> So far, it seems that everyone has suggested avoiding internal modems > and getting an external one. Why ?? If someone is capable of building > their own PC, I'd hope they're also capable of reading the requirements > of a modem they purchase. I've used two or three different *internal* > modems with Linux with no problems. There are plenty out there that will > work just fine.
Speaking from personal experience, I find having a set of modem lights a godsend when trying to troubleshoot modem problems. There *are* programs which can emulate them for internal modems, but it's much easier to just HAVE the lights right there on the modem. External modems have the best chance of NOT being a winmodem (I haven't seen an external winmodem - do any exist?) - so a new buyer might be less likely to come home with a winmodem than if they went to CompUSA/BestBuy/wherever looking for an internal modem (I've noticed employees at these places are typically VERY clueless, and even had it suggested to me that a winmodem was "better" than a hardware modem because "it's made for Windows" (this after I'd already asked the guy about linux compatibility, just to see what his response would be ;P ). I used to do phone support for a dial-up ISP, so I can tell you with certainty that the problems people had with external modems were MUCH easier to troubleshoot than internal ones. (If only for the fact that we could ask "What kind of modem is it?" and get a MEANINGFUL response, rather than "It's in my computer", and the afore-mentioned diagnostic lights =) ) Internal modems can work well - especially if you know what you're doing. They can also be a pain in the arse, like most anything, if they don't work right. BUT I will grant you that an internal modem would generally be cheaper than a comparable external modem. I, too, have a couple old USR internal modems (pre-winmodem days) that can still work quite well. That doesn't mean that were I to buy a modem today that I would buy an internal... With broadband connections becoming more popular, however, I see the modem thing becoming less and less of an issue. Just my 2 cents =) -b3
