* James Gregory <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [2002-11-09 23:33]:
> So, what internal modems do play nice with linux?

Lucent based ones are the best, but only some of them. ESS,
PCTel, Conexant/Rockwell, some Intel ones also work, but are
more limited and often only work under a specific kernel. Best
thing is to search at <http://www.idir.net/~gromitkc/winmodem.html>
before you buy. This page has the largest list of winmodem/linux
compatability available via the 'View the entire table' link 
<http://www.idir.net/~gromitkc/latest.cgi> (currently > 620 Kb).

> I heard wild rumours
> that "SwannSmart" modems use Lucent chipsets, and they're relatively
> cheap. Are they the way to go?

Need to know which specific Lucent chipset is used.
<http://www.swann.com.au> seems to be a bit broken at the moment, so
I can't fully check this. At least one of their internal modems seems
to have a Conexant chipset, which is pretty hard to get working: you
need to use a 2.2.14 kernel I think, and even then it may not work.
They seem to have two models of the SwannSmart II Internal. The current
one has a Conexant chipset, the older one has a Lucent. If you can get
hold of the older Lucent based version, make sure that it's a DSP, not
AMR modem. On the whole, I would avoid them. If they're really cheap,
I would guess that they're not supported by the driver, but that's just
a guess.

> I know the Lucent chipset powered modem
> in my laptop works, do Lucent have linux drivers for all their chipsets?

No. Lucent/Agere DSP modems are supported, but not AMR modems.
Essentially what happens is that Agere Systems (I think they took
over Lucent. Or something.) releases a proprietary binary driver
which is taken by a set of volunteers and built into a friendly
installer that's made available at <http://www.heby.de/ltmodem>.
So far they haven't released anything for the AMR modems (which
are cheaper - more processing handed to the CPU, less complicated
chipsets, more done in software).

> Has anyone here actually got a winmodem to work?

Yes. I've had a Lucent based one working well for years.
-- 
SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group - http://slug.org.au/
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