Hello Michael!
On 15Feb1997 17:19 Hayes Support wrote a message to Marc Lewis regarding WOW! 
WHAT A PRICE!...
ML> At this price, I'd just as soon go to another manufacturer's SysOp
ML> program and get a brand new, fully warranted modem for $249; and 
ML> have my Optima as a back-up to-boot!
 HS> We're offering all of our 33.6K upgrades basically at cost.  Those
 HS> that can be flashed are free.  The ones that require just a single
 HS> chip are like $10, etc.  In the case of the older metal case OPTIMA
 HS> 288's, there's no way to upgrade the old units.  [...]
 HS> It is actually a good deal, but if you want to see a better deal,
 HS> see the 56K upgrade options we now have announced.  [...]
 HS> Trade up from your Hayes 288 to a Hayes 56k for 89 bucks (plus $15
 HS> shipping & handling).  Buy a new Hayes OPTIMA or ACCURA 33.6
 HS> between 2/1/97 and 4/15/97 and get an upgrade to 56K for free.
Thanks for this info, Michael.  Will the 56k handle standard V34+ (33k6) and 
fax, etc as well?  Is it part of the Optima series or the Accura series?  Why 
so inexpensive?  (Not to imply that a high price automatically means better.)
 HS> Well...you can get a brand new OPTIMA 33.6 external Business modem
 HS> through our sysop program for $199.00  You can get one of these and
 HS> keep your current OPTIMA as a backup, [...]
This is more encouraging.  Browsed around the Hayes BBS and didn't find 
mention of this in any of the bulletins... (Or at least, it wasn't obvious.)
 HS> So, for $199 you can get a Hayes 33.6 top of the line Business
 HS> Modem, through our sysop program and upgrade it for free to 56K. 
 HS> Sounds like a good deal to me.
It does.  I will keep this under consideration, and thanks again for a better 
view on this. 
Best regards,
Marc
New Orleans, LA (USA)
--- timEd/386 1.10+
---------------