Tuesday, September 15

The New York Times web site was hacked on Sunday by a group calling itself HFG (Hacking for Girlies). The group claimed it was protesting New York Times reporter John Markoff's coverage of Kevin Mitnick, who has become a hero among some hackers. Markoff's account of the events leading up to Mitnick's 1995 arrest produced the bestselling book Takedown, which has been optioned by Miramax for a movie treatment. CNN and Wired are covering the web site breakin, and MacInTouch has a copy of the hacked front page.

The Ken Starr report created record traffic on many web sites, according to CNN and Wired.

Pretec has announced the first 56K modem designed for WinCE-based palm-sized PCs.

LeeMah Datacom has released a 56K version of their BandWagon remote access server.

Because of a shortage of IP addresses, most ISPs today use dynamic IP addressing, in which you get a different IP address each time you connect. That can be a real headache when you want to establish IP-based connections to a friend for file sharing or online gaming. Check out the IP posters at TUCOWs. These utilities can automatically post your IP address to a web page when you sign on.

V.90 upgrades

IBM has a new V.90 upgrade for their LT Win Modems. The firmware version is 5.18. Lucent LT Win Modems use generic firmware, so the upgrade will work with other manufacturer's LT Win Modems.

John Tooley notes a V.90 upgrade for the Global Village x2 modem for Windows, both internal and external.

Jim Steffy has a suggestion for the problem noted last week with the Hayes V.90 upgrade for Macintosh:

The problem with the V.90 upgrade for the Macintosh-compatible Hayes Accura 56K modem is not with the flash upgrade itself, but with the INIT string contained in the CCL file included with the flash upgrade. The init string contains a &D2 command, which tells the modem to monitor the DTR signal. This command, required for proper operation of the modem with a PC, will cause a Mac to hang up almost immediately after connecting. Changing this command to &D0, which directs the modem to ignore the DTR signal, should allow the modem to function correctly.

Logicode followup

Logicode is out of business, and the promised V.90 upgrade is not going to be released, but Paul Jones managed to get his due:

On August 20, 1998, I posted conversations I had with Logicode Technology, Inc., concerning their decision not to honor the v.90 upgrade guarantee for the Logicode 56W-P x2 modem. I then wrote letters of complaint (by mail, email, & Fax) concerning Logicode Technology, Inc., to the Better Business Bureau; California Department of Consumer Affairs; the California Attorney General's Office; California Consumer Action Office; the Chatsworth, CA Chamber of Commerce; the Camarillo, CA Chamber of Commerce; the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch.; Inductotherm Industries (parent company); Canoga Perkins (sister company); PC Magazine; PC World Magazine and Windows Magazine.

I have since received replies from the California Attorney General's Office, the Better Business Bureau, and PC Magazine saying they would investigate my complaint. The California Attorney General's Office and PC Magazine also said they wrote the Logicode and communicated my dissatisfaction regarding my request for the promised free upgrade to the v.90 ITU standard or a complete refund of $92.40, my purchase price for the x2 modem. On Monday, September 1, 1998, Logicode Technology, Inc., called and left a message requesting I contact them to make arrangements for Logicode to refund my purchase price for the Logicode 56W-P x2 modem. Subsequently, on September 5, 1998, I received a check in the mail from Logicode Technology, Inc., for $92.40.

My advice to other Logicode 56W-P x2 modem owners is to go ahead and contact Logicode Technology, Inc. and demand satisfaction! If they refuse, send letters of complaint to the agencies listed above. That's the only way you will get satisfaction. Their address is: Logicode Technology, Inc., 20600 Prairie Street, Chatsworth, CA, 91311-6008, Phone: 818-678-1850 or 818-678-1851, Fax: 818-678-1860.

Good luck.
Paul H. Jones

Friday, September 18

V.90 56K modem standard approved!

The V.90 56K modem standard was officially approved in Geneva Switzerland on Wednesday. The draft V.90 standard adopted in February was ratified without change. And there was much rejoicing.

In practice, the ratification may not mean much. V.90 modems and V.90 upgrades are now common. The real effect of the ratification is to put to rest a long period of confusion, misunderstanding, and misinformation. From this moment on, ISPs won't be able to claim that they don't support V.90 because it isn't official.

Oddly, the announcement isn't getting much press. The only references I found were in a News.com story and a 3Com press release.

FCC: no more 53K limit?

x2 and V.90 modems have are normally limited to download speeds of 53K in the U.S., but that may change. The FCC is proposing an increase in the limit on phone line power that effectively limits these modems to 53K. CNN and InfoWorld are covering the story.

If the laws are changed, it would raise the ceiling on PCM modems from 53K to 56K. In practice, most people wouldn't get those speeds, but it would erase some of the confusion and angst surrounding 56K modems. The limit on the electrical power used on the phone line is enforced on the ISP's server modems. Should the FCC raise the limit, the change would only need to be made to the ISP's modems through a software upgrade.

Other news

Motorola is suing PCTel and AltoCom for what it claims are infringements on its technology for software-based modems.

Deseret News is reporting that Megahertz and its parent company 3Com are working on a standardized design for laptop modems. One goal of the project is to free up PCMCIA slots for other purposes while providing a standardized modem design that can be easily upgraded.

The Hayes V.90 upgrade page doesn't list an upgrade for the Hayes Accura Speakerphone 5670, but several 56K.COM readers report that Hayes customer service emailed the upgrade to them when they asked about it. As reported here last week, Hayes will send a V.90 upgrade to Mac users who email customer.service@hayes.com with the number 5011 in the subject line. If Hayes hasn't released an upgrade for your modem, it may be worth emailing them to see if a secret upgrade is available.

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