Apple Ditches 56k Modem!

[garzy]

dont you think they should? they were the first to ditch floppies, they alreadly stopped making crts, it seems like the next step.

[Pablo]

Absolutely not.

I'm on the verge of switching (as soon as an updated 15" PowerBook comes out, or I can convince myself that the 17" just really isn't that much more money...and I can have it relatively soon :D).

I don't travel a whole lot, but when I do, I need a modem in my laptop to connect to the internet at friend's houses, hotel rooms, or with my cell phone as a wireless modem.

If Apple removed this anytime in the near future (before public wireless that covers the entire US), I'd be hard pressed to ever leave Wintel.

[garzy]

welcome to the 21st century, dialing up is inconvient. are you still using floppies?

[vniow]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
welcome to the 21st century, dialing up is inconvient. are you still using floppies?

Welcome to the real world where not eveyone has access or can afford high speed internet.http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=251202

[garzy]

the solution to that problem is an external modem. people who just have to use floppies can get external drives too

[rice_web]

Yeah, but most hotels do not currently offer internet access. Who the hell wants to take an external modem? And for what reason? Modems are SMALL, and make little difference in the size of a machine.

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by vniow


Welcome to the real world where not eveyone has access or can afford high speed internet.http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=251202


Yeah please be realistic.
Apple computers cost money, and now you want to stop people who can't get high speed internet to 'go ******* yourself' no.

I don't think so.

[Pablo]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
welcome to the 21st century, dialing up is inconvient. are you still using floppies?

If the government ever establishes nationwide WiFi access with 100% nationwide coverage, I'll drop my modem. Until then, I need a modem.

I've got broadband at home, but what happens when it goes out and I need to send an e-mail, pay bills (Quicken), or get information? Plug in the phone line and use my backup access.

Many hotels/motels I visit don't have broadband access available. Those that do force you to pay ~$10/day to use it.

You may not have use for a modem. Others do. Like vniow said...welcome to the real world.

It's not ideal, but it's the best solution some have at the moment.

[Independence]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
welcome to the 21st century, dialing up is inconvient. are you still using floppies?
1. i still use floppies.
2. dial up may not be fast but it's an excellent backup when the cable modem goes offline.

[arn]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
welcome to the 21st century, dialing up is inconvient. are you still using floppies?

for travel, there's no good option aside from dialup

arn

[MorganX]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
dont you think they should? they were the first to ditch floppies, they alreadly stopped making crts, it seems like the next step.

They should ditch modems in the iMacs to reduce initial purchase price. Users still on dial-up can purchase a USB modem.

[syco]

I forget the statistic - isn't it like 21% of all Americans own broadband? Your proposed plan would leave out 4/5ths of Americans. Thats a big statistic.

[dricci]

Modems will be a standard piece of hardware on every machine I'd say until 80% of American homes have access to broadband access. I doubt this will be happen for at least 10 years.

Broadband is great, but not everybody can get it or afford it, and external modems are a PITA. Plus the actual modem card is very tiny these days, and not too expensive. It really doesn't hurt anything to keep including them.

[funkywhat2]

Originally posted by Pablo


If the government ever establishes nationwide WiFi access with 100% nationwide coverage, I'll drop my modem. Until then, I need a modem.

Are you sure you want that?

[Pablo]

Originally posted by funkywhat2


Are you sure you want that?

True...I wasn't as much advocating a government implementation, but rather expressing my reservations about a 'roaming' broadband.

I use Earthlink (on top of Time Warner's Road Runner) for cable access. They're a pretty big company, with good saturation. But at the same time, if I'm out in the middle of the West Texas (or Wyoming, Arizona, wherever), I won't be able to get WiFi access, and I doubt that Earthlink would cover areas like the middle of West Texas just so that the random person will have access.

Like cell phone companies, any possible 'nationwide' WiFi carriers would provide access where it's financially attractive for them (high-density areas), and would surely have huge and numerous gaps in coverage.

The only way I see that happening (aside from Satellite service) would be with government backing...either with their own implementation or with requirements. Similar to what happened with GPS...originally a government project that has been opened up to let us common folk enjoy the benefits.

But to your point, no, I really wouldn't like to see the government doing that.

[big]

out of town now, and what do I do? I dial up and check MacRumors... I'm so addicted. In any instance, I'm in a little town and currently the quickest I've ever had here was 28K....but there's nothing else.

If this iBook didn't have a modem, I'd be highly pissed. I would not have had even bought the thing frankly.

[drastik]

not a chance, the new airport extremes have a modem port that you can actually dial in to access your home network. That's enough to get me to buy one.

[rice_web]

Originally posted by MorganX


They should ditch modems in the iMacs to reduce initial purchase price. Users still on dial-up can purchase a USB modem.

Cut the cost? Have you seen the price of modems? I can get them for five bucks most of the time--without rebates.

[Les Kern]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
welcome to the 21st century, dialing up is inconvient. are you still using floppies?
I'm on a dialup and have no problems besides the wait compared to work. 5 years maybe they can get rid of the modem, but most folks don't even have access to a broadband, DSL or wireless.

[Sun Baked]

The new Powerbook 12, TiBook 15, DDR Power Mac, and old LCD iMac are listed as having internal USB modems (architectual diagrams folks).

The internal bluetooth module is a USB version also...

But until modems are as useful as floppies, expect them to still be around -- except on the educational systems, where the machine is more attractive without a modem.

[Vlade]

If you don't want the modem you can get rid of it at apples store with a custom PM. I wish I had broadband where I live, but my towns population is less then 1000.

Does anyone know what the average ping is for FPS like quake on a satilight connection? I have herd there bad for games.

[hesdeadjim]

Originally posted by Pablo
Absolutely not.

I'm on the verge of switching (as soon as an updated 15" PowerBook comes out, or I can convince myself that the 17" just really isn't that much more money...and I can have it relatively soon :D).

I don't travel a whole lot, but when I do, I need a modem in my laptop to connect to the internet at friend's houses, hotel rooms, or with my cell phone as a wireless modem.

If Apple removed this anytime in the near future (before public wireless that covers the entire US), I'd be hard pressed to ever leave Wintel.

They only got rid of it on the new pro towers. Besides, I still think it is an BTO option on those. Most people who buy pro towers are near an etherenet connection. Every other computer still needs a modem.

EDIT: I stand corrected. It is only on the eMac's for education can you get one without a modem. The Power Mac's still have a modem installed, but it can be removed as BTO option.

[MorganX]

Originally posted by rice_web


Cut the cost? Have you seen the price of modems? I can get them for five bucks most of the time--without rebates.

Not including them would still reduce the manufacturing cost of the iMac m/b. Would also make room for something more useful.

[Das]

Originally posted by MorganX


Not including them would still reduce the manufacturing cost of the iMac m/b. Would also make room for something more useful.

5 bucks for a modem vs. thousands of people not buying it because it doesn't have one. Sheesh, imagine the Gateway ads to follow. Apple would have to be run by idiots to cut the dial up.

Maybe they can drop keyboards while they are at it, forcing people to only use tablets. I mean, how old are keyboards anyways? No one uses them anymore and we have Ink. Get with the times!

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I have Roadrunner and have had it for 5 years. I have yet to use the modem on my iBook, but I'm glad it's there just in case. It would be slow, but it would be helpful if I travel anywhere - and it would allow me to fax directly off my machine. It's so small anyways that subtracting it wouldn't cut any size at all - and it would make people who need one have to lug an external modem around - or stick a card that fails often in their PCMCIA slot. I understand getting rid of the floppy, but not the modem.

[losfp]

The floppy drive was dropped because there were better alternatives once CD-RW drives/discs dropped in price.

There is no real alternative for people who can't afford broadband, or simply are not able to access broadband where they live.

[zoetropeuk]

Man, if you don't want a modem just don't buy one. You already have the option on the Apple store to deselect the internal modem, simple.

[gopher]

Originally posted by rice_web
Yeah, but most hotels do not currently offer internet access. Who the hell wants to take an external modem? And for what reason? Modems are SMALL, and make little difference in the size of a machine.
Internal modems are less reliable. Also if the modem really freezes, which can happen, you have to restart the computer to reset the modem. With external modems you can at least force quit any internet application that doesn't like what happened to the connection, and cycle the power of the modem without restarting the computer. For the longest time Apple didn't have internal modems on all lines. Some eMacs when they were first released didn't have an internal modem.

[Bear]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
dont you think they should? they were the first to ditch floppies, they alreadly stopped making crts, it seems like the next step.
On the PowerMac, you can delete the modem from the configuration. You save all of $29 by doing so.

However, you forgot one thing. Even if people are using broadband for internet access, what if they want to send a fax (and not pay an internet fax service)? This is the reason I left the modem in the PowerMac I have on order.

[Bear]

Originally posted by zoetropeuk
Man, if you don't want a modem just don't buy one. You already have the option on the Apple store to deselect the internal modem, simple.
Actually this is only an option in the PowerMac.

[jayscheuerle]

Originally posted by syco
I forget the statistic - isn't it like 21% of all Americans own broadband? Your proposed plan would leave out 4/5ths of Americans. Thats a big statistic.

I had heard it was closer to 15%. It has actually dropped as people realized they didn't need it for checking email and basic surfing & saved themselves the money...

[gopher]

Broadband support has also dropped as companies providing broadband haven't always been exactly great at customer service, and people decide to leave the one year contract required by most DSL services. It is bad enough DSL services require you to buy the modem and don't take it back (where cable does take it back), but then if you cancel the service, they charge you a huge penalty for early cancellation. Some places only DSL is available, other places only cable is available, and then some places have DSL only slightly faster than dialup and they charge you more for service than those places closer to the central office. What a ripoff! The last mile is a huge problem when you have monopolistic phone and cable companies that don't want to spend money on upgrading their equipment. There are well to do suburbs of Washington DC only 3 miles outside the DC line with no broadband access.

[MorganX]

Originally posted by Das


5 bucks for a modem vs. thousands of people not buying it because it doesn't have one. Sheesh, imagine the Gateway ads to follow. Apple would have to be run by idiots to cut the dial up.

Maybe they can drop keyboards while they are at it, forcing people to only use tablets. I mean, how old are keyboards anyways? No one uses them anymore and we have Ink. Get with the times!

I have a feeling that people buying 17" iMacs aren't dialing up. $5 on every motherboard, risking upsetting the high end iMac buyers who want a 56k modem. Well worth it. Use the space for 512k L3 cache or something.

There are no Mac tablets and Inkwell is not a superior text input device compared to a keyboard.

Superdrive should also be an option on the high end machine. If you're going to say anyone buying a high-end iMac should want a DVD burner, then you can make the leap that anyone buying a high-end iMac should not be forced to buy a modem.

[MorganX]

Originally posted by jayscheuerle


I had heard it was closer to 15%. It has actually dropped as people realized they didn't need it for checking email and basic surfing & saved themselves the money...

It's not quite so bleak:

U.S. Broadband Households, 2001-2007
Year Penetration Households (millions)
2001 17% 10.4
2002 23% 15.7
2003 30% 21.4
2004 35% 26.7
2005 39% 32.0
2006 43% 36.8
2007 56% 40.7
Source: Jupiter Research

And the majority of corporate and educational entities are using high-speed access.

[gopher]

Originally posted by MorganX


It's not quite so bleak:

U.S. Broadband Households, 2001-2007
Year Penetration Households (millions)
2001 17% 10.4
2002 23% 15.7
2003 30% 21.4
2004 35% 26.7
2005 39% 32.0
2006 43% 36.8
2007 56% 40.7
Source: Jupiter Research

And the majority of corporate and educational entities are using high-speed access.

That is wildly optimistic. It would be true if the economy was in better shape, or DSL and Cable was made as cheap as $30 a month or less (the cost of a second phone line plus the average cost of dialup). Around here, the best price you can get on significantly faster service is $50 a month. I only have broadband because I can afford and see it as a necessary luxury for keeping my system up to date.

[drastik]

My broadband has come down to 40 a month, hopefully it will stay there. They may even drop it lower (price war with BellSouth DSL.

[MorganX]

Originally posted by gopher


That is wildly optimistic. It would be true if the economy was in better shape, or DSL and Cable was made as cheap as $30 a month or less (the cost of a second phone line plus the average cost of dialup). Around here, the best price you can get on significantly faster service is $50 a month. I only have broadband because I can afford and see it as a necessary luxury for keeping my system up to date.

Cable 29.95 a month here.

[RBMaraman]

Originally posted by MorganX


Cable 29.95 a month here.

Wow. That's a great price. I wish my city had affordable broadband.

Right now, the city council won't allow DSL companies to move in, and they are only allowing the cable company to provide cable access. So, only one company can provide broadband. On top of that, the cable company charges $45/month for broadband service, and in order to qualify to get broadband, you have to get digital cable which costs $60/month.

Right now, $105/month is too much to pay for internet and the 15hrs of TV I watch per week. I'm happy paying $23/month for dialup and $15/month for my extra phone line.

[Moxiemike]

Originally posted by MorganX


I have a feeling that people buying 17" iMacs aren't dialing up. $5 on every motherboard, risking upsetting the high end iMac buyers who want a 56k modem. Well worth it. Use the space for 512k L3 cache or something.

There are no Mac tablets and Inkwell is not a superior text input device compared to a keyboard.

Superdrive should also be an option on the high end machine. If you're going to say anyone buying a high-end iMac should want a DVD burner, then you can make the leap that anyone buying a high-end iMac should not be forced to buy a modem.

That L3 cache of 512k is probably a whole helluva lot more than the modem cost... probably would add at LEAST $75-$100....

You're logic is funny... a superdrive, while not a neccessity, also ACTS as a dvd, cd-rw, cd AND dvd-r. So it's really just an add on of the dvd-r capabilties.....so who cares? you make it out like the Superdrive only burns DVDs

[MorganX]

Originally posted by Moxiemike


That L3 cache of 512k is probably a whole helluva lot more than the modem cost... probably would add at LEAST $75-$100....

You're logic is funny... a superdrive, while not a neccessity, also ACTS as a dvd, cd-rw, cd AND dvd-r. So it's really just an add on of the dvd-r capabilties.....so who cares? you make it out like the Superdrive only burns DVDs

I doubt 512k of L3 would cost apple anywhere near that much. That may be how much they would add to the base cost, and I'd gladly pay it. That was just off the top of my head, I'm sure if they wanted to put it in, they could find room already. I understand they want to manage the performance tiers. They could use the space for anything more universally useful and cutting edge in the high end machine.

The add on of DVD-R is $200-350. No insignificant for those who don't need it. Yet you cannot get a high-end iMac without it. Apple's logic appears to be anyone who is willing to buy the high-end iMac will wat DVD-R. I don't have a problem with that. And extension of that logic would be anyone buying a high-end iMac and would want DVD-R probably will not need an internal modem. And would rather pay more for higher performance, than anything for something useless.

I do want/need the DVD but I realize than many people who do not would like to be able to order the 1GHz iMac with a combo drive and save a couple hundred.

BTW, there's a 7-10 day delivery time on my iMac, on or by 3/3/03. I can't wait.

[Bear]

Originally posted by MorganX


The add on of DVD-R is $200-350. No insignificant for those who don't need it. Yet you cannot get a high-end iMac without it. Apple's logic appears to be anyone who is willing to buy the high-end iMac will wat DVD-R. I don't have a problem with that. And extension of that logic would be anyone buying a high-end iMac and would want DVD-R probably will not need an internal modem. And would rather pay more for higher performance, than anything for something useless.
Actually the list price difference going from the combo drive to the superdrive is $200 (On machines that have that option)

As for it's usefulness. I've made a couple of Video DVD's with it, but where I've used it most is making backups of data. I have 3 DVD's of photos I've taken, and that's only going to grow.

3 DVD's or 21 CD's what a difference in storage space. Not to mention less media to handle in case I need to restore stuff. And photography is only part of what I use the Mac for.

(I think the backup of my static data is up to 20 DVD's. - Try that with CD-R's... no thanks.)

[bousozoku]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
dont you think they should? they were the first to ditch floppies, they alreadly stopped making crts, it seems like the next step.

That's great, if you want to pay for DSL for me, but I can't afford it right now. When it's all nice and affordable, let Apple remove the modems.

[timbloom]

No, dialup is convienient for those who travel, have network downtime, or don't have broadband locally. I opted out of having a modem in my tower, but my ibook, no way, traveling is the only reason I still have AOL.

[tjwett]

I have to agree that although it's ancient and slow, dial-up is still awesome in an emergency or when traveling. HTML pages load fast enough on 56k. Also, if you have cable internet and the cable goes out in a storm, you lose web access too. I've never lost my phone line, even in the worst storms and my laptop and 56k modem kept me online. I say dial-up should never die, atleast until something as reliable comes along.

[gopher]

Originally posted by MorganX
Cable 29.95 a month here.

DSL here is at best $50 a month for 768 x 128.

Cable internet here is $55 minimum if you are lucky to live where the alternative cable supplier, RCN/Starpower, and are willing to wait 5 and a half hours for the service technician to show up to install. Otherwise it is $65 a month via Comcast.

$29.95, I wish!

[King Cobra]

Originally posted by MorganX
U.S. Broadband Households, 2001-2007
Year Penetration Households (millions)
2001 17% 10.4
2002 23% 15.7
2003 30% 21.4
2004 35% 26.7
2005 39% 32.0
2006 43% 36.8
2007 56% 40.7
Source: Jupiter Research

Ugh, statistics. About as reliable, trusted and looked up to as The Weather Channel. :rolleyes:

I'm on the same boat as many dial-up users. We have been barely able to afford dial-up for 10 years, and we may eventually live somewhere without anything available faster than dial-up. If Apple decided to drop internal dial modems, should our family change our moving plans and live where we can get cable?

And I haven't noticed much of a decrease in Cable/DSL prices in the past couple of years, either. Around a solid $50 or $60 for DSL and still a constant $20 all per month for dial-up.

[Vector]

Originally posted by arn
for travel, there's no good option aside from dialup

arn

What about satellite connections. High speed access anywhere on earth (that the satellites cover). I know that when i go out to the middle of the desert and cannot plug into a phone line it comes in handy. And the satellite dish isn't inconvenient at all. Why be constrained by phone cords?:)

[FelixDerKater]

Dialup internet is still useful, especially in places where broadband is not yet available or in places where lack of competition results in high prices. Also, for many people who just use the internet for email and a little web surfing, there is no need for the extra speed or cost.

[syco]

Earthlink DSL has a plan where you get broadband piped into your house and like 10 hours of dialup a month for when you go on the road.

MorganX: You are a lucky one. I ordered a new PowerMac 1.25 through MacMall, along with a 20" Cinema Display, Apple Pro Speakers, AppleCare...the whole 9 yards. I got everything today...except the actual tower. I went to order status on Macmall.com, and they have my PMac listed as "Back ordered". Considering the ADC connector is all but incompatible with my G3, I'm stuck waiting...:-(

Still a frickin nice display though!

[Chele]

Originally posted by totalr0xx0r
welcome to the 21st century, dialing up is inconvient. are you still using floppies?

Yes, dial-up may be inconvient but for some people (myself included) it is the only internet access available for them. No companies offer it in my area or surrounding towns. Right now not everyone in the world can get broadband internet access. And until everyone can, I really don't see Apple ditching the 56k modem. I know that I wouldn't be able to get on the internet without buying an external modem. Not to mention the monthly cost. Dial-up is a lot cheaper than some broadband plans.

Not everyone has access or the means to have a faster internet service.

[Nipsy]

For those of you who can get broadband:
If your time has any value, and you spend more than one hour a day online, your spending 5 hours a month waiting for things. Get broadband.

However, dropping modems is not a viable option, as there are still HUGE chunks of the country which don't have braodband infrastructure. Let's hope things get rolling soon...

[Shrek]

It is my prediction that by the year 2010 all computers will come standard with internal cable, DSL, or satellite modems. The dial-up modem will no longer be in use. ;)

[Shrek]

It is also my prediction that in the future their will a national wi-fi network sponsored by a company that contracts with the government. This network will be available across nearly 100% of the country. It will the fastest way to connect to the Internet on the planet! It will not be free, however, and will likely cost much more than any cable or DSL connection (except in places where you can't get cable or DSL); this is for competitive reasons only. ;)

[samsflagdrummer]

If they ditch the modem that would be one of the BIGGEST MISTAKES IN APPLE HISTORY! Granted, not everyone uses a modem (I havent used mine for almost a year), but not everyone whos uses apples are 1) priveliged enough to have DSL/Cable ect. 2) in one place all the time to the point where they never need to dial-up. If they get rid of that (which there not stupid enough to do) they would have a very unpleasent reputation from the traveling mac users, and all the consumers who don't have broadband (the large majority).

[Bear]

Originally posted by Shrek
It is also my prediction that in the future their will a national wi-fi network sponsored by a company that contracts with the government. This network will be available across nearly 100% of the country. It will the fastest way to connect to the Internet on the planet! It will not be free, however, and will likely cost much more than any cable or DSL connection (except in places where you can't get cable or DSL); this is for competitive reasons only. ;)
And just what country are you talking about?

In the United States, the federal government will not got involved with a project like this. Not with all the deregulation on the telecommunication industry that has already gone on. In truth I suspect this wouldn't happen in most countries.

Verizon already has a fairly large wireless internet ability. So do other cellular(mobile) phone carriers.

Also, Ricochet Networks (http://www.ricochet.com/) is in the process of setting up a wireless network that will be hitting more and more cities as they expand. They're currently in Denver and San Diego. Dallas/Ft. Worth will be next.

[jethroted]

I like this idea. I think dial up internet should be banned. It's the only way we can get rid of people logging on with "your file sharring app" and taking 4 hours to dl a 1 meg file. RIP dial-up!

[King Cobra]

Originally posted by jethroted
It's the only way we can get rid of people logging on with "your file sharring app" and taking 4 hours to dl a 1 meg file. RIP dial-up!

All right. First off, it does not take 4 hours (i.e. 240 minutes) to download 1000K of information. On 28.8Kbps modems, it takes roughly 20 minutes or less. On 56K, it takes roughly 10 minutes or less. If it really takes 4 hours, then you have some serious ISP or modem issues.

Second, I have lived with various speeds of dial-up for about 10 years now. I say modem issues in the previous paragraph, because not all third-party modems work right. One of our external modems for our first few years of dial-up access (early or mid 90s) was expensive, slow, and unreliable.

Third, another thing to consider is the amount of traffic in your area. It doesn't matter if you have dial-up, cable, dsl, or T#. The more traffic and/or the farther you are from a phone box (or whatever it's termed), the slower your connections flow. If you have to connect through dial-up in a public area within a city, expect bogs.

Fourth, if it takes that long to download something from a P2P app, try another host or client. Most often, if the host is extremely busy, you will have connection bogs. If you have something faster than dial-up, you will experience connection bogs to the host as well, but since you connect faster than those with dial-up, if I am not mistaken, you still have greater speeds than dial-up to a similar ratio as compared to when you had maximum speeds with either.

>(Shrek) It is my prediction that by the year 2010 all computers will come standard with internal cable, DSL, or satellite modems.

If that is true, then I'm quite certain there will be a few people rather upset about not having an internal dial-up for either portability, basic and affordable internet access, or being able to access the internet, period. By a few people, I mean somewhere around a few million people.

Not everyone lives in the bliss of high-speed modems and connections, and not everyone must have something faster than dial-up. Yes it is slow, but it is still effective. With a decent P2P connection, you can download a 40MB file in a few hours. And if that is "too long", I'm sure you can find something to do in the meantime until the download is finished.

When iMovie 3 came out (ignore the loading times issue, this is for an example), it was over 80MB. Even with Cable or faster, it takes a while, possibly 30 minutes or an hour, depending on your connection. On dial-up, it may take between 5 and 10 hours. I'm sure you don't sit and stare at your progress bar for 30 minutes until the download is finished.

In response to the prediction itself, I don't feel Shrek's prediction is right or wrong, I feel that IF dial-up modems and/or dial-up access are banned, there will be some very pissed people.

Even if 0.1 percent of America uses dial-up, that accounts for 300,000 people in the country, and (taking a guess) maybe 50,000 of those people would suddenly not be able to use internet access.

The only way I see the removal of dial-up a plus is if the price of cable comes down significantly and is available for the remaining percentage, as Shrek mentioned. And it is that factor, in which predictions are more important, whether they are right or wrong.