Newsgroups: rec.games.programmer,rec.games.design,comp.ai.games,comp.graphics.animation,comp.graphics.misc,comp.graphics.packages.3dstudio,comp.os.msdos.programmer,alt.sb.programmer
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!newsfeed.pitt.edu!news.duq.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!news.mathworks.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!NEWS!not-for-mail
From: Support <support@usr.com>
Subject: USROBOTICS RECALLS DEFECTIVE SPORSTER SERIES
Message-ID: <325BD468.4898@usr.com>
Date: Wed, 09 Oct 1996 11:35:52 -0500
Reply-To: support@usr.com
Organization: Personal Communication Division
X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.0Gold (Win95; I)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii; name="1410p045.html"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline; filename="1410p045.html"
Content-Base: "file:///C|/TEMP/1410p045.html"
Lines: 97
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.ai.games:6540 comp.graphics.animation:40475 comp.graphics.misc:15761 comp.graphics.packages.3dstudio:24154 comp.os.msdos.programmer:79810

<BASE HREF="file:///C|/TEMP/1410p045.html">

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
   <TITLE>Departments: Bug and Fixes (10/96)</TITLE>
   <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Mozilla/3.0Gold (Win95; I) [Netscape]">
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" LINK="#0030A8" VLINK="#006A15">

<TABLE BORDER=1 CELLSPACING=8 CELLPADDING=5 >
<TR>
<TD WIDTH=527 ALIGN=RIGHT>
<TABLE CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH="90%" >
<TR>
<TD ALIGN=LEFT><I>Scott Spanbauer</I> 
<DL>
<P><IMG SRC="/graphics/bugfix.gif" ALT="Bugs and Fixes" HEIGHT=50 WIDTH=60 ALIGN=LEFT>
</P>

<H3>Recall: U.S. Robotics Sportster</H3>

<P><B>BUG</B> You hook up your brand-new U.S. Robotics V.34 Sportster Data/Fax
or V.34 Sportster Voice modem, log in to your favorite BBS, and start typing,
only to find that the connection freezes for as long as a minute. File
transfers, Web browsing, and automated log-ins aren't affected. The problem
surfaces in &quot;terminal mode,&quot; which involves typing into a non-WYSIWYG
screen. Common activities in this mode include manual log-in (to CompuServe,
for instance, for people who don't use WinCIM), BBS navigation, participation
in online service chat rooms, and any operation that uses the Windows HyperTerminal.
According to U.S. Robotics, the culprit is an intermittent timing problem
in Sportster and Sportster Voice modems made after April 1996. The affected
fax-modems have a supervisor date (the date of the firmware stored on the
modem's ROM chip) of March 4, 1996; for voice modems, the affected supervisor
dates are February 13, 1996, and March 20, 1996. To determine your modem's
supervisor date, open a terminal-mode communications program such as the
Quicklink II program that came with the modem, type +++ to enter command
mode, then ati7. The modem should display a screenful of configuration
information, including the ROM supervisor date. </P>

<P><B>FIX</B> As we went to press, U.S. Robotics was just starting an exchange
program. Because the troublesome ROM chips are soldered onto the modem
circuit boards, users can't upgrade the ROM chips themselves. To exchange
a modem with the freezing problem, call <A HREF="/vendors/vendor_db.html#usrobotics">US
Robotics</A> customer support at 847/982-5151. </P>

<P><B>HOWEVER...</B> Despite U.S. Robotics' official statement that only
modems manufactured after April 1996 suffer from terminal-mode freezing,
the problem may be more widespread: Numerous participants in the newsgroup
comp.dcom.modems report that freezing occurs in some modems with earlier
supervisor dates, and that they have received replacements from U.S. Robotics.
One particularly dedicated champion of the beleaguered Sportster owner,
Kenneth Chen, has set up a Web page documenting his and other users' tribulations
<BR>
(<A HREF="http://www.carabelli.com/dentist/lore/usrincident.html">http://www.carabelli.com/dentist/lore/usrincident.html</A>).
</P>
</DL>

<P>
<HR></P>

<H3>Related Links</H3>

<DL>
<DD><A HREF="/software/utility/articles/sep96/1409p047.html">Bugs and Fixes
(9/96)<BR>
</A><A HREF="/workstyles/win95/articles/aug96/1408p052.html">Bug Watch
(8/96)<BR>
</A><A HREF="/software/utility/articles/jul96/1407p056.html">Bug Watch
(7/96)</A><BR>
</DD>
</DL>

<P><!SWEEP_footer></P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>

<TABLE CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 >
<TR>
<TD ALIGN=MIDDLE><A HREF="/graphics/buttonbar.map"><IMG ISMAP SRC="/graphics/buttonbar.gif" ALT="Toolbar" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=18 WIDTH=525></A><BR>
<TT><A HREF="/resources/copyright/index.html">Copyright</A> &copy; 1996
PC World Communications. All Rights Reserved. Use of this service is subject
to the PC World Online<BR>
<A HREF="/resources/copyright/tos.html">Terms of Service Agreement.</A>
</TT></TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>

<P><!SWEEP_footer></P>

</BODY>
</HTML>


