When buying a modem for a Macintosh or PC, the choice is quite mind-boggling. It is unreasonable to expect a first-time buyer to understand the jargon - terms such as V.34, VFC, V.42bis compression and MNP5 or 10 error correction - because he or she is more interested in the basics of shunting words and images along a humming telephone line as fast as possible without losing the connection.
V.34 is the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) standard for transmitting data at the rate of 28,800 bits per second.
V.42bis is a standard for file compression whereby - if the quality of the phone line allows - the data is compressed into a form that enables even more of it to shoot through the phone line.
A throughput speed of 115,200 bits per second is often quoted.
Most manufacturers support V.34 and V.42bis as well as error-correction standards such as MNP 5.
Macintosh users have for years sworn by Supra brand modems. Every serious Macintosh user I know has one, or possibly two. Not surprisingly, a telling indicator of a modem's performance is its sales performance. Despite the absence of official figures, it is safe to assume in Hong Kong that USRobotics and Hayes are the market leaders.
I recently took possession of a Supra 288PNP modem for a PC. It came in a flash red box, had all the installation information, plenty of third-party software and - on an Ascentia notebook with Windows 95 - it worked on the first attempt.
