At 13:14 -0700 9/10/09, Bruce Johnson wrote: > I hate that the cable and phone companies >promulgated the misnomer 'modem' to refer to what is actually a >router, it makes thing like this confusing as heck.
MODEM stands for modulator / demodulator. The DSL modem demodulates asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) which is an older but still widely used technique for connecting long distance telephone lines. The router function is often, but not always, included in the package. It also accepts local data and modulates an RF carrier for uplinked data at frequencies above the voice band. There are also optical modems that drive data onto and off of fibers. 10base2 Ethernet is manchester modulated bits on a 20 MHz carrier. One could call an Ethernet card a MODEM too. Any confusion results from theft of the acronym by computer users who saw modems only while connecting computers to telephones. -- --> Marriage and kilo are troubled words. Turmoil results when centuries-old usage is altered in specialized jargon <--. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
