🚀 go-pugleaf

Stefano Mosca (fly@rm3.flashnet.it) wrote:
: I have a 28.8k internal modem and looking around 
: it seems that everybody prefers external modems, 
: why??????
: Thanks in advance

Three reasons come to mind:

1.  Internal modems do not have any indication of operation. If you
    are having trouble, even blinking lights are better than nothing.
    With some experience, the lights can help solve many problems.

2.  If you have more than one computer, you may not be able to buy
    multiple 28.8k modems. An external modem is easily move from one
    computer to the other.

3.  If you are short of slots in your computer ----.

In article <4e4k6c$20b@news.flashnet.it>, Stefano Mosca
<fly@rm3.flashnet.it> wrote:

>I have a 28.8k internal modem and looking around 
>it seems that everybody prefers external modems, 
>why??????

Here are a few of the reasons I prefer externals:

1. If the modem goes into a wierd state, or is taking awhile to
disconnect, you can turn it off and on - also good if you set it different
for some reason and the software you are about to load doesn't do an ATZ
or factory defaults.

2. If the computer locks up, you don't have to stay connected to your ISP
while waiting for it to boot - you can turn it off and on (kind of same as
above).

3. The lights give you an indication of what's going on.  You can glance
at it and tell if your phone is picked up by the OH light.  You can see if
it loses carrier for a second because of line noise.  You can see if it is
receiving continuously or if it is waiting for another packet to come thru
the net.

4. It is easier to move from one computer to another, not needing to worry
about IRQ's (they are set on your serial card), and isn't limited to use
only on a PC - it can be used on a Mac, an annex server, or a Sparcstation
as well.

Stefano Mosca wrote:
> 
> I have a 28.8k internal modem and looking around
> it seems that everybody prefers external modems,
> why??????
> Thanks in advance

My personal best reason is that I don't have to re-boot my PC if the 
modem gets stuck, I just have to flick the modem power switch off/on and 
problem solved.




--
******************************************
*      Ed Palin  -  loafer@aksi.net      *
******************************************

>3.  If you are short of slots in your computer ----.
>
Some people have old junky computers with non-16550 UARTS on the serial 
ports built on to the motherboard so they have to either buy on io card 
or an internal modem, so might as well just get an internal.

Brady
-- 
==============================================================
Brady Wied                       Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
           "Everyone Always Goes Back to Vanilla"
                      Sandra Bullock

Stefano Mosca <fly@rm3.flashnet.it> writes:

> I have a 28.8k internal modem and looking around 
> it seems that everybody prefers external modems, 
> why??????

They're not for everyone, and an internal may be fine for you... but some of 
us prefer externals because:

 ... the activity LEDs on external modems are indispensible status and 
diagnostic tools, and some modems (such as USR) even have convenient external 
volume controls.  I don't even like using the volume dial on the back of a 
Sound Blaster card... not that most PC-internal modems have one anyway. 

 ... external modems don't impose much of a load on the PC's power supply, and 
neither contribute to the heat inside the case nor malfunction because of the 
heat generated by other PC components.

 ... external modems don't force you to use the CPU-intensive and speed-
limited interface of a UART (or something mimicking a UART); with an external 
modem, you can use anything from a little 230,400 bps two-port Hayes 
intelligent serial card to a 224-port Digiboard card.

 ... you can't plug PC-internal modems into other computers, and that doesn't 
even take such things as MicroChannel or PCI slots into account.  I've plugged 
my external modems into everything from a Commodore 64 through an AT&T 3B4000 
minicomputer.  Multiport serial cards, terminal servers, etc., _require_ 
external (or rackmount) modems. 

 ... you can't put more than a couple of PC-internal modems into a single PC.  
Even my home PC has two very different modems plugged in (which I could have 
done internally, I suppose, because I went SCSI and avoided internal 
everything else so I have lots of slots free... friends who bought internal 
modems, sound cards, proprietary interface CD-ROMs and tape drives, etc. are 
out of slots with only one modem; some can't even upgrade their motherboards 
because most new boards have only seven slots in stead of eight, or have fewer 
AT slots to make room for PCI slots, or have some 8-bit connectors). 

 ... internal modems can't be reset without resetting the whole computer.  If 
it's a desktop computer owned by an individual for surfing the 'net, that's  a 
minor inconvenince to one person (it takes longer to reboot than to switch the 
modem off and on).  If it's a multiuser system (UNIX, NetWare Connect, etc.) 
you just can't reboot the system every time a modem gets confused. 

If none of these requirements apply to you, then an internal is as good as an 
external, and cheaper.

-- 
         Geoffrey Welsh, Senior Developer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
        geoff@zswamp.uucp, [xenitec.on.ca|m2xenix.psg.com]!zswamp!geoff
USENET has become the sanctuary of the Church of the Perpetually Injured Party.

In <4e4k6c$20b@news.flashnet.it>, Stefano Mosca <fly@rm3.flashnet.it> writes:
>I have a 28.8k internal modem and looking around 
>it seems that everybody prefers external modems, 
>why??????
>Thanks in advance
>

Here's a few why internal may be preferable over external:
 - save a few bucks over the equivalent external as it's cheaper to manufacture
 - much cleaner setup on your bench - 1) no box sitting around, 2) no power
    brick to plug in (which usually takes up a couple of spots on your power
    strip due to their physical size), 3) one less cable (serial connection) to have
    to deal with
 - if your system is a bit dated (1 year in this business), you may have non-buffered
   uarts for your serial ports....internal modem eliminates the need to replace these.
 
There are, of course, pluses to external modems... of which there were already 5
other post by the time I wrote this one.
  - Richard  

Stefano Mosca <fly@rm3.flashnet.it> wrote:

>I have a 28.8k internal modem and looking around 
>it seems that everybody prefers external modems, 
>why??????
>Thanks in advance

As for me, an internal modem is like driving a car without the
dashboard displays.


Rgds
Vincent

In <960128.133400.5x0.rnr.w165w@zswamp.UUCP>, geoff@zswamp.UUCP (Geoffrey Welsh) writes:
>Stefano Mosca <fly@rm3.flashnet.it> writes:
>
>> I have a 28.8k internal modem and looking around 
>> it seems that everybody prefers external modems, 
>> why??????
>
    One:       Most internals are junk.
    Two:      Snob appeal because of one.

    There are some excelent internal modems out there.  Some that
    can do things that externals will never (through RS-232) be able
    to even dream of.  But we've argued this here before.

Stefano Mosca <fly@rm3.flashnet.it> wrote:

>I have a 28.8k internal modem and looking around 
>it seems that everybody prefers external modems, 
>why??????
>Thanks in advance

Mainly, because it frees up another slot in the back of the computer
for...say a new graphics card etc.  However, I like the internals
because it is harder for someone to steal it.

Alan