Small town, red state, 56k dialup: which modem can I buy at Best

[morningglory]

Buy that will be compatible with Mandrake 10.1? Then i will work on figuring out how to make it work. On edit: will a Creative Labs Blaster work?

[salvorhardin]

1. The best option is to get a modem

that is fully hardware based. Most modems sold these days rely upon software in the computer to do the DSP (digital signal processing) work that converts the squeaks and squawks of the signal coming over the phone line into 100% Genuine Binary Goodness that your computer can actually use, and then reverses the process to squirt bits at the other computer. Generally, modem manufacturers don't like to write software drivers for Linux (because we're godless commies don'ya'know).

Even though the F/OSS movement has made a lot of progress on this ground in the past decade, your best bet is still a external hardware modem. It will cost slightly more (maybe $30 instead of $10) but you will be all around.

These are the three modems I usually recommend to people. One $30, one $40, the other $70.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16825138108
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16825104140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16825104135

Here are similar choices at BestBuy, one $50 the other $60.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6422604&type=product&id=1077626890126
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=4327785&type=product&id=1051384345922

BUT! Why BestBuy? Have you considered a local or near-by Mom'N'Pop computer store? Usually they have solid prices that are the same or not much higher than the big block stores and you're dealing with someone who actually knows what they're talking about. There may even be a local Linux users' group they could hook you up with.

[morningglory]

2. My local computer store guy is open 8-5 Mon-Fri.

Thanks so much for the info. I will give it a shot at Best Buy and then lunch hour at the guru place. Many thanks.

[salvorhardin]

3. You're welcome

Good luck with the modem hunt.

As I mentioned above, you may want to see if there's a Linux users' group in your vicinity. It never hurts to make contact with the indigenous population (as long as you've had all your shots first). :-)

Here's a place to start:
http://lugww.counter.li.org/groups.cms?&cc=US

[longship]

4. When in doubt, an external MODEM is almost sure to work

Myself, I like USRobotics, but I've not used a MODEM in so long, that the last Modem I bought was 33KBaud.