Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message
Modem - What is it good for these days?
-
- Sophomore Member
- Posts: 206
- Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2004 11:10 am
- Location: Karlsruhe, Germany
Modem - What is it good for these days?
Hi,
checking out the specs of some more recen ThinkPads, I noticed that even a X201 comes with a modem. And I don't mean any WWAN stuff, 3G, UMTS and whatnot. I mean a 56k V.92 modem that plugs into the phone socket and emits strange beeping noises.
Now, with just about anybody having Internet access via LAN, WLAN, or UMTS and friends, I just can't seem to see the usefulnes of having a decades-old technology that, given the right moon phase, may or may not transfer data at the amazing rate of 56kB/sec. Good, on the upside, we need to have an opening on the ever-so-spacious case, we take up space inside of the case, we need cables to run across the innards of the machine, and one of the Mini-PCI cards must carry the circuitry itself.
So, what's the point of having a modem in a laptop? What usage scenario that requires a beepy thingy am I not aware of?
cheers,
the fish
checking out the specs of some more recen ThinkPads, I noticed that even a X201 comes with a modem. And I don't mean any WWAN stuff, 3G, UMTS and whatnot. I mean a 56k V.92 modem that plugs into the phone socket and emits strange beeping noises.
Now, with just about anybody having Internet access via LAN, WLAN, or UMTS and friends, I just can't seem to see the usefulnes of having a decades-old technology that, given the right moon phase, may or may not transfer data at the amazing rate of 56kB/sec. Good, on the upside, we need to have an opening on the ever-so-spacious case, we take up space inside of the case, we need cables to run across the innards of the machine, and one of the Mini-PCI cards must carry the circuitry itself.
So, what's the point of having a modem in a laptop? What usage scenario that requires a beepy thingy am I not aware of?
cheers,
the fish
-
- Senior Member
- Posts: 742
- Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:25 pm
- Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
I know that in some remote locations, high speed is not there yet. If it is, but it is somewhere like a cottage, you may not want/need high speed internet, and a cheap local dialup provider may be sufficent. It is also possible that enterprises may require a dialup connection for more security (I'd imagine most of them would have vpn by now though), and finally, if there is an uprising, and your government shuts down the internet connection (very rare). The other thing I have used mine for is faxing, before we got a multifunction scanner/copier/printer/fax.
Elitebook 8440p, i5 520, 8gb, Samsung 840 SSD
Old/Not Working/Dead Laptops:
T61 7661CC2, 4gb, Windows 7 x64, 240gb intel SSD, 500gb Ultrabay drive
Toshiba Portege 7020ct
Thinkpad T41 23737FU
Dell Latitude LS
Old/Not Working/Dead Laptops:
T61 7661CC2, 4gb, Windows 7 x64, 240gb intel SSD, 500gb Ultrabay drive
Toshiba Portege 7020ct
Thinkpad T41 23737FU
Dell Latitude LS
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
I find a modem is useful in rare times when my DSL service is down since my local telco also has a dialup number for access. I've also used it a several occasions to receive faxes.
My Laptop Collection:
IdeaPad Z570, 8gb RAM & Win 7 Home Premium / Win 8.1 Pro
Toshiba A75-S206, 1.5gb RAM & Windows 7 Home Premium
ThinkPad T-22 (Formerly a T-20), 512mb RAM & Win XP Pro
IdeaPad Z570, 8gb RAM & Win 7 Home Premium / Win 8.1 Pro
Toshiba A75-S206, 1.5gb RAM & Windows 7 Home Premium
ThinkPad T-22 (Formerly a T-20), 512mb RAM & Win XP Pro
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
My internet provider is my cable co., and a couple of years ago, as a result of an ice storm, we were without electricity and cable service for almost two weeks! During that time, my phone service was only off for a couple of days, so with laptop battery power (recharged in my vehicle), and a modem, I was able to have internet access during the ordeal. But, haven't had the need to use dial-up again since. Although my desktop machine is connected via modem and telephony software for fax, voicemail and call logging.
Collection = T430 - T500 - R400 - X300 - T61 (14" WXGA+) - R61 (15" SXGA+) - T60 - X40 - T43p - T43 - T42p - A30P
-
- Senior Member
- Posts: 742
- Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:25 pm
- Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
@neil - I have used it at my grandparents before they had high speed. it worked great, and I always figured I could use the system the same way (free number i found online) if there was ever a power outage - unfortunately it appears that the isp I had the numbers for has gone offline - no more free dialup for me. Worst Case I will have to rig something up (maybe connect the cable modem in the car for power - hope it doesn't come to that)
Elitebook 8440p, i5 520, 8gb, Samsung 840 SSD
Old/Not Working/Dead Laptops:
T61 7661CC2, 4gb, Windows 7 x64, 240gb intel SSD, 500gb Ultrabay drive
Toshiba Portege 7020ct
Thinkpad T41 23737FU
Dell Latitude LS
Old/Not Working/Dead Laptops:
T61 7661CC2, 4gb, Windows 7 x64, 240gb intel SSD, 500gb Ultrabay drive
Toshiba Portege 7020ct
Thinkpad T41 23737FU
Dell Latitude LS
-
- Admin Emeritus
- Posts: 3848
- Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:09 am
- Location: Sydney, Australia - Best Address on Earth!
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
Here's some news.... there are still significant parts of the planet where that is not the case.doppelfish wrote:Now, with just about anybody having Internet access via LAN, WLAN, or UMTS and friends
I've had occasions to use the modem port as the only available connectivity option, while using my X200 in a number of places in Asia and Central America within the last 12 months.
Be thankful for what you have in a developed first world economy
Cheers,
Bill B.
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
On another note...many businesses, including some very large corporations still insist on VPN connections via modem only...
You'd be surprised at the number of locations in the U.S. where a dial-up is still the only way of getting online...
You'd be surprised at the number of locations in the U.S. where a dial-up is still the only way of getting online...
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)
Cheers,
George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)
One FlexView to rule them all: A31p
Abused daily: T520, X200s
PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.
Cheers,
George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)
One FlexView to rule them all: A31p
Abused daily: T520, X200s
PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
Modem Uses:
IBM Modem FRU: 12J2785
PCMCIA Data/Fax/Voce Modem v.34 33.6 Kbps/14.4 Kbps with XJACK© Connector <--- never leave home without it!
HUGE Image of front and back (warning for dial-up!
- CallerID - kinda useless on a laptop... but nice in a desktop.
- Dial-Up - as others have said, my brother in northern California JUST got high speed in January, and NetZero is free 10 hours a month.
- Computer to Computer - With the right cable, great for OLD computer data transfer.
- Faxing - again as others said... just wanted to note i use a P166 & parallel scanner for a fax machine
IBM Modem FRU: 12J2785
PCMCIA Data/Fax/Voce Modem v.34 33.6 Kbps/14.4 Kbps with XJACK© Connector <--- never leave home without it!
HUGE Image of front and back (warning for dial-up!
(2)701C,(1)760EL,(6)760XL,(1)760XD
(4)CD Drives (5)int floppies (3)ext floppy (4)2.1GB
(10)CF/IDE w/2 or 4GB 133x CF (1)760XL restore CD
(1)Belkin USB 2.0 32bit Cardbus (2)WPC54G(S) Wifi Cardbus
(1)Belkin F5D5020 NIC (1)Giga-Byte GN-WLM01 Wifi
(1)Backpack CD (1) Xircom REM56G-10 + misc
(4)CD Drives (5)int floppies (3)ext floppy (4)2.1GB
(10)CF/IDE w/2 or 4GB 133x CF (1)760XL restore CD
(1)Belkin USB 2.0 32bit Cardbus (2)WPC54G(S) Wifi Cardbus
(1)Belkin F5D5020 NIC (1)Giga-Byte GN-WLM01 Wifi
(1)Backpack CD (1) Xircom REM56G-10 + misc
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
as other forum readers have stated their are still parts of the world that have no fast internet connection. i am lucky that my home has up to a 50mbps cable connection which somewhen soon is expected to be doubled to 100mbps. this is all well and good but could my t43's wifi adaptor transfer data at this speed? i would have to use my laptops gigabit NIC. even in the UK where i live there are still remote areas that only have a dial up connection. i can still see 56k modems being around in 10 years time as i think there will always be a need for them during my lifetime although a lot less then the current time.
the last time i used dial up was around 9 years ago when i was one of the first people in the village i lived in to get a broadband connection. it was a 512kbps connection using ADSL. I still have my old hayes acura 56k speaker phone modem which connected via the 9 pin serial port.
maybe it would be a good idea to replace the 56k modem with a adsl modem in the future
the last time i used dial up was around 9 years ago when i was one of the first people in the village i lived in to get a broadband connection. it was a 512kbps connection using ADSL. I still have my old hayes acura 56k speaker phone modem which connected via the 9 pin serial port.
maybe it would be a good idea to replace the 56k modem with a adsl modem in the future
-
- Junior Member
- Posts: 307
- Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:26 pm
- Location: Kingston, RI
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
trick would-be thieves into thinking you have a really old notebook not worth taking? :
W520 (2820QM, Q2000M, FHD, mSATA SSD, dock)
Previous: T61p (died 1m past warranty ), Dell 8600, iBook ("Dual USB"), Gateway Millennium, Macintosh G4 , PowerPC Mac clone, Mac Duo 210, iBook (clamshell), Quadra 630, Mac IIsi, C-128, C-64, Vic-20
Previous: T61p (died 1m past warranty ), Dell 8600, iBook ("Dual USB"), Gateway Millennium, Macintosh G4 , PowerPC Mac clone, Mac Duo 210, iBook (clamshell), Quadra 630, Mac IIsi, C-128, C-64, Vic-20
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
KRAZY KEV wrote:
Unlike the conventional 56K modem that will work with almost any dialtone, there is no "one-size-fits-all" ADSL modem...maybe it would be a good idea to replace the 56k modem with a adsl modem in the future
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)
Cheers,
George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)
One FlexView to rule them all: A31p
Abused daily: T520, X200s
PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.
Cheers,
George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)
One FlexView to rule them all: A31p
Abused daily: T520, X200s
PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
[quote="doppelfish"]Hi,
checking out the specs of some more recen ThinkPads, I noticed that even a X201 comes with a modem. And I don't mean any WWAN stuff, 3G, UMTS and whatnot. I mean a 56k V.92 modem that plugs into the phone socket and emits strange beeping noises.
Now, with just about anybody having Internet access via LAN, WLAN, or UMTS and friends, I just can't seem to see the usefulnes of having a decades-old technology that, given the right moon phase, may or may not transfer data at the amazing rate of 56kB/sec. Good, on the upside, we need to have an opening on the ever-so-spacious case, we take up space inside of the case, we need cables to run across the innards of the machine, and one of the Mini-PCI cards must carry the circuitry itself.
So, what's the point of having a modem in a laptop? What usage scenario that requires a beepy thingy am I not aware of?
_____________________________________________________________________________
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-Th ... 097#M25646
Here's a place where the op is using dial-up. I guess sometimes it has to be used.
Dave
checking out the specs of some more recen ThinkPads, I noticed that even a X201 comes with a modem. And I don't mean any WWAN stuff, 3G, UMTS and whatnot. I mean a 56k V.92 modem that plugs into the phone socket and emits strange beeping noises.
Now, with just about anybody having Internet access via LAN, WLAN, or UMTS and friends, I just can't seem to see the usefulnes of having a decades-old technology that, given the right moon phase, may or may not transfer data at the amazing rate of 56kB/sec. Good, on the upside, we need to have an opening on the ever-so-spacious case, we take up space inside of the case, we need cables to run across the innards of the machine, and one of the Mini-PCI cards must carry the circuitry itself.
So, what's the point of having a modem in a laptop? What usage scenario that requires a beepy thingy am I not aware of?
_____________________________________________________________________________
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-Th ... 097#M25646
Here's a place where the op is using dial-up. I guess sometimes it has to be used.
Dave
current, T430s, X1C-2nd Gen, Helix 1st Gen, X301, X200T, X61T, X32, X41T, 2-X40s, tc4400, X60 , X61s U-160, Yoga 900, Yoga 910
-
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Mon Jul 11, 2011 3:36 pm
- Location: LONDON, UK
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
I fly the 737 for a major airline. So I travel extensively around mainly South East Asia.. (although I used to fly Long Haul). In some countries Hotels only supply a telephone socket and you just plug your modem in. I guess it's essential for the corporate executive who travels to out of the way places.
As an example, Kutaisi, Republic of Georgia has no broadband in a city of 200K people. I just plug that Modem in!
No broadband luxury.... but 56K works surprisingly well for many things.
However this is from a guy who thought 28.8 to 33.6 was a great upgrade
As an example, Kutaisi, Republic of Georgia has no broadband in a city of 200K people. I just plug that Modem in!
No broadband luxury.... but 56K works surprisingly well for many things.
However this is from a guy who thought 28.8 to 33.6 was a great upgrade
Last edited by roguetrooper on Mon Jul 25, 2011 9:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
T60 2007-66G T2500 2.0, 1GB, 80GB, SXGA+ (+Dock)
Re: Modem - What is it good for these days?
Currently working with a forum user here in "ThinkPad Legacy Hardware" who uses dial-up as his main internet connection, his secondary machine is having Win98/MWave issues... so yea... still in use even today.
(2)701C,(1)760EL,(6)760XL,(1)760XD
(4)CD Drives (5)int floppies (3)ext floppy (4)2.1GB
(10)CF/IDE w/2 or 4GB 133x CF (1)760XL restore CD
(1)Belkin USB 2.0 32bit Cardbus (2)WPC54G(S) Wifi Cardbus
(1)Belkin F5D5020 NIC (1)Giga-Byte GN-WLM01 Wifi
(1)Backpack CD (1) Xircom REM56G-10 + misc
(4)CD Drives (5)int floppies (3)ext floppy (4)2.1GB
(10)CF/IDE w/2 or 4GB 133x CF (1)760XL restore CD
(1)Belkin USB 2.0 32bit Cardbus (2)WPC54G(S) Wifi Cardbus
(1)Belkin F5D5020 NIC (1)Giga-Byte GN-WLM01 Wifi
(1)Backpack CD (1) Xircom REM56G-10 + misc
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
- 4 Replies
- 111 Views
-
Last post by RealBlackStuff
Wed Mar 27, 2024 1:18 am
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 42 guests