This is

as days pass by, by Stuart Langridge

. Here I write about many things. In the past I wrote about other things but the past is past. I write code for people to play with, I write about my life on Twitter, and I write here.

On I wrote Getting a net connection with a Sharp Zaurus and a Sony Ericsson K700i on Orange in the UK

One of the reasons that I wanted my K700i and that I paid for the OrangeWorld data subscription was that I’d get GPRS access to the net, which means that I can see the net from wherever I am using my Zaurus, which can browse the web and do SSH and everything (unlike the lame WAP browser built in to the phone). So, I rang Orange and said “How do I make a PDA dial the net via GPRS, if te PDA can talk infrared to the K700i?” They said: just dial the number *99#. So I set up a connection in the Z’s “Network and Sync” applet to do “IrDA – PPP” and told it that the phone number was *99#. Didn’t work; it talks to the phone and tells it to connect, but then the phone disconnects immediately. Bah. I rang Orange, and—guess what?—they said “we only support Windows-based PocketPCs, because we’re a bunch of droid muppets who don’t actually understand the technology.” Or words to that effect. So, after a bit of investigating, I have worked out how to do it for myself:

  • On your UK Orange K700i, go Menu | Connectivity | Data comm. | Data accounts
  • It should have a number of accounts in there: you need to count down until you find “Orange GPRS Internet“, ignoring the “New account” at the top. Mine has “Orange GPRS WAP” first (after “New account“), then “Orange MMS“, then “Orange GPRS Internet“, so it’s number 3. Remember this number: it’s called the CID.
  • Edit that “Orange GPRS Internet” account
  • In “Authentication“, there should be “Normal” (ticked), “Secure” (unticked), and “None” (unticked). Tick “None“, and hit OK to save.
  • On the Zaurus, go into the Network and Sync applet in Settings
  • In the Services tab, say “Add”
  • Choose “IrDA – PPP” and say “Add”
  • In the “Phone” section on the Account tab, enter * 99 * * * CID #, where CID is the CID you remembered from earlier (so in my case I entered * 99 * * * 3 #) (don’t put spaces in between the things: it’s a seven character string star-nine-nine-star-star-star-CID-hash)
  • Save the connection with OK

Now, you should be able to turn on IR on your K700i, position it and the Z appropriately, and connect using the connect button on the taskbar on the Z. When it connects you;ll have a full on (and pretty darn fast) net connection on the Z. Go nuts.

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This website belongs to Stuart Langridge. Contact details are available. Don't eat yellow snow. Valid HTML5, at least in theory, except for the bits that aren't because I'm that futuristic that I'm ahead of the spec, oh yes. HTML5 help from Bruce Lawson, among others. Fonts from the superb FontSquirrel. End.