NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/dcom/modems-part1/9125

Internet Message Format | 1996-08-05 | 3.9 KB

Path: inforamp.net!ts31-16
From: [e-mail] (Geoffrey Welsh)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: Internal vs, External ?
Date: 26 Mar 1996 03:35:50 GMT
Organization: InfoRamp Inc., Toronto, Ontario [phone]
Message-ID: <4j7omm$[e-mail]>
References: <[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: ts31-16.tor.inforamp.net
X-Newsreader: News Xpress Version 1.0 Beta #4

In article <[e-mail]>,
   [e-mail] (Jerry Moore) wrote:
>I've seen the discussions about which is the best modem, but how 'bout
>arguments about Internal vs. External ?
>
>Are there any real differences of opinion about one working better
>than the other?
>
>Since Externals seem to be more expensive, why would anybody buy one?

Here's a previous post of mine on the topic:

From: [e-mail] (Geoffrey Welsh)
Subject: Re: Why does nobody like internal modems
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 13:34:00 EST
References: <4e4k6c$[e-mail]>
Organization: Izot's Swamp

Stefano Mosca <[e-mail]> 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, Developer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
        Temporary: [e-mail]; At work: [e-mail]
  At home: [e-mail] or [xenitec.on.ca|m2xenix.psg.com]!zswamp!geoff
  Capitalism is a cold-hearted system which guards the interests of whoever's
  at the top, yet hypocritically claims that it offers everyone a fair shot.
              So is every other system ever put in place by man.