>                   I also made pppd open the device in O_NDELAY mode--I
> don't know why it was commented out, but modems react much better if you
> open them this way.

My guess would be (not saying your fix is incorrect) that in most cases
the "chat" program would be used to open the port and dial. Just a thought.

Regards,
-- 
Peter Galbavy					work: peter@demon.net
Wonderland					rest: peter@wonderland.org
						play: http://www.wonderland.org/
"The 'net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." - John Gilmore