PE> Nice one, Bill.

BG> Well it's true, Paul.  Anybody who's been involved with modems for more 
BG> than a couple of years would normally have enough sense to avoid NetComm 
BG> like the plague, given some of the positively atrociously buggy modems 

No they're not, they're all user errors.  Not a bug in sight.

PE> I haven't dialled yet.  If the answer is "no, you must return it
PE> straight away", I wanted a bit more time with the Viper.

BG> But if you're not using the M34F...  

Someone else is.  If I return the M34F, I'll have to return the 
Viper as well.

BG> Besides, the Viper has always been a 
BG> better and more reliable performer than the NetComm, 

Dear oh dear, another Bill Grimsley Fact.  You use "always" as if
there is a long record of various Viper models consistently 
outperforming Netcomms in large numbers of exhaustive tests.  When
reality is you blew wind out of your arse and said what colour
it was.

PE> And what fair idea would that be?  Sorry, Bill, you have no idea.

BG> Given the above, I would automatically blame the ONE old modem, especially 
BG> if everybody else was connecting just fine.  Sometimes it just isn't 
BG> feasible to be any more scientific than that.

PE> Like I said, you have NO idea.  That wasn't anything remotely like
PE> my answer, and you CAN be more scientific than that, you can do a
PE> line trace. 

BG> Sure Paul, pity I don't just happen to have a $10k protocol analyser lying 
BG> downstairs gathering dust.  

Which is why YOU can do very little scientific at all.  And thus,
simply say "I have no scientific data available to me".  Instead,
you choose to blow wind out of your arse.

BG> The point is that the average USER is not in a 
BG> position to do anything remotely like a line trace, and has to decide from 
BG> experience alone what modems are the most reliable.

You are allowed to decide which have been more reliable for YOUR
usage, you are NOT allowed to say "the bug is clearly in the Supra",
when we all know that's just arse-wind talking.

PE> I expect modem manufacturers to do the same thing I do with MSGED.  If 
PE> someone reports a problem, if I am able to easily reproduce it, I will at 
PE> least do that.  Even for a FREE product, nevermind a $675 and counting 
PE> product.

BG> Now that my Courier is on-line, I've had occasion to DL a few of the latest 
BG> SDLs, and the README provided with each one indicates that each subsequent 
BG> SDL does indeed solve certain prior bugs or problems with the code (quite 

They even did that with the Spirit II.  Shows how useful that is.
What proves what is useful is how they react to reported bugs.
The Spirit II still double-sends, the USR problem list is still
untouched.

BG> wankers in the USR echo aside) with their code.  Can you say the same about 
BG> NetComm?  

There are a variety of levels of the flashrom.  I didn't actually
try any of the older ones, but basically my concerns are not
addressed in the latest one.  Just the same as my concerns are not
addressed in the latest one from USR.  Heard it all before, Bill.

BG> Certainly, with the Taiwanese clones, you're very much on your 
BG> own, 

No matter what I get, I'm on my own.  Indeed, if I end up returning
the Netcomm, it will likely be to get a Taiwanese one.  At least I'm
not paying for any pretence of support.  BFN.  Paul.
@EOT:

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