david, at 22:35 on Jul 18 1995, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

BG> Sure they are.  How many complaints have you seen about USRs, Octocomms, 
BG> Microcoms, Hayes, Supras, Zooms (lately), and even the Dataplex?  Not all 
BG> of those are Austel approved, and some that are also have non-approved 
BG> versions, but they're all considerably more reliable than say NetComms, 
BG> Avteks, Banksias, Maestros, and all of the cheap Taiwanese or Malaysian 
BG> crap which has been flooding the modem market recently.

db> How many people have those modems? 

Which ones do you mean, the up-market US models or the cheap asian crap?

db> How many people would encounter a problem in their modem, or know if the 
db> problem was actually in their modem as opposed to elsewhere in "the 
db> system"? 

I'd reasonably expect that those who had the nous to buy a quality brand
would see fewer problems than those with say Dynalinks, and that they'd
also likely have a better understanding of computers and modems in general,
but I'm really only guessing here.

db> How many people would finally report such problems in a manner in 
db> which any of us would see or know of said reports?

As a proportion of total sales?  Probably fewer than 0.5% is my guess, as
the vast majority of modems sold are being used in corporate or govt sites,
and wouldn't know what fidonet was, even if it bit them on the arse. 
However, I'd also suggest that complaining to the manufacturer is more
likely to get a satisfactory response than bitching to a simple distributor
of cheap modems, Askey for example, who would (IMO) have very little pull
with their Asian puppeteers.  You only get what you pay for, and in real
terms, even the high quality modems have never been so cheap.  Remember the
$1999 M7Fs?  I sure do, along with the $2500 Worldblazers and the $2000
Interlinks.  Why people bitch about having to pay $650 for a 33k6 Courier
is beyond me, I'm afraid.

db> YMMV - some people have trouble with Win95, some don't.  Some people have 
db> trouble with OS/2, some don't.  Some people have trouble with NetComms, 
db> Banksias or whatever, others don't.  It's computing - it's an imperfect 
db> con, but it does manage to get some people.

Oh sure, but that's just the nature of bleeding-edge technology anyway.

BG>> Doesn't the fact that 50% or more of your points are using
"illegal"
BG>> modems suggest anything to you?

PE>> Yeah, there are a lot of unsavoury types around here. 

db> Everyone needs to compare modems to figure this out?!?!  Sheesh..

The argument is flawed anyway.  After all, Paul's modem IS approved...

Regards, Bill
@EOT:

--- Msgedsq/2 3.20 alpha 5