problems with Ardour 2 and Jack

I'm new in Ubuntu and also linux... I've been reading about Ardour and I found it's a quite interesting program. I don't have any special hardware to record, so I just have my lap and I'd like to record sound from my mic input. I installed jack and Ardour but i can't do anything. Could some one tell me what can I do in order to get that working.

Thanks.

Read these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JACK_Audio_Connection_Kit

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuStudio/GettingStarted

http://www.ubustu.com/globe/2007/05/29/how-to-configure-jack-in-ubuntu-studio/

http://hubpages.com/hub/Recording-in-Linux-aka-Free-and-Open-Source-Digital-Audio-Workstation

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HowToQjackCtlConnections

http://www.ubustu.com/globe/2007/09/19/how-to-sync-hydrogen-with-ardour/