Modem Drivers

[Tony Dietrich]

On Monday 14 Feb 2005 02:44, Robert L Cochran wrote:
> I think I may be forced to use a 56K dialup modem when I'm in the UK
> next month. I have not used Linux with dialup in some years now. I did
> at one time, and still have a heavy old "real" 3Com external 56K modem,
> but I'd prefer to just use my laptop's internal modem.
>
If you can get the laptops modem recognised, then you will have no problems 
getting FC to work in the UK with our dialups.
Try www.linmodems.org for getting the internal modem recognised and 
configured .. their mailing list is almost as good as this one.
> How do I get started with dialup in Fedora Core 3? Does it have a
> capability for dialing UK freephone numbers like '0800 1234 5678901'?
>
Yes, it does .. there's one trick we don't tell foreigners though :-) ...

insert '1470' before the number you dial.  Most of the ISPs use caller 
recognition on their systems, and most UK numbers by default withhold the 
caller information.  1470 is the code to release this information on a 
per-call basis.
> Can anyone offer me advice for using Fedora Core with a modem without
> losing my hair?
don't use the area code bit .. leave that blank and put the whole number in 
the number-to-be-dialed field, if you use one of the GUIs to configure the 
modem.
> Bob

Has your laptop got wireless?  If so, there are an increasing number of public 
hotspots in the UK, and several hotels over here make it available.  Buy 
BTOpenWorld access credits and you can hop from one point to the next.

Some hotels also have the facility to pl;ug a laptop into their ADSL networks.  
There are also relatively cheap facilities at some of the per-hour office 
rental sites .. rent an office for an hour and get full network connectivity 
thrown in for the price.  Great if you are running a meeting with a client 
and need access to home office for data.   As a side issue, this also puts 
you in *your* office when the call... even if its only your office for a 
couple of hours.

If not, one or two cybercafe's in most of the big cities will allow you to 
plug into their network - for a fee of course.  If you are London based I 
*think* the one near Oxford Circus allows this.

Watch the cost of plugging your laptop in at a hotel and dialing a 'freephone' 
number .. they will still charge you a steep useage fee on your hotel bill 
for data calls.

Which part of the country are you heading for?

-- 
Tony Dietrich
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