I'm sure someone pointed this out in the other thread, but 56kpbs modems essentially didn't exist in 1996. They launched at the end of the year, cost a ton, and the manufacturers hadn't standardized the speeds, so it really didn't matter much as you weren't browsing AOL, MSN or Compuserve with it yet.
33.6k.rip is a harder domain name to get though, so I get it.
> the manufacturers hadn't standardized the speeds
Yeah, but there was pretty much two options x2 (usr) and kflex (everyone else). I dunno about AOL and those guys, but for ISPs (and BBSes), they'd list the speeds with their dial-up numbers, so if you had an x2 modem you'd try their x2 number, and if you had a kflex modem, you'd try their kflex number... If you liked your ISP, when they got 56k, you would buy a modem for the tech they picked... if you were choosing a new ISP, you'd pick one that supported the tech you had.
Switching ISPs was pretty easy back then, unless you were using ISP email, but local ISPs might set you up with email forwarding as you're leaving. So switching to get a better connection speed was a real thing. You might also switch because your ISP had too many busy signals, or because even though you connected at 56k, their upstream connection was overloaded or had poor routing and you had poor speeds to the rest of the world.
I agree with all of that - I'm just saying it must have happened in 1997 as the modems came out too late in 1996 to be particularly useful right away except maybe for your local BBS. I can't remember though - 30 years is a long time - so I'm willing to accept maybe I'm incorrect. I do remember how expensive the modems were - I don't think I ever upgraded, but instead got a DSL line.
My friends first modem was 1200 baud, mine 2400 and then I got the 9600 baud one. 56 kpbs was a pipe dream. Another friend had it but it was barely ever able to connect at full speed due to the quality of the line.
russellbeattie · · focus · HN ↗
33.6k.rip is a harder domain name to get though, so I get it.
zerozerotwo · · focus · HN ↗
toast0 · · focus · HN ↗
Yeah, but there was pretty much two options x2 (usr) and kflex (everyone else). I dunno about AOL and those guys, but for ISPs (and BBSes), they'd list the speeds with their dial-up numbers, so if you had an x2 modem you'd try their x2 number, and if you had a kflex modem, you'd try their kflex number... If you liked your ISP, when they got 56k, you would buy a modem for the tech they picked... if you were choosing a new ISP, you'd pick one that supported the tech you had.
Switching ISPs was pretty easy back then, unless you were using ISP email, but local ISPs might set you up with email forwarding as you're leaving. So switching to get a better connection speed was a real thing. You might also switch because your ISP had too many busy signals, or because even though you connected at 56k, their upstream connection was overloaded or had poor routing and you had poor speeds to the rest of the world.
russellbeattie · · focus · HN ↗
christkv · · focus · HN ↗