From: Howard Schwartz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > What I do not remember is how to distinguish the good from > the bad internal modems that fit in PCI slots -- which I > believe are the majority of those that come with a whole > system. Some do not work well with dos/linux, some require > the CPU to do some work they should do, some emulate > hardware modem functions in software (Ah - I just > remembered another clue - avoid internal modems that require > software ``drivers''). > > Can someone reeducate me on this topic?
It's getting harder all the time, Howard. You can bet that any new system (containing an MS operating system) will contain a "half" modem. (Winmodem.) It's just a fact of current business practices. If customers don't know they are getting only part of the circuitry, and it saves a dollar or two in hardware costs, manufacturers will universally opt for the cheaper method. A year ago, I had bought the wife a 600Mhz eMachines box - and of course, it contained a software modem. In a large Circuit City store, the shelves held dozens of modem models from at least a dozen manufacturers - but it took me nearly an hour to wade through the descriptions on the boxes before I found a single "real" modem (USR 56k data/fax/voice w/Lucent DSP chip) for about $50. The old "for Win 95/98/2000/NT/ME" statements (which used to be a pretty good indication it was a winmodem) no longer are a key. All of the boxes bear that "logo" - even the real modems! None of them mention "usable under DOS". However, a LINUX logo on the box *might* mean that the hardware is complete - though you might have investigate to make sure that it isn't because an included Linux "winmodem" software driver is the reason! There is some valid discussion that with today's 1 GHZ + screamers, the software overhead of a winmodem doesn't matter much - but if the thing is useless without the drivers, I still balk. The wife's machine hasn't had the slightest bit of problem getting nor maintaining a fast connection since I installed the real modem. (The "original equipment" piece of junk would lose the line after 1-15 minutes.) And oh yes - my old copy of DOS Procomm works fine on it! - John T. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send FREE video emails in Yahoo! Mail! http://promo.yahoo.com/videomail/ To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
