Tethering a Treo to an XO for internet access
Tethering Treo to XO
One of the things I really like about my Treo is that I can use it to provide internet access for my computer. I normally do this using a program called PDAnet, however it only works with Windows. I was interested in finding a similar solution for my XO.
A Google search led me to an app called USB Modem which said it would work with my Treo 755p and a Windows, Mac or Linux computer. This made me hopeful. My search also led me to instructions on tethering a Treo to a machine running Ubuntu which was specifically for Sprint service and an older model Treo.
Through a combination of the above, and a bit of experimentation, I was able to figure out how to use my Sprint Treo 755p’s EVDO connection to get internet access for my OLPC.
Step 1: Install USB Modem
Download the USB Modem zip onto the computer you normally use to sync with your Treo.
Unzip the USB Modem archive. Install USBModem.prc in the Treo RAM (not a card) using a HotSync or by other means.
Step 2: Set up ppp
Copy the ppp-script-evdo-template file from the USB Modem distribution onto an SD card or USB drive. Insert the SD card or USB drive into the XO. Open the Journal activity to see if the media mounted properly (you should see an icon appear near the bottom left corner). Open Terminal and copy the ppp-script-evdo-template file to /etc/ppp/peers/ppp-script-treo (you may need to create the path manually). In my case I did this by typing: cp /media/Kingston/ppp-script-evdo-template /etc/ppp/peers/ppp-script-treo. You may need to replace “Kingston” with the name of your SC card or USB drive. You can use the command df in Terminal to display the name of your usb drive.
Note: The PDF instructions that are part of the USB Modem archive tell you to modify their files by replacing USERNAME and PASSWORD. I found it unnecessary to do these steps.
Step 2a: Install ppp.i386 on the XO
To install this on your XO you need to have internet access. In the Terminal activity type “su” to switch to superuser. Then type: “yum install ppp.i386″. Next type: “reboot”.
Step 3: Connect
Connect your Treo to the XO using your USB HotSync cable. Start the USB Modem application on your Treo, set the Connectivity method to USB and enable the modem mode. On the XO now type in the command prompt: “/usr/sbin/pppd /dev/ttyACM0 call ppp-script-treo”. For convenience you can place this command in a script file and chmod it for execution.
It will print how the connection setup is performed. If it was successful a new network interface will be created (usually ppp0). The only thing left is to copy the content of /etc/ppp/resolv.conf to system-wide /etc/resolv.conf for proper name resolution:
bash-2.05# cat /etc/ppp/resolv.conf > /etc/resolv.conf
USB modem offers a free trial period and can be purchased for a one time fee of $24.95. I can tell you that there are many places where you can get a data signal on a Treo and not find wiFi (even with the XO’s impressive range). The one time fee is also worth the price when you don’t want to have to pay for wifi and your one year of free T-mobile Hotspot service has expired.
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xo, olpc, treo, dun, one laptop per child
