Re: inexpensive modems that work with FreeBSD?

From: Jason Bourne (j_bourne_treadstone_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 11/15/04 

Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 15:01:54 -0500

Dr. Richard E. Hawkins wrote:

> I've tried starting the modem dance again. Yech. What a mess!
>
> All I want is something cheap that actually works with FreeBSD.
> However, as I look at the product manufacturer's sheets for these
> things, they all seem to want very recent versions of windows and fast
> processors. That suggests that either
> a) even though it's in a usb device, it's still using windows for its
> processing, or
> b) The specs were written by someone just plain lazy.
>
> I don't need fancy, but I would like external so that I can move it from
> machine to machine and socket to socket.
>
> Is anyone using one successfully that doesn't cost two arms and a leg?
>
> thanks
>
> hawk

Greetings:

   Beware of anything purporting to be any form or fashion of Winmodem.
Sometimes the marketing material is not exactly clear either. But
generally speaking the really "cheap" (like under $50 category) are
Winmodems. A Winmodem only has 1 chip of what on a real modem would be a
2 chip chipset. The missing chip is replaced by a software emulation in
Windows. This is why they are so cheap. A decent 2 chip modem is
typically in the "around" $80, or so, price range.

   Then there are the bus considerations. I'm still using an ISA card but
as computers get newer the ISA bus is disappearing. PCI cards can
sometimes be a pain to get to work. My preference for anything that may
need to moved from machine to machine is the external serial port. But,
here again, how long will the serial port continue to be a staple. USB is
going to be around for a while. I prefer the external serial port
approach because it is so basic and simple.

   I know this isn't a real answer to the question, but I just wanted to
warn you to be on the lookout for anything "Winmodem". 

-- 
Jason Bourne  -  GnuPG Key ID: 0x87E064D7
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