i should be working (but i'm fixing my computer).

A while ago, I began the quest to get my blackberry to "tether" my linux computer to the internet. And after awhile, I finally got it to work.

...

Although, I will have to say every use was/is a geek-a-thon compared to using the verizon software for tethering in windows.

So, as reported, I did a clean install. Oops.

I forgot that I had custom stuff on the root partition to run my blackberry connection.

Well, not to worry, just a bunch of lost time -- because I have my very own FAQ to consult in ye ole "executive technical manual". I mean, right?

Life should be so easy.

I dutifully copied my old scripts -- and managed to connect the Blackberry! But naturally, there would have to be a many-hour downside to this adventure.

Because, while I could ping to the DNS server, I could not achieve actual web browsing.

More research.

The added bonus of my research was that I found out there are "barry" packages now on OpenSUSE build service. Though, not so easy to install with no internet connection. I had tried previously to install barry and xmberry (or something like that) from tar.gz packages and could never get it to install.

Whereupon, I had given up trying to connect via USB and bought a bluetooth dongle.

Having loaded barry, barry-gui, barry-openserver, barry-utils (etc.) I could now connect to the blackberry either via bluetooth OR via USB. I could backup my blackberry data to the computer. I could dial in and ping the verizon nameserver.

But, I could not browse the internet.

More hours of research, and I came up with a webpage with a solution, but I subsequently closed my browser and can't find it again. As far as I can tell, pppd HAS CHANGED since my earlier install. That is all I can figure out, since I am using the same script (and alternatively, a script provided by the barry package) and I'm not getting any nameservers.

So, the tedious solution goes something like this (but I have probably forgotten something relevant here).

1. backup /etc/resolv.conf
2. [something like] in su shell: route del default gw [gateway ip here]
3. run kdesu pppd call barry-verizon
3. When the Blackberry script connects, it reports two DNS servers. Write these down.
4. Edit resolv.conf to put in two lines:
nameserver yyy.yyy.yyy.yyy
nameserver yyy.yyy.yyy.yyy
(being the name servers provided by the connect script).

Now you can surf the internet (Firefox reports "offline" -- File>[uncheck]work offline. Refresh, browse.

5. Shutdown barry (ctrl C).
6. Restore the /etc/resolv.conf you backed up.

Very un-automated, unpleasant task. PPPD is supposed to do this when you have the command "usepeerdns" -- but apparently quit doing this correctly between my crashed install and my clean new install. In any event, the website where I found this solution reported the problem was not in the barry script, but in pppd.

Makes no sense to me -- the very same script was working fine before my re-install. It seemed pretty clear to me in my "tests" that I was getting a live connection, but no gateway and dns.

I hope I can replicate this again, having lost the weblink where I found the info.

____________________________________
It also seems to work to use opendns.com dns servers (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220). So, it may be possible just to have an "opendns" resolv.conf and have a batch file copy it over after running pppd. It seems that pppd is actually updating resolv.conf, but failing to insert the DNS info -- my existing DNS info resolv.conf was deleted when I ran pppd.

It's not clear to me what sequence of events I have to create to get the USB Blackberry connection recognized. The bluetooth continues to be more reliable, or let's say, predictable, in making a computer to blackberry connection.