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Date:      Mon, 24 Jul 2000 15:50:50 -0700 (PDT)
From:      Linh Pham <lplist@q.closedsrc.org>
To:        David Johnson <djohnson@acuson.com>
Cc:        John Sconiers <jrs@enteract.com>, Yan Chen <chessyproof@hotmail.com>, FreeBSD-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: your mail
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.21.0007241545060.33930-100000@q.closedsrc.org>
In-Reply-To: <397CC637.B9999E35@acuson.com>

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On Mon, 24 Jul 2000, David Johnson wrote:

> > > Modem:         Aopen PCI Modem, under Win2000, it said HCF 56K PCI Modem
> 
> Most PCI modems tend to be winmodems. This means that they will only
> work under windows. All modem software that is normally onboard, such as
> Vbis, etc., is now supplied as a windows driver. This is a Bad
> Thing(tm). Not only does it mean you have no FreeBSD/Linux/Solaris
> drivers, it also means that you don't really have a 56K modem, just a
> 9600 baud modulator/demodulator. Even if you had Windows, this would
> still be a bad deal.

HCF modems are also a pain to deal with, even in Windows :)

WinModems use the processor as the DSP and thus use pathetic drivers to do
the talking. Linux has support for some Lucent WinModems, but I would
definitely avoid PCI modems at all costs.

You can probably find decent ISA 56K modems for around $60-80
dollars. Your best bet is to get an external modem or an internal ISA
modem that does not have any fancy options (like speakerphone or CPU
off-loading).

You can probably spot a lot of WinModems by looking at their
requirements. One, they require Windows. The next one is that they require
a Pentium processor (many require MMX to off-load the DSP calls use to MMX
instructions). If you look on the majority of WinModems, you will find the
lack of a DSP. Modems with almost no hardware are almost always WinModems.

// Linh Pham
// http://closedsrc.org



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