i would get kicked off senconds after i authenticated with my dial up ISP [hence why i say it was only working 90%] it's a great solution!