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by tylerag 1083 days ago
> WvDial is a modem dialer and nobody uses modems anymore.

I was using dial up until probably 2007 or 2008, and I was certainly using wvdial with it. The reason I was using wvdial is because it was the only option that actually worked. I think I tried to get Gnome's GUI to work, but was never able to. I think I still have the non-winmodem PCI card too, spent a lot of money (for a teenager) on it.

3 comments

I remember my excitement for a Ubuntu Shipit CD quickly dissipating once I realized I couldn't use a USB-A cellular modem dongle, which was the only way for me to get internet connectivity at the time. This was even after having compiled a custom driver, and so on and so forth.

As a Linux newbie, this experience gave me an immense sense of revulsion towards the Linux desktop. However, one fine afternoon, I tried to boot up the Ubuntu partition, and try running the wvdial command instead of using Gnome PPP. Imagine my surprise when it just worked...

I remember my first paycheck from my first real job, I went out and bought a new modem. Don’t remember exactly what, but it was a big upgrade from the 2400 baud that came with my computer
Yea I've still got my hardware modem too. External, connects via serial.

I don't even have copper phone line service.