Almost online with laptop Ubuntu Debian. Problem: wvdial runs & connects, if I follow this instruction first:
Rik, Ubuntu is a beta version at the moment, and it's helpful to them if you can report problems to the ubuntu-users mailing list, and also to hunt around bugzilla.ubuntu.com. wvdial has only been placed in the 'main' repository in the last few days, so there may well be problems with the installation in edge cases.
Finding manual workarounds may be the 'right thing' on other distributions, but if the goal of Ubuntu is supported, reporting bugs back to them is very helpful!
Also, a daily update && upgrade cycle is recommended. Ubuntu is not Debian ... Ubuntu forks off from Debian every six months, and offers back-patches for everything it does.
-jim
