First of all I would like to start with an introduction I chose this topicbecause I thought it would be interesting to learn about how a modem works in acomputer. With modem we are able to access the Internet BBS’ or Bulletin BoardSystems. The MODEM is one of the smartest computer hardware tools ever created.
modem isan abbreviation of Modulator De Modulator it is fairly simple to explain;through the telephone lines we are able to send messages between one singlecomputer or a group of computers. The Originating computer sends a coded messageto the Host computer which decodes it and there we have the power to access theInternet, talk to other people through terminal programs and retrieve files fromother computers. The first patented computer modem was made by Hayes in theearly eighties and from there they rapidly developed the first modem speed was300 baud and from there a 600 baud than 1200 and so on. The fastest modem madetoday is a 56k which is very fast. Not as fast as ISDN (The Wave offered throughRogers cable) or even as advanced as Satellite modem. Most people now have 14.
4or 28. 8 baud modems (Baud is “Slang” for Baud Rate Per Second) the reason forthe increase in 14. 4 and 28. 8’s is that they are cheap and fairly recent andhaven’t gone out of date yet. There are two types of modem external andexternal modems internal plugs into a 16 bit port inside your computer andexternal connects through either a serial (mouse)port or a parallel(printer)port most people like the external modems because they don’t take up anextra space in your computer (according to PC Computing) prices in modems rangeprice from $100 (28.
8bps) to $500(software upgradable 56k). Facsimile machinesalso have a form of modem in them, usually a 2400baud modem to decode themessage. So imagine a world without the modem for a second; NO fax NO InternetNO direct computer communications whatsoever. The three major modem manufactures are Hayes (original modem) US Robotics andMicrosoft. In conclusion life today it would be very hard to live without modems somebusinesses would cease to exist due to ill communications between offices andwithout modems we wouldn’t have videoconfrencing e-mail and other tools we havecome to rely on in the past 15 years not to mention the phone companies loss nothaving to put in all of those extra phone lines because normal “voice” lines aretied up due to modem use.
I believe that the modem is a very important andinteresting tool of communication and the Internet is wonderful for knowledgedue to the fact that is where I got almost all of my information today. Thank–You for reading my independent study and I hope you learned something from it. Category: Technology
