Tuesday, January 19

Point Topic is predicting that DSL will become the dominant high-speed Internet access technology in the 2003-2007 timeframe. Most analysts have picked cable modems as the winner, but Point-Topic analyst Tim Johnson believes that the sheer strength of the telephone companies will allow them to win.

Ron Smith pointed us to 98lite, a program to remove the integrated Internet Explorer from Windows 98. The program's author claims better Windows performance with built-in IE removed.

Justin Wilson was the first to note an Apple V.90 upgrade for the 6500's 56K modem.

Computer Shopper takes a look at bonding modems this month.

Most 56K.COM readers live in the U.S., where most people take unmetered local telephone service for granted. It isn't so in many other countries, where phone usage is billed by the minute, on top of per-minute Internet access charges.David Brake of Salon Magazine looks at the issues of paying for Internet access in the "online third world."

Two Bigfoot enthusiasts have discovered what they believe is a belt buckle in the well-known 1967 Bigfoot footage.  

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Friday, January 22

Who says modems have to be squat rectangles? Compaq now offers a USB V.90 modem, one of only four USB modems that I'm aware of. Features include dual V.90/K56flex support, an indicator light to show that V.90 has been negotiated, telephone compatibility in over 30 countries, and a striking industrial design. The BocaVision ST2001 is a V.90-based video-on-demand and Internet access device from Boca Research. The BocaVision offers email and Web access, expandable memory, parallel port, PCI bus, and room for a CD/DVD-ROM and hard drive. Estimated price is from $499-999, depending on the configuration. Palmtop/cell phone convergence I recently bought a Qualcomm dual-band PCS cell phone to use with Sprint PCS. It's a terrific cell phone, with great clarity, long battery life, and excellent voicemail and paging features. There's no contract, and my monthly plan is just $25 for 75 weekday minutes and 500 evening and weekend minutes. Some of the higher-priced plans allow any or all of the minutes to be used for long distance. With prices like these, I'm entertaining the idea of replacing one analog line in my house with a cell phone. Now the problem. I already carry a Palm III palmtop religiously, which doesn't leave much pocket space for a cell phone. Ideally, one device would serve as a cell phone and PDA. Qualcomm is heading in that direction with the pdQ smartphone, which combines a Palm III and digital cell phone. By adding email and web surfing features, the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. Now if it would just get here. My Pilot reports that Qualcomm and Microsoft have announced a similar plan for Windows CE devices. Speaking of palmtops, palm planet has still pics of the radical handheld used in last Sunday's X-Files episode. Alex Krycek was using the device to control the critters in Director Skinner's bloodstream. (Microsoft will probably copy that feature for the next Windows CE release.) O'Grady's PowerPage first theorized that the palmtop was Apple's upcoming MacMate, but now believes it's based on the Qualcomm pdQ smartphone. The blue display is a mockup, as is the cover, which is an extremely cool folding design.

Compaq USB 56K Modem

 

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