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Technology Stocks : Apple Inc.
AAPL 277.84-0.3%10:05 AM EST

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To: Rishi Gupta who wrote (17431)8/31/1998 2:38:00 AM
From: Eric Yang   of 213173
 
(1) What 56k modem iMAC has built in? Is it V.90, k56flex or x2
technology(2) Do I have to access to any specific port to get 56k
speed?"


The 56K modem in the iMac is a V.90/flex. So it supports V.90 and is capable of falling back to K56 flex protocol.

To get a connection faster than 33.3K, you'll need make sure
1)your ISP supports either V.90 or K56flex
2)you dial into one of the local access numbers designated for 56K
3)you have a clean line

Here is a diagram I made a while back which illustrates the relationships between the three protocols.
macevolution.com

While the picture doesn't show this, it's important to remember that the ideal 53.3K throughput is only possible for data moving down stream (ie from ISP to your computer). Data moving upstream or between two 56K modems is still limited to maximum of 33.3K.

Since we're on the subject, I'll share my thoughts on the supposed connection problem of iMac's modem with some ISPs. There are two possible cause for this.
1) [The ISP doesn't support any of the 56K protocols at all or just X2]
Under this situation the iMac is suppose to default back to the 33.3K protocol but apparently the supplied script doesn't do this elegantly with some ISPs. New modem scripts have been released that solve this problem. To get a reliable 56K (53.3K) connection one should still try to switch to an ISP that supports either K56 flex and/or the newer V.90 standard. It's not Apple's fault if the ISP are slow to support the new standards.
2) [ISP side supports V.90 but their software is buggy and require revision]
I think this is very common. I've encountered this problem...and I don't even use an iMac. When I updated my Global Village modem from X2 to V.90, I started having serious reliability problem connection with my ISP which supposedly supports both V.90 and X2. Apparently the version of software they use for supporting V.90 still required some tweaking. I even went out and bought a US Robotics V.90/flex modem and it was equally unreliable when connecting under V.90. I would get dropped within 5 minutes. The only way around this problem until the ISP fix their software it is to fall back to either flex or X2. My ISP has since updated their software and V.90 connections is now usable. Apple is not a fault here at all. Its modem supports the latest V.90 and Flex. It's those ISP that haven't fixed their buggy V.90 software that is at fault here.

Eric

Eric
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