Stan Sieler wrote:
> A very strong negative recommendation:
>
>    Don't buy or use USRobotics Sportster modems!
>
> We've had an average of about 2 failures (and replacements) per modem,
> and frequently must power cycle them to "clear them up".
>
> True, they are cheap ... but ask yourself why USR Sportsters are so
> much cheaper than USR Couriers (which are well rated) ... I think it's
> because quality often costs more.
 
Ahem--those modems listed below are all USR's.  Actually, I have a total
of 24 going (3 on other hosts).  Two failures over the last year, as I
recall.  Not bad for a peripheral that's connected nasty things like phone
lines.  We find it's helpful to mount them so they get decent air
circulation.  They did get cranky when I taped a stack of 6 all together
one time.  Come to think of it, that's where one of those failures came
from.
 
I have heard much more about failures on 28.8 USR's than 14.4's.  Also a
higher failure rate on their 2400 bps modems.  We've been happy with the
14.4 modems from USR.  Cheap, reliable, and an excellent way to provide
reasonable service without giving away too much of our net bandwidth to
each person.  Be nice to wire the dorms with Ethernet, but this is a _lot_
cheaper for the moment.  And every other student seems to have a computer
with a (probably 2400 bps) modem in it already.  Thanks to NetScape, they
are rapidly migrating to 14.4 service.
 
Since the majority of our modem use is inside our PBX, the cost of a
modem is a large part of the cost of a port.  If you're paying $35-$50
per month for a dial tone from the local phone company, however, I agree
with Stan: go for the fastest modem you can find, and buy the best.
Anything else makes no sense.  Especially if you're getting revenue
through that modem.
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