Ira,

I have always used internal modems.  Why?  Less clutter.  However, some of
my tech friends swear by externals, and will use nothing else.  One reason
is they like the touchy-feely thing about being able to see the blinking
lights to prove it's working.  Hmmm...  The other is because an external is
inherently faster.  Their contention is that the modem does not rely on the
PC bus or processor, which provides a better throughput.  I have a tendancy
to side with them on this issue, but I would argue that it depends on the
quality of the modem as well.  3Com is about as good as you will get, IMHO.

Both the modems in my system allow me to use my computer like a speaker
phone.  I have the mic hooked up to my modem and a patch cable goes from the
modem to my soundcards line-in to process the sound.  It works great unless
you get the mic too close to the speakers.  Then you get that wonderful
screech called feedback.

As far as taking up a serial port goes, you would only have problems if you
already have devices hooked up to the serial ports.  You should have two,
and if one is used you would need to use the other.  I don't have a whole
lot of experience with externals, but if I remember right you need a db25
connector.  If your second serial port is db9, you will need to get an
adapter.  I will leave it up to others on the list to double check me on
this point.

Hope this helps!

Kyle Elmblade
[log in to unmask]

From: "Ira Wallin" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 8:00 AM
Subject: [PCBUILD] external vs. internal modems


> What are the pros and cons of external vs. internal modems?  If an
external plugs into the serial port, does that mean some other device can't
be used?
> I want a speakerphone to speak to people I call at their house (and I
don't like headsets).  There sia 3com external faxmodem pro that comes witha
highly-rated speakerphone.  If I had an internal, how can I do the same
thing?
>
> Thanks,
> Ira Wallin

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