Mi modem es tu modem


Tip
Offices -- even home offices -- are increasingly becoming networked affairs. You may wonder if all your networked computers can share one system's modem. In addition to saving the cost of multiple modems and phone lines, modem sharing reduces the clutter of telephone wires and modem power supplies in your den . . . er, office.
Both Windows 95 and Windows for Workgroups let you share the fax portion of your fax modem with other users on the LAN; Windows NT support is on the way. Unfortunately, Windows doesn't let you share a modem's data communications capability -- you'll need one of several add-on solutions to do this.
If all you need is Internet access, and you use either the PPP or SLIP dial-up protocol to connect to your service provider, Adrian de Croy's WinGate (http://www.deerfield.com/wingate/) is more than adequate. It's also free if only one network user accesses the shared modem at a time. The latest version, 2.0, adds more-sophisticated user security and http file caching, which can speed up reading of Web pages. Multiple-user licences, which let additional users connect to the Net over a single dial-up connection, start at $120 for two and top out at $600 for unlimited concurrent users.
Artisoft sells a similar program -- the $346 i.Share 2.0 -- that lets Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 users connect to the Internet using the modem on another Windows 95 machine. A 30-day demo is available from the Artisoft Web site at http://www.artisoft.com/ishare.
If you need more than Internet access, Artisoft's ModemShare enables you to share one or more modems just as you would share hard drives or printers. The modem works as if it were installed on the local machine, allowing you to dial in to online services, bulletin board systems, remote e-mail servers, and Internet providers, as well as enabling you to send faxes. (Only one person can use the modem at a time.) The program supports Windows 95 and 3.1 and DOS, and shares up to 32 modems on different machines with the entire local network. You can download a free 30-day demo version from Artisoft's Website. A single-modem version costs $130.
If Windows NT figures prominently in your network, you may want to consider purchasing Spartacom USA's SAPS for Windows NT. Like ModemShare, the Spartacom program allows you to share modems with users of DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, and Windows 95, but it also supports Windows NT. However, at $805 for a five-user license, SAPS for Windows NT may sap your budget. You can download 28-day working demo versions of the server and client software from http://www.tspco.com/sapshmpg.htm.
- Scott Spanbauer

Category: Win95, Windows 3.x, Windows NT
Issue: Jun 1997
Pages: 175

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