May 8
Starting today, there will be a new reader survey every
month at 56K.COM. This month's topic: Does
your ISP offer the new V.90 56K modem standard in your
city? (Your ISP is your Internet Service
Provider: the company that provides you with a
connection to the Internet.) Added 2:40 p.m.
EDT
Lucent announced a new chipset at Networld+Interop Las
Vegas. The WildWire chipset supports both V.90 and Universal
DSL, and automatically detects the presence of DSL
switching. The DSL portion supports DMT (Discrete Multitone)
signaling. EE
Times and Wired
have stories.
Wired
looks at the DSL vs. cable modem struggle.
Readers are having trouble accessing two modem companies'
web sites. Zoltrix seems to be changing IP addresses. They
can be reached at the temporary address of http://206.25.142.50/.
Apex Data's site
is giving "403 Forbidden" messages. I've emailed the
webmaster for the apexdata.com site. An earlier email to the
webmaster of Apex's web host provider was never answered.
May 6
Logicode is out of
business, but hope for V.90 upgrades isn't lost. Paul Jones
received this email reply from Logicode technical support:
The upgrade to v.90 is not yet available for
56K Logicode models. I would suggest checking the
Logicode web site at the end of May for when this
information might be available. The possible upgrade only
applies to 56K Logicode models. Logicode 36K, 28K and 14K
models are no longer upgradable, this upgrade offer
expired 5/31/97.
A prolonged power outage yesterday evening caused an
outage for 56K.COM. Our web host is planning to supplement
its UPS with a generator.
New @ 56K.COM
Many people have no idea what brand of modem they're
using, so I've added a new page: Who
Made My Modem? If you've been reading these pages for a
few months, you'll recognize bits and pieces from a series
of news articles I wrote called "Who made this stupid
modem?"
One of the techniques for finding out who made your modem
requires the use of a terminal program, which is a darned
handy skill to have. I've added a new section on gathering
information using four common terminal programs:
Besides manufacturer information, these pages can help
you determine what version of firmware your modem is using,
what options your modem supports (such as x2, K56flex, and
V.90), and how to get connection and speed statistics for
your last call. Much of that information was already in the
troubleshooting guide, but many people couldn't use it
because they didn't know how to use a terminal program.
May 5
Sebastian Krupkin reports that Hayes' 56kstandard.com
site is offering V.90 upgrades for some Hayes Accuras. The
interface to check the status of an upgrade is a little
confusing, but you probably want to start
here.
An Apple
TIL article discusses V.90 upgrades for the Apple/GV
K56flex modems included with some Power Mac 6500s and G3s,
and predicts upgrades this summer. The article also states
that there will not be a 56K upgrade for Apple's 33.6
GeoPorts. (Thanks to Bill Taggart for the URL.)
Speaking of Macs, a Mac
Times page discusses the limitations of external serial
ports on Mac 5200 and 6200-class computers.
The Montreal
Gazette reviews current high-speed offerings, including
Nortel's PowerLine.
I've updated the list of shipping
V.90 modems and V.90
upgrades.
Two Wired articles of interest: "Industry:
You'll Love Cable Modems" looks at the industry push,
and "OpenCable
Progress Told" discusses progress towards a cable modem
standard.
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