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News Archive for May 6 to 10, 1997

Double or triple your pleasure. TechWeb reports on upcoming products that will use multiple 56K modems to achieve speeds of up to 168K over multiple analog phone lines. The catch? Cost (about $500 and up) and the need for multiple phone lines. A bigger question: who ya gonna call that supports a multi-line configuration? Such devices will probably be most useful for companies that need to link remote offices.

 

InfoWorld reports that 3Com will drop the U.S. Robotics brand name. The companies announced merger plans in February.

 

The FCC has given the green light to Sky Station International's satellite technology. Expected to offer service starting in the year 2000, the high-speed service uses hardware expected to cost as little as $100. Inter@ctive Week has a story. For a satellite backgrounder, see the 56K.COM Satellite Dish page.

 

Mitsubishi has demonstrated a WebTV that uses 56K modems and is compatible with Hewlett-Packard printers, according to a story in Computer Retail Week.

 

Cirrus has begun shipping 33.6 chipsets that are software upgradeable to x2. The chips support V.80 videoconferencing, full-duplex speakerphone, and answering machine functions.

 

 

May 9

Shiva has announced a 56K version of their popular LanRover, a network dial-in and dial-out modem server with PPP support. Limited availability is expected in June. Shiva is also offering a 56K trade-in program for owners of V.34 LanRovers.

 

Lucent is shipping sample quantities of its Mars chip sets to Toshiba and several other PC manufacturers. The K56flex modem chip sets are for use in laptops with PCI buses. The battery-friendly chips operate on just 3.3 V, and will be used in upcoming AOL field trials of 56K. The chip is expected to be in production volume in July.

 

Microsoft has signed a deal to acquire WebTV Networks for 425 million dollars in stock and cash. Though WebTVs currently use 33.6 modems, they are a prime target for faster access technologies. They also impose limitations that Web designers should be aware of. For background information, visit the 56K.COM WebTV page.

 

The domain name problems we had a few days ago have been fixed. Thanks to everyone who worked behind the scenes to remedy the problem. The new DNS inforation has propogated most everywhere on the planet, so everyone should be able to reach us now.

 

 

May 7

We're having some problems with our domain name transfer. If you sent mail on May 6, it probably did not make it. We apologize, and ask that you please mail us again. If you're having trouble getting to www.56k.com, use this IP address until the DNS propagates: http://151.196.76.65/ . (Later: problem solved.)

 

If you're at Networld+Interop this week, stop by and visit the Lucent and U.S. Robotics booths to try K56flex and x2 for yourself. From April 9-11, U.S. Robotics is giving away 500 free x2 upgrades to select Sportster owners at the show. Details are on the Web page.

 

 

May 6

Motorola has announced pricing for the TidalWave upgrade. In their Spring Tidal Wave Newsletter, they announced that the cost of upgrading a Motorola 56K modem to the final ITU standard will cost $19.95 for registered TidalWave members. The registration deadline is May 31.

 

Supra has released the 56e SP modem in Mac and PC versions. The external K56flex modems support caller ID, distinctive ringing, class 1 fax software and voicemail, and are video phone (V.80) ready.

 

 

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