This is a driver that will work with Vodafone's 3G/GPRS card. Download it here (91kB, updated 17/08/2004). You don't get all the bells and whistles of the Novamedia software, but it is free and not locked to your card and laptop hardware id.
(I originally wrote these notes in 2004. Since then, Vodafone have licensed Novamedia's software - so no need to buy - and had it branded for their service. Here's the iFelix guide to getting that and setting it up. Others have reported that the Vodafone software will, naturally, only work with Vodafone SIMs. These instructions below also work with other provider's SIMs.)
The Vodafone card is made by Belgian data card company Option. The driver is Prolific Technologies' PL-2303 USB serial driver, retrieved from http://www.viewcon.net/down_mac.htm (version 1.0.8b3). The file x.txt contains the original notes on un-installation.
The Info.plist file has been modified, as per discussions at http://www.osxhax.com/archives/000006.html, to incorporate the vendor and product IDs for Vodafone's 3G/GPRS mobile data card (idProduct 20480, idVendor 2800), and the package reassembled with the edited file and adjusted to avoid the reboot after installation.
Also included is a dialer script, based upon Ross Barkman's excellent Sony Ericsson GPRS scripts (http://www.taniwha.org.uk/), for the Vodafone 3G/GPRS card. Copy "Vodafone 3G UTMS" to your "/Library/Modem Scripts" Folder, and quit and restart System Preferences if it's currently running.
Once the driver and dialer scripts are installed, insert your data card. Then, in the Networks panel of System Preferences, you should be able to configure 'usbserial':
| PPP: | Service provider 'Vodafone' |
| Telephone number 'internet', | |
| PPP Options: uncheck "Send PPP echo packets" | |
| TCP/IP: | Select "Configure IPv4 Using PPP" |
| Modem: | Select "Vodafone 3G UTMS" |
| Uncheck "enable error correction and compression in modem" | |
| Uncheck "wait for dial tone before dialing" | |
| Sound "off". |
It works for me, but I can't make any guarantees that you'll fare as well.
James R Grinter,
jrg (at) acm.org
London, 4th July 2004.