The ingredients: Arch Linux, kernel 2.6.33 (and pppd), Huawei K3765 and Vodafone Mobile Connect.

The following is more of a overview of all the configuration files involved and the expected values by Vodafone in The Netherlands. If the files already exist on your system please make sure these additions are correctly added. Also, your AP (office.vodafone.nl in my example) may be different.

Configure the hardware;
modprobe usbserial vendor=0x12d1 product=0x1465
You can add the previous command to /etc/rc.local or use a better solution to survive reboots. Check out the output of dmesg, it should read something like;

usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial
USB Serial support registered for generic
usb 1-1: generic converter now attached to ttyUSB0

After that we need to make sure we have all the necessary software;
pacman -Sy pppd

We have a lot of files to configure, let's go:
/etc/ppp/chap-secrets
vodafone * vodafone *
/etc/chatscripts/vodafone.chat
TIMEOUT 3
ABORT "BUSY"
ABORT DELAYED
"" ATZ
OK AT+CGCONT=1,"IP","office.vodafone.nl"
OK ATD*99#
CONNECT ""
/etc/ppp/peers/vodafone
connect "/usr/sbin/chat -v -f /etc/chatscripts/vodafone.chat"
noauth
noipdefault
user vodafone
defaultroute
usepeerdns
/etc/ppp/ip-up.d/vodafone.sh (optional)
#!/bin/sh
echo `date +%s` vodafone UP >> /var/log/vodafone.log
/etc/ppp/ip-down.d/vodafone.sh (optional)
#!/bin/sh
echo `date +%s` vodafone DOWN time: $CONNECT_TIME recv: $BYTES_RCVD sent: $BYTES_SENT >> /var/log/vodafone.log
If you decide to use these script make sure both are executable;
chmod +x /etc/ppp/ip-up.d/vodafone.sh /etc/ppp/ip-down.d/vodafone.sh
We're done! To start your connection;
pppd /dev/ttyUSB0 4000000 call vodafone
after that /var/log/everything.log should contain something like;

pppd: Serial connection established.
pppd: Using interface ppp0
pppd: Connect: ppp0 < --> /dev/ttyUSB0
pppd: CHAP authentication succeeded

To close the connection;
poff
If you chose to use the up & down scripts check out /var/log/vodafone.log. In this file you'll find UNIX timestamps plus any information related to the event.

Check out the foo_amBX module. Initial version, feedback is always welcome :)

On my TODO list for the coming months:

• Blogging about the Dingoo A320 portable gaming console. At about $80/€60 this is an absolute steal. 360mhz MIPS32 processor with SIMD extensions, 32 MB DDR RAM and 4GB of NAND flash storage. It has a true-color 320x240 TFT display and a rechargeable battery via USB. It emulates all kinds of hardware (GBA, Neo Geo, etc) and it can run Linux (imagine a Beowulf cluster of these!). Mysterious Chinese origins but has a complete toolchain and SDK available. Starting to see why I am interested?
• How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the iPhone. Some Objective-C, Cocoa, the Cores and UIKit.
• Publishing my work-in-progress software 3D engine (ah, the good old days).
• Incorporating AngelScript in said engine.
• Getting my hands dirty with OpenGL ES 2.0, which rocks because of programmable shader support.

So much to do, so little time :) Stay tuned!

In other news, Fallout 3 GOTY will be available this friday. Yay!

Great game BTW, with amazing amBX support.

Fear Changes Everything

A freak storm unleashes a species of blood-thirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole-up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.

Dave Drayton, an illustrator, is happily married and spends a weekend at his picturesque vacation home with his wife and son. One night there is an enormous storm and his boathouse is wrecked by his neighbors tree. This neighbor, a fancy lawyer, isn't the most social fellow around, but they decide to together get to the local supermarket to pick up some supplies and tools. Meanwhile an eerie mist starts to creep over the mountain and lake but they don't think much of it. When they are in the store the same opaque mist starts to envelop the entire surroundings. A man comes running out of it screaming at everybody to stay inside. Strange things start to happen. The people, together when the mist appeared, are now entirely dependent on each other.

I've always been an avid Stephen King reader, especially as a kid, and I fondly remember this short story in one of the bundles. Later in my life we were all treated by Frank Darabont on some excellent movie renditions, like the Shawshank Redemption and the Green Mile. Stephen King and Frank Darabont have developed this fantastic relationship of trust. That trust is validated yet again with this movie. Not only does it have fantastic actors, pacing and visual effects, but it gives you that visceral feeling of really being there. Nothing is over-played, there are no false emotions or forced situations. Actually, this movie was exactly how I imagined it when I read the book. The only thing different is the ending, which is even better than it originally was. Wow.

My opinion; I am biased, but hail to the King 9/10.
IMDB

While you're there, this weekend you can get the awesome game Audiosurf (Steam link) for 50% off!

Don't hide the truth. Just filter it.

Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son.

Nick Taylor has a way with words. He will twist your words and distorts reality as he sees fit. The basics of his job description are; "if you argue correctly, you're never wrong". His job is representing the tobacco industry, with his closest friends doing the same for guns and alcohol. One day reality strikes back and he is kidnapped by activists. When he barely survives he discovers that his girlfriend is a reporter, only in for the scoop. Something has to change.

It's hard to say if this movie fulfills any promise of a storyline. But Aaron Eckhart is captivating to watch and his lines, especially when he addresses the public, are hilarious. The movie is filled with many great moments; like the toxicity 'experimentation' on rats by an vaguely Eastern-Europe accented professor, or the cameo by Rob Lowe (who steals every scene totally). The story is a testament to the denial happening every day.

'Cigarettes in space?', "It's the final frontier, Nick.", 'But wouldn't they blow up in an all oxygen environment?', "Probably. But it's an easy fix. One line of dialogue. 'Thank God we invented the... you know, whatever device..'".

My opinion; more of this please 8.5/10.
IMDB