Break-up Breakdown

Telco can't seem to let go of the Baxters, writes Nick Galvin.

Anywhere, Any Time The Contenders

Anthony Caruana takes his laptop on the road and weighs up the performances of different broadband providers.

Predictions? No Future In 'em

Why do we overestimate technology's benefits for the short term - yet underestimate it in the long run?

Upgrade

On the move

'fibre To The Home' Is A Must-have Only Government Can Effectively Provide

A public FTTH superhighway will solve a lot of competition issues, writes Nicholas Beaumont.

Road Test

The more you use the internet, the more you'll miss it when you step away from the desktop. But you don't need to leave the internet behind and you certainly don't have to hunt down wireless "hotspots" near hotels and cafes. BigPond 7.2 Mobile Rating: 4.5/5 www.bigpond.com Optus Turbo G Rating: 3.5/5 www.optus.com.au 3 Rating: 4/5 www.three.com.au Vodafone Rating: 3.5/5 www.vodafone.com.au

Pencil It In

There's something to be said for paperclips and green string, writes Jim Bright.

Illegal Phones May Soon Ring Up Fines

SELLING phones, faxes and modems that do not meet Australian technical standards could soon cost retailers and individuals a $13,200 fine.

When Technology Doesn't Add Up

I MEAN, look, how does it know? Modern technology has me bewildered. The telephone is clever, but what about the mobile phone? It doesn't even have any wires. I have rung Turkey on mine. Turkey! Hell, that's oceans away. What about those computer things like modems and e-mail? Now that is e

Modem Man's Mission With Vision

Mr Dennis Hayes, the man who brought the Internet to personal computers, is facing an unexpected challenge. Mr Hayes, who invented modems for personal computers in 1977, now finds himself barred from accessing much of the World Wide Web. As one of a growing number of people with a vision impai

Newcomer Is A Real Page-turner

THE main reason for dissatisfaction among Internet subscribers is obvious: slow downloads. And there can be no real solution while most consumers rely on modems. But in the meantime, a number of companies are marketing products that aim to ease this problem for the Internet industry. One of

How The Web Was Won (by A Bully)

The writing of Internet history has begun. Andrew Leonard shows there are already markedly different views of what has happened in its few short years. Once upon a time, back when the Web was young, when 14.4kbps modems were online-access Ferraris and spam was still just lunch meat, one fervent b

An Answer To Global Static

Xircom RealPort Modem 56 GlobalACCESS ONE of the problems mobile computing users run up against is trying to use PC card modems internationally, particularly some of the lower quality models. There are several different telecommunications standards around the world and there is no guarante

Modems Are All The Rage

Modems are now in mode. Almost one in four Australian households is now using one every week as use of the Internet is mushrooming. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday that the number of homes using a modem each week has trebled in two years. From 518,000 homes that let their P

Modems And Games Are All Yours

Connected last week invited readers to enter a competition to win Netcomm Roadster II 56 Ultra SVD modems. The winners of Adidas Power Soccer 98 are S. Martin, of East Maitland; M. Botham, of Muswellbrook and Rod Schimann, of Mayfield. Prizes can be collected from Newcastle Newspapers at 28 Bo

Cold Chisel Back With The Edge In Cyberspace

Fans have voted with their modems in the rush to hear the first new single in 15 years by re-formed Australian rock band Cold Chisel. And the critics have given the recording the thumbs up. The song, Yakuza Girls, attracted a staggering 228,596 hits in the 12 hours after its midnight Tuesday re

Sirius Goes To China

AUSTRALIA'S leading modem manufacturer, Sirius Technologies, has taken advantage of an arrangement with a leading Hong Kong electronics manufacturer VTech, to sign a distribution deal for its Banksia Wave modems in China. Sirius, the new name for the merged Banksia and NetComm companies, sub-cont

Have Modem, But Can't Travel: Aca

UNSUSPECTING people who bring modems into the country and plug them into their hotel phone lines could be risking fines of up to $12,000. While there are no known cases of imported machines actually compromising networks, the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) is investigating the use of mo

Modem War

While a new protocol for modems is due shortly, Rob Pegoraro reports that there is no need to rush to upgrade. NOTHING is more annoying in the computing industry than a whose-side-are-you-on standards war. Consider 56 kbps (thousand bits per second) modems: because the manufacturers couldn't all

Modems War Not Over Yet

AS PLANS for the imminent implementation of a unified international standard for 56kbps modems, V.PCM, proceeded last week both X2 and K56Flex camps were claiming victory. The International Telecommunications Union was given the task of ameliorating two de facto market standards when early comp