Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff
Avoid Vista at all costs. I'm told that MS will discontinue XP next month, or at least by August, so demand that and get that computer now. Specifically XP PRO with SP3. I have that and T6 runs just fine as a shortcut in XP (no DOS partition, although a directory to hold T6 is needed) and any decent new computer should have a modem that uses a com port that DOS recognizes. T6 is using COM 3 on this IBM notebook. DSL is just a fancy phone line; it is not cable or satellite, so a modem should work. Ask the phone company. In any event, and at all costs, avoid Vista.
- Jeff
ps - I just looked at XP's desktop and I have shortcuts to 6 DOS pgms, including WP's Calendar pgm from 1988. Everything works, of course. I've never had a DOS partition, just individual directories for each DOS pgm.
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"any decent new computer should have a modem that uses a com port that DOS recognizes."
I think that most home Windows computers with built-in telephone/fax modems sold at retail these days do NOT have a real MS-DOS compatible physical COM port. If modem support for MS-DOS is provided, it must be provided by a special MS-DOS compatible Windows drivers software based VIRTUAL modem driver. If the set of software drivers for the Windows modem (WinModem) does not include the required extra MS-DOS (TAPCIS) compatible VIRTUAL COM port driver, then one must purchase additional software and/or hardware separately.
The computer on which I am posting this now runs Win XP SP3 with absolutely no (serial) COM port or built-in modem whatsoever. The built-in Ethernet interface on the main board connects to an external DSL router/DSL modem via a regular Ethernet cable. Sometimes I need to fax things and I use my old computer for that. If my old computer breaks, I may have to buy a telephone/fax card for this computer (at about $10 or $20, I think) to do faxing.
I have a printer / scanner combo, but I've never tried a printer / scanner / fax combo. I think that in most cases combo equipment of these types would connect by USB to the PC.
"DSL is just a fancy phone line; it is not cable or satellite"
Normally your computer would connect to DSL (or Cable) by a DSL (or Cable) modem (external to the computer and supplied by the broadband DSL ISP). The computer connects to the DSL modem either by an Ethernet (board/card/motherboard chipset) cable or by a USB cable. Even though old fashioned telephone/fax modems use the same telephone line as the DSL modem does, the actual protocol of the physical electrical signal on the phone line is totally different therefore totally different incompatible physical modems are used.
Old fashioned telephone modems are nearly or completely useless for many users today unless they want to use their computer as 1. a fax machine, 2. telephone answering machine, 3. dial into some obsolete system that does not have Internet or TCP/IP access.
David H.