On Wed, 24 Feb 1999, Alan Cox wrote:
> > Great, so then we can expect all the marketing hype and so forth. Oh
> > look at how much BETTER your modem performs now that you've got it
> > plugged into USB. I just won't mention the fact that your carrier speed
> > is EXACTLY the same as it always was.
> USB is 12Mbits. You can realistically hang not just your old 33.6 modem
> onto it but also things like cablemodems and dual channel isdn. You
Or a CSU/DSU, provided somebody decides to make such a beast.
> have much more buffering so you won't lose bits under load. You will be
> able to add the modem without rebooting unlike current internal modems.
> The OS can tell its there and finally as USB settles down their will be
> a common open API..
Yes, the big benefit of USB is exactly the one they don't talk about: we
have a chance to leave behind the think-small design of the traditional
2S+1P port set that has lagged far behind modern communication device
speeds. There are things I would have done differently in USB, and I
don't see myself buying USB keyboards or mice until there's no choice, but
the medium is a good match for the comm.s devices we have now and will
have soon. Internal adaptors have their problems too, and the ones that
mere mortals can afford still rely on the same model that vendors won't
push past 115kb/s (which is less than 2x a 64kb/s B channel, while the
vendors are claiming 4x compression or better).
I'm definitely *not* saying that RS232 serial ports ought to be scrapped,
since I'm sitting here writing this at a VT320 plugged into /dev/ttyS1 !
I love my dumb terminals. But while modems etc. may not have outrun what
we *can* do with those ports, they certainly have outrun motherboard
vendors' ability to *imagine* what we can do.
--
Mark H. Wood, radical centrist [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Charlie, put down that Glitter Glue -- it's time to show the audience
some content!
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