A friend sent me this note. Any comments? Its looks very creative.
Boca Research Ready To Introduce 112Kbps Modem
****Boca Research Ready To Introduce 112Kbps Modem 11/06/97 BOCA RATON,
FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1997 NOV 6 (NB) -- By Craig Menefee. Newsbytes has
learned Boca Research Inc. [NASDAQ:BOCI] will announce next week a
dual-line K56flex-based modem capable of Internet or remote intranet
connections at speeds up to 112Kbps (kilobits per second). Boca plans to
demonstrate the super-fast data/fax modem at Comdex in Las Vegas
November 17 and expects to have it in retail channels before Christmas
-- weeks ahead of the nearest competition.
The 112K modem is an internal model designed to be used in a standard
ISA (industry standard architecture) slot, with peripheral component
interconnect (PCI) models to follow. The new design will use double
phone-line bonding, as the technique is called, to achieve the claimed
near-ISDN (integrated services digital network) speeds.
At a briefing for Newsbytes, Boca's Vice President of Engineering, Larry
Light, said tests of the new modem show actual throughput speeds of
94-96 Kbps are "not unusual" under normal conditions.
Since all signal processing is handled on the modem board itself, he
said, the dual connection is transparent to the user's machine, which
simply sees two fast ports in operation. Bundled software for Windows 95
and NT platforms combines the two inputs into a single fast -- very fast
-- flow of data.
Just as important for consumers, the two-line bonding is invisible to
the ISP (Internet service provider), which only sees two active
connections.
Newsbytes notes most ISPs do not allow multiple simultaneous connections
on a single account, so most users will need a second Internet account
to take advantage of the double-speed connection. Beyond that, nothing
looks out of the ordinary at the ISP end.
The technology is based on Rockwell International's K56flex technology,
which many but not all ISPs support. Light said he isn't worried about
that: "In the worst case, a user can get 67 Kbps calling into an ISP
that doesn't support K56flex," he told Newsbytes. "They all provide at
least 33.6K nowadays."
The bundled software runs a single double-modem board, making them
appear as one to the user's program, which can be a browser, FTP (file
transfer protocol) program, or the like.
An available upgrade will combine up to two 112K modems plus a third
single K56flex modem, in effect supporting up to five modems on a
network. Up to five simultaneous users can tap into the bandwidth in
that case, said Light, although the speed will not add together without
some network losses.
The ability to tap up to 5 networked users into the same bandwidth is
"an ideal solution for schools with limited connectivity," said Jackie
Miller, Boca director of marketing.
Asked how Boca thinks its 112K technology might affect the spread of
ISDN, which is "tariff" or per-minute 112K digital connection being
pushed by many local phone companies, Miller told Newsbytes: "It should
kill ISDN."
Newsbytes asked about two recently announced dual-line modem products, a
software-based system by Multitech and a Diamond Multimedia 112K
dual-line modem announced earlier this week.
Miller pointed out the software-only approach is difficult to set up,
while the Diamond hardware approach requires ISPs to change a switch
setting. Analysts have said that may cause adoption problems if ISPs
resist the demand for extra bandwidth, even if paid. ISPs use a
calculated percentage of potential users to determine modem connection
and peak usage loads, so enough users with two modems dialing in at once
could throw load calculations out of whack.
Light said the Boca modem detects incoming calls on lines with call
waiting and will drop one line to pass the call through to the user.
Likewise, it will drop one side if the user picks up the telephone. When
a call is completed, the modem dials into the ISP and picks up the
two-sided connection again.
Miller said suggested retail price has not been decided yet, but will be
no higher than "around half of anything comparable that's out there
now." Newsbytes notes that is pretty well limited to a Transcend modem
that hooks up two machines directly at 67 Kbps and costs around $600.
(19971106/Press Contact: Marcy Palmer, Boca, 561-997-6227, E-mail
marcyp@bocaresearch.com/Reported by Newsbytes News Network:
newsbytes.com /BOCARESEARCH/PHOTO) |
