How to connect dial-up in Mint 20.2

[stan]

If I click on them when my window has disappeared, another new window is opened, and the old window is not available

My Mint is based on Debian, and your Mint is based on Ubuntu, but I will guess that these panel actions work the same because we are both using Cinnamon desktop.

For example, let's work with one at a time... start with Thunderbird (it's on my panel too). Start with everything closed. Click the Thunderbird panel icon... and it should open up. Click on the panel icon again, and it will minimize Thunderbird. Click the panel icon again, and it opens up the same Thunderbird... not a new instance. Whether Thunderbird is minimized or visible on the desktop, you should still see that faint line below the Thunderbird icon on the panel. I said earlier I thought it was white or gray, but it's almost certainly "Mint green" now that I think about it. That faint line below the icon only disappears when you actually close Thunderbird.

The File Manager should behave the same way. So should Opera (at least the 3 browsers I use behave the same way).

 

[Vicktoria]

Stan, no faint line and things still disappear.

 

[stan]

Maybe @Condobloke or other (Ubuntu based) Mint Cinnamon user can confirm what I'm describing above. The faint lines are not that important... they're just a visual clue that your app is open. But to me, "disappearing" and "minimizing" are the same thing... and they can be recalled to use. You're saying it opens up a new copy (instance) of an app if you don't use ALT+TAB, and that doesn't seem right. I tend to think that clicking the panel icon (again) opens up the same instance of the app, not a new one.

 

[Vicktoria]

Stan, correct a new instance is opened if I hit the icon in the left panel. The intended minimized window to center panel is only accessed through using Alt + Tab. I've checked it several times, on several workspaces, with several apps.

 

[stan]

We have gone off topic for too long on this thread. Let's try to pick up again on the thread you started here. It seems more relevant to your panel issues.

 

[Vicktoria]

Stan, I was just looking for info on how to determine what speed I'm at on dialup with Linux, and saw this post. My brain must not have been ready to integrate the info. Thanks for the reply, and I'll update you on this element. I've been connecting with wvdial through the terminal, and it is working so I've not messed with it yet. I'm ready to fine tune things, now that both machines are functioning. I really like knowing what speed I'm at...lets me determine what I want to attempt. Sometimes it's just not worth the wait. Will look at this info again and update later. Evidently Mint 20.2 does not support a front end GUI for dialup.

 

[stan]

I really like knowing what speed I'm at...

At the end of the day... you're at "slow" speed, no matter what you do. The difference between 9600 and 56,000 is not as great as it may seem to you. And those values only represent the "connect" speed when the modem "handshakes" and connects to your ISP.

I think others have mentioned this before (possibly in another thread)... if you want to know your actual speed, use a service that will measure that. There are many such services. Here are a couple (Google for more, if you want):

https://speedof.me and https://www.speedtest.net

Every time you reload one of these pages, your speed will be a little different. These services try to pick servers that are closest (and fastest) for you. When you're surfing to far off places on the planet, your speeds will probably be even less.

It may turn out that the speed test websites won't even work at your speed, but you can try. Or try some others. There are just no good solutions for you, I'm afraid. The modern internet was not upgraded with dialup in mind. Speeds are now measured in "millions" and "billions" of bits-per-second, and you are measuring in "thousands"... so the difference between 9.6K and 56K is tiny from that perspective.

 

[Vicktoria]

Ok Stan, thanks for the broader understanding. I like to keep apps within the machine, especially if one needs an internet connection to use it. Living on dialup I really notice the difference between a 9k connection and a 28k, which is the fastest I ever see. At 9 some things never load. This is why it is useful to know the speed, so I don't even bother if I'm at snails pace. I'm limited on connection attempts so we only get one shot a day. None the less, I like all the understanding about how things function I can get. I'll keep studying, Thanks.