CHAPTER 8 GETTING EVERYTHING (Web hosts) UP AND RUNNING
CHAPTER 8 GETTING EVERYTHING UP AND RUNNING 91 Note The easiest solution if you have a Winmodem and intend to use dial-up connections on your computer is to buy an external modem that connects to your computer via its serial port. These types of modems can be purchased for as little as $10 to $20, if you shop around. Auction sites like eBay (www.ebay.com) are a particularly good place to look for external modems. Practically all external modems are guaranteed to work with Ubuntu. Before you start configuring your dial-up modem, you ll need to know your dial-up user- name and password, and also the phone number to use in order to get online. You should ensure that your modem is plugged into the phone socket and is powered up. 1. Right-click a blank spot on the Panel at the top of the Ubuntu desktop and select Add to Panel. 2. In the list of applets, scroll down to the System & Hardware section and click Modem Monitor. Then click the Add button. 3. You should find a new phone icon on your Panel. Right-click it and select Properties. 4. In the window that appears, put a check in the Enable This Connection box, and then fill in the details in the rest of the dialog box. 5. In the Phone Number field, type the ISP s dial-up number, including any area code or other prefix. 6. In the Dial Prefix field, type the number that you might need to access an outside line if you re in an office. Alternatively, you might choose to enter the prefix you normally dial to activate a particular call plan. Otherwise, this box can be left empty. 7. In the Username and Password fields, enter your dial-up username and password (not your Ubuntu login username and password!). 8. Click the Modem tab and, if you have an external modem, select /dev/ttyS0in the Modem Port drop-down list. This assumes that the modem is plugged into the first of your serial ports. If you know that it s plugged into the second serial port, select /dev/ ttyS1. If your modem is internal, you may need to select /dev/modem or /dev/ttyS4, depending on your hardware configuration. If you find your modem connection doesn t work when you test it, come back to this step and try a different port setting. 9. If you wish to hear your modem dialing and making the connection, click the Volume drop-down list. 10. Click the OK button. After this setup, you can connect to your ISP by right-clicking the phone icon and selecting Activate, as shown in Figure 8-5. When you wish to hang up, right-click and select Deactivate. Note that you ll be prompted to enter your Ubuntu login password whenever you attempt to go online.