Thanks, but no thanks, Verizon!

I guess Verizon think they know what’s best for me.

Recently got a nice little Verizon USB 760 Modem from work, not a new concept for me, just something to keep in touch while on the go.

Unfortunately, the Verizon Access Manager software most decidedly does NOT install correctly on my Mac. Instead, it tells me I’m not an administrator. Feels a lot like trying to install software on Windows Vista.

Fortunately, OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard comes with the Novatel drivers for this device. However, once you insert the device, it mounts as a CD drive and needs to be ejected to activate the WWAN part of it. More detailed explanation on this is from the evdoforums.com site.

So insert the device, then eject the cd, THEN it works. AND it adds the CD mount again. How lovely and manual.

Thanks to a Canadian counterpart with a similar problem, I was able to create a simple .plist file for OSX’s launchd to work with.

Mine is specific to Verizon (and the USB760, no idea if it matters for other devices), and can be viewed here:

cat ~/Library/LaunchAgents/net.miketheman.umount-vzam.plist

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>Label</key>
	<string>net.miketheman.umount-vzam</string>
	<key>ProgramArguments</key>
	<array>
		<string>hdiutil</string>
		<string>detach</string>
		<string>/Volumes/VZAccess Manager/</string>
	</array>
	<key>QueueDirectories</key>
	<array>
		<string>/Volumes/VZAccess Manager/</string>
	</array>
</dict>
</plist>

Place it in ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ and it will run next tim you log in.

Now, when I plug in the device, it mounts the CD image, launchd removes it and activates the WWAN. When it mounts a second time, launchd removes it again, so I don’t have a pesky CD on my desktop bothering my eyes.

Thanks, Internet!