Audio Input

[Andy.]

I just recently installed Ubuntu 10.10 and really love it. I noticed the other day while trying to use google voice that sound was not being received. I tried the linux audio troubleshooting page but got lost. I did notice that when I amplify the input volume bar to it's maximum in the volume preferences, then sounds are heard very slightly and one bar fills when I speak.

I am not sure how to fix this and whether it's a hardware or configuration problem.
I don't know what type of sound card my computer has or what driver is installed, or for that matter, how to find out.

I can guess that I might need to find out what sound card I have, whether it is supported by my Ubuntu OS, whether I have the correct driver, and have it correctly configured. The linux troubleshooting page is very daunting and I have been clueless trying to follow it's instructions without result.

Is this a common problem and can someone please help me with this because I'm out of minutes on my cell phone plan and I hate having to restart my computer and boot to windows to make calls. (my attempt at humor, but also true).