help with usb broadband internet connection ?

[Jeffrey Landgrebe]

My name is Jeff.

I am retired, and during the latter
part of my career I became involved involved in working with large
amounts of data across a poorly managed network.  The organization was
firmly entrenched in Windows and Microsoft products, and yet never
encouraged anything more than rudimentary and superficial use and
understanding among us drones.  Hence, on my own, I bought lots of of
books on MS Access, Excel, Visual Basic, ODBC,  and SQL.  I taught
myself to address database structure, cleansing, and summarization and
reporting through programming.  I am not a pro, by any stretch of the
imagination, but I would like you to know that I am not opposed to
figuring things out on my own.

I would now like to try Linux.  I
am on a budget, and I will not be able to put together a new computer
for a couple of years.  I am working with a Compaq R3000 (R3230US)
laptop that I picked up in 2004.  It is running Windows XP Pro.

I
have just installed Ubuntu 9.10.  I had done my re-partitioning ahead
of time, and I was able to load Ubuntu without destroying Windows.  I
can easily dual-boot now.  If I can get my printer going and my
internet connection going, I will gladly leave MS and Windows behind.

I
am trying to tackle my internet connection first.  I have a usb aircard
(Sierra Icon 322 Quicksilver RB) that is a part of the AT&T cell
phone network,and it works fine in Windows (I am using it now).

When
I plug it in under Ubuntu, the connection wizard does not come up.  In
fact, Ubuntu locks up completely, and I can do nothing but shut down my
laptop, and then turn it back on, thus forcing a re-boot.
I
was under the impression that in Linux, when an offending process
causes trouble, it is possible to open a terminal and kill the
process.  However, the keys and mouse cursor, in this instance, are
100% unresponsive.

I have looked through many internet sources
of documentation and postings, and, honestly, I feel lost.  Would anyone
be interested in helping me ?  I live in a remote area of West Texas,
and would appreciate any help I can get.

Jeff
mountainhome3 at yahoo.com


      
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