PE> Yes, it is slightly inferior in that respect.  So how much do you
PE> think I would have saved off my phone bill if I had paid the extra
PE> $200 for a V34+ modem?

BG> That's not the point, Paul.  

Oh yes it is.  $200 is a HELL of a lot of money.  You do realise that
even if I put the $200 into my home loan, the INTEREST alone will be
40c per week to me, so I would have to save 40c per week on my phone
bill from DAY 1, nevermind paying back the principle.

In actual fact, the cost factor made me want to buy a Yum Cha.  It
made my heart bleed to pay $100 more for a Netcomm, when I was very
dubious about whether I would actually see an advantage at all.

However, I didn't get a special sysop price on a Yum Cha, so I sort
of hoped that the advantages of a $700 retail Netcomm cf $300 Yum
Cha, although certainly not worth $400, would perhaps be worth the
$100 extra that I as a sysop were paying.

It was a tough choice though.  I was basically planning on running
my modem until the next lightning strike (I do not switch my modem
off during storms normally).  I wait until my fish tank jumps 1 foot
in the air before I decide that I might disconnect the modem.

BG> The problem with any non-DSP modem is that 
BG> they are basically non-upgradeable.  Sure, small bugs in the ROM controller 
BG> code can be fixed (and at least NetComm have a flash-ROM for that), but 
BG> chipset problems or feature upgrades are simply not viable propositions.

Bill, I've never been able to get any modem manufacturer to fix
my bugs.  I couldn't get Borland to fix their compiler, etc etc.
Not much use having the feature if the real problem is that they're
not going to fix it.

Besides, can't I get a ROM upgrade for $20 or something from Netcomm?
$20 is one-year's interest on the $200 saving.

PE> Yeah?  Worked out how many years it would take for me to make back
PE> the $200 in saved phone call costs? 

BG> Forget the speed difference.  

Then you're forgetting the only thing that would be of any difference
to me anyway.  And only a VERY MARGINAL difference at that.  Certainly
isn't saving ME any money.  It MIGHT save my ISD callers some money,
but every time I've looked, ISD callers get very low connect speeds
anyway.

BG> worthwhile).  The REAL advantage with the top-end modems, like the USR 
BG> Courier and the AT&T Paradyne, is the future upgradeability of these 
BG> products, and I for one am more than happy to pay a premium for that 
BG> ability.

It isn't worth $200 to ME, so there's no point you telling me I've
bought a lemming etc etc, I'd rather have my $200 thanks all the
same.  Actually, I would pay the $200 for better connectivity, but
then, I could swap for a Spirit Viper and get my most major problem
fixed even now.

BG> Additionally, whilst I know that you personally don't give a shit about 
BG> this, there are still many sysops who consider the modem's ability to 
BG> handle incoming calls from non-ITU protocols like V.32ter or HST to be an 
BG> advantage as well, and I happen to agree with them.  If I was a sysop, I 

If you want to convince me that I got landed with a lemming in order
to save $200, you have to come up with something that interests *ME*.

BG> think I'd consider my users before worrying too much about an extra ~$200 

Most of my users are local, and if they buy proprietry modems they
deserve all they get.  What concerns me is people like Dieter, who
are using a standard modem, and not connecting.

BG> in the initial cost (and given the free feature upgrades in the pipeline, 
BG> it may well be even cheaper to have paid extra up front for the Courier, 
BG> instead of having to trade-in or sell  your M34F when stuff such as 
BG> Distinctive Ring and CID become a reality).

You're not doing a very good job, Bill.  You have to tell me why CID
and distinctive ring are worth $200 to me.  I sort of don't really
give a shit, at least at the moment.  After the next lightning bolt,
I may look for these features.  I would probably be interested in
being able to set up my BBS to both receive incoming faxes as well
as incoming modem calls.  THAT interests me, but not enough to use
software without source code.

BG> If you want to call my enthusiasm for a damn good product
"zealotry", then 
BG> so be it, I really don't give a toss.  What does tend to piss me off 

No, your zealotry is in making unsubstantiated claims, and dragging
out strawmen like "the manual doesn't say you can use ATZ as an init
string".  You really don't know how pathetic that looks from here, Bill.

BG> though, is your unjustifiably negative attitude towards the Courier.  Can 

WHAT negative attitude?  You're making it up, Bill.  You are taking
my technical evaluation and just because there is unfavourable stuff
in it (that's what testing is for, Bill), and claiming it as being
negative.

BG> you honestly tell me that if they were the same price, you'd still prefer a 
BG> NetComm ?

NO!  And if you LISTENED to what I was saying, instead of going off
on a zealotry trip, you would have already known this, as I have
stated it before:

Although I listed a greater number of technical faults with the USR,
the problems were not as severe as those that I had with the Netcomm.
I am mostly interested in incoming calls, so the fact that I may not
connect to a Netcomm properly on an outgoing call is not as big a
problem as failure for incoming calls to connect to me.  Dieter's is
the most serious problem in that respect.  Total failure is simply
not acceptible.

BG> And if your answer to that is yes, I'd be damned interested to hear why.

Well it isn't, so you might want to go and keep your zealotry in
check next time.  BFN.  Paul.
@EOT:

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