Download the last free, full 56Kbps versions on the drivers:

NB. These probably don’t work with kernel 2.6+ as they are becoming outdated. I do not provide support for these drivers or are responsible for any problems that occur from installation/usage.

HSF (softmodem)

Tar.gz source

• hsflinmodem-5.03.27lnxtbeta03042700
• hsflinmodem-5.03.27lnxtbeta03041600
• hsflinmodem-5.03.03.L3mbsibeta02110301

RPM source

• hsflinmodem-5.03.27lnxtbeta03041600-1

RPM package

• hsflinmodem-5.03.27lnxtbeta03041600k2.4.20_8-1rh

HCF (controllerless)

Tar.gz source

• hcfpcimodem-0.99lnxtbeta03042700

Installation

• change directory to where you downloaded it
• open the terminal and type ‘tar xfvz hsfversion.tar.gz’
• type ‘cd hsfversion’ to get into the folder
• type ‘make install’
• if it installs right, type and run ‘hsfconfig’ to setup the modem

Run kppp (if using KDE), setup your ISP information and dial away! If you get an ‘autoconf.h’ error it means you need to have a compiled kernel source on your system.

I wanted to use the windows fonts such as ‘tahoma,’ and ‘verdana,’ as they are visually appealing while still being readable. Windows uses a different font resolution to that of linux; default 96 dots per inch (dpi) for windows, and a default of 75 dpi for linux. So all we had to do was install the windows fonts and change the dpi in linux.

Installing windows fonts

Firstly I installed the windows fonts through the KDE Control Center > System Administration > Font Installer (you must have root privileges to do this). Alternatively, you can do this manually by adding your fonts to the appropriate directory under /usr/X11/lib/fonts. Since we are installing windows fonts (True Type Fonts), the fonts can be added to /usr/X11/lib/fonts/TTF. I also added a reference to this folder in /etc/X11/xorg.conf as it was missing. Add the following under Section “Files”:
FontPath "/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/TTF"
Make sure the folder /usr/X11/lib/fonts/TTF is also referenced in the file /etc/fonts/local.conf. Run mkfontscale and mkfontdir for the folder and run:
# fc-cache -vf

Changing the DPI

I followed the instructions on this page, but it didn’t work for my system even though it technically should have. The post explains how to set the Xorg display size to obtain the desired font resolution. I did this but the dpi did not change at all. I found another method by editing /usr/X11/bin/startx. To change the fonts to have the resolution that they would have in windows required changing this line:
defaultserverargs=""
to
defaultserverargs="-dpi 96"
I now had my windows font resolution, use the following command to check your system dpi:

# xdpyinfo | grep resolution
     resolution:    96x96 dots per inch

Another problem uncovered and fixed

To my surprise the windows fonts appeared the same as the linux fonts: scratchy and blocky around curves. The fix for this was quite simple really: to upgrade the freetype-2.1.9-i486-1.tgz package. This package “is a high-quality and portable font engine that is capable of supporting several font formats (be they bitmapped or scalable) through a simple and uniform interface.” It’s the package that did the trick.

Download the updated Slackware package (make sure it’s 2.2.1 or higher) here. I upgraded to: freetype-2.2.1-i486-1cl.tgz:
# upgradepkg /path/to/file/freetype-2.2.1-i486-1cl.tgz
After restarting X (to rebuild the font cache), my fonts appeared EXACTLY how they did in windows.

Download the latest (or older version if desired) from “The Linux Kernel Archives.” The file is available to download in either tar.bz2 or tar.gz formats. The tar.bz2 files are smaller in size for those who need a quick download or have limited storage space.

N.B. You will need to be root to do most of these steps

Save the file to the /usr/src directory.

Installing the kernel source

Copy the downloaded file to /usr/src IF you didn’t download it to that directory copy the file there and change directories:
# cp /path/to/the/file/linux-2.6.18.tar.bz2 /usr/src && cd /usr/src

You can string commands together by using ‘&&’ between them.

Now extract the file inside /usr/src. For a tar.bz2 use this command:
# tar xfvj linux-2.6.18.tar.bz2 /usr/src
For tar.gz use:
# tar xfvz linux-2.6.18.tar.gz /usr/src
A new folder is created called linux-2.6.18. We need to create a symbolic link (shortcut) to the folder for system use and then change to the source directory:
# ln -sf /usr/src/linux-2.6.18 /usr/src/linux && cd /usr/src/linux

Configuring

If this is not your first time configuring this particular kernel source (you’re reconfiguring and making changes), it’s always good to do a:
# make mrproper
This will clean the source back to its original state. Now everything is prepared, we can start to configure our kernel. While in the /usr/src/linux directory type:
# make menuconfig
From here you can load a saved config file or begin to build your own. Recommended options have already been selected but it’s up to the user to know what hardware the computer has. If the kernel hasn’t been configured correctly for the hardware then most likely the kernel will cause a panic during bootup. Make your changes and save the configuration with a unique name. This file can be loaded later on if changes need to be made.

Compiling

Type the following to start the build process:
# make bzImage && make modules && make modules_install
The above will build the kernel image, kernel modules and then install the kernel modules to /lib/modules/2.6.18. Build times will depend on the speed of the computer.

Installing the compiled kernel image

Once the build process has finished, we can install our new kernel. Rename your current kernel image and then move the new kernel image to /boot:
# cp -p /boot/vmlinuz /boot/vmlinuz.old && cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/vmlinuz

We rename the old kernel to use as a backup incase the new one fails

Now copy System.map and .config to the /boot:
# cp System.map /boot/System.map && cp .config /boot/config
Add the reference to the old kernel in lilo.conf under the current reference:

image = /boot/vmlinuz.old
    root = /dev/hda#
    label = #name2#
    read-only

Now install the changes to lilo:
# lilo
Make sure you have both references to the new kernel image and the old kernel image like this example:

image = /boot/vmlinuz
    root = /dev/hda#
    label = #name1#
    read-only
image = /boot/vmlinuz.old
    root = /dev/hda#
    label = #name2#
    read-only

Restart linux and select the new kernel from the lilo boot menu. Note you can select two kernels images now. If the new image fails to boot, restart and select the old kernel image. You can see it’s important to have a backup to save alot of time and headaches! If you configured everything correctly, your new kernel should be able to boot without errors.