Files in the /dev directory aren't real files, they're special files that're actually devices. /dev = devices. There's some command that creates device files, mknod (?) or something but I don't know it. Doing anything in Linux pretty much means reading some technical jargon, which is why no one uses Linux. I've read a lot about winmodems not working in Linux. That's because (I think) winmodems are designed to do a lot of things in software using the CPU that normal modems do in hardware, which means they're much cheaper, but also much slower and not at all compatible with much of anything. Maybe you could buy a real hardware modem. They can't be that expensive nowadays. $20 or something? They should give them away for free, they're such a throwback to ancient computer technology.