Can I Link My Phone to my Computer?

You probably can't do this with the built in modem in the thinkpad. You need a device called a voice modem, which combines the features of a modem with telephony services (voice mail, PC phone dialing, etc). You might be able to find a PC card version of a voice modem that will fit into the PCMCIA slot of your laptop. The modem will come with or refer you to appropriate software for what you want to do.