> Elsewhere in the world, phones were modular. Handsets connected to their bases via small RJ-9 jacks, allowing devices like the VICModem to intercept the line between the handset and the base. Easy. But not in Canada.
I would beg to differ. Maybe in some places in the world, but definitely not "everywhere else but in Canada". That's why the acoustic coupler (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_coupler) was invented: a device where you placed your phone's handset, so you could connect your computer to it without having to physically tamper with the phone company's sacred device.
Wait: wasn't it created because earlier telephones (before RJ socketed replaceable handsets) were by definition wacko analog things with rotary dial and no standardization of plugs, and therefore the only designed way to couple was mechanically?
Touched a nerve: I had a 300baud acoustic coupled modem in mint condition original box which I bought from a garage sale in ~1995 and my flipping mother threw it out before Y2K. Man I was livid. Imagine what it'd be worth now.
Couplers were necessitated because you weren't permitted to alter the wiring as it was all owned by the phone company. Prior to RJ you had screw terminals that could have been used for a modem if allowed.
Around the same time, I purchased a Novation D-CAT which worked the same way as the one described (plugging in between the phone base and the handset). It was my first modem, and I primarily used it with my Lear Siegler ADM1A terminal (an upper case only terminal made entirely from discrete logic, and no internal CPU).
The late 70's and early 80's was an era of rapid evolution in modem technology. Within a year or two I had purchased a Hayes Smartmodem 1200, and had that connected to one of my CP/M computers.
I purchased several other modems over the years from US Robotics and Hayes. I think I purchased my last one in 1996, which was the year I got ISDN (2BRI).
Commodore made all kinds of wacky stuff back in the day before they concentrated entirely on computers and peripherals. I have a Commodore AM radio and a couple of Commodore wristwatches, chickenhead logos and all, not to mention the calculators and typewriters which were their original bread and butter.
1. If Commodore could simply design and sell a piece of hardware that connects to the phone line, why couldn't the modem connect directly to the phone line?
2. Wouldn't the adapter be illegal under the same regulation? The phone remains physically connected to the network (there is a cable running to it), yet when the switch is flipped that phone is no longer functional!
3. Why did Commodore even need to ship a phone, rather than just the adapter?
Squinting a bit I can see that perhaps there was some contracts behind these scenes between these two companies that let Commodore bend the rules as long as they were paying the bribe of buying a new phone, but it isn't explained at all.
They announced it, they haven't released anything yet. There is not a single real photograph of an actual device on the site. There's a wait list where you can sign up for eventual pre-orders, with an offer that they'll ask you for slightly less money.
Also, it's not Commodore but someone playing "Weekend at Bernie's" with what's left of the brand. The real Commodore went through bankruptcy and liquidation in 1994.
We had similar idiotic regulations in Holland. Most people rented their phone though they did have a plug (albeit a special one we called the pigs nose).
But in the 80s nobody gave a crap anymore and we just connected whatever we wanted. Aftermarket and technically illegal phones were sold everywhere.
> Elsewhere in the world, phones were modular. Handsets connected to their bases via small RJ-9 jacks, allowing devices like the VICModem to intercept the line between the handset and the base. Easy. But not in Canada.
I would beg to differ. Maybe in some places in the world, but definitely not "everywhere else but in Canada". That's why the acoustic coupler (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_coupler) was invented: a device where you placed your phone's handset, so you could connect your computer to it without having to physically tamper with the phone company's sacred device.
Even the acoustic coupler seems to have had compatiblity issues, see timestamp 1:10 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqJ159pngY8 ("1986: Email - the Perfect Tech for the Jet Set? | Micro Live | BBC Archive")
Wait: wasn't it created because earlier telephones (before RJ socketed replaceable handsets) were by definition wacko analog things with rotary dial and no standardization of plugs, and therefore the only designed way to couple was mechanically?
Touched a nerve: I had a 300baud acoustic coupled modem in mint condition original box which I bought from a garage sale in ~1995 and my flipping mother threw it out before Y2K. Man I was livid. Imagine what it'd be worth now.
What's seems (increasingly less) crazy these days is the Bell system even sued over the mechanical coupling of a little plastic cup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush-A-Phone_Corp._v._United_S...
Couplers were necessitated because you weren't permitted to alter the wiring as it was all owned by the phone company. Prior to RJ you had screw terminals that could have been used for a modem if allowed.
Much less than the 2 shares of apple stock you could have bought :)
I’d be upset too.
Telco regulations were also why modems used an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_coupler instead of being directly connected.
As an aside, the em-dash density of this article is one of the highest I've ever seen.
My first year English teacher would be impressed. The lack of em dash characters in a paper would get you a failing grade back in 1995.
I love the em dash–and I didn't even notice them in this article.
It's not just the em-dash—it's the style of writing. The short paragraphs. The Consistent Titled Sections. Classic LLMese at its finest.
LLMs being based on probabilities and these are based on averages, hence whatever the LLM produces must be an average of what its been trained on.
So doesn't the LLM just regurgitating the average writing style of the internet and isn't the author just an average writer and hence the em-dashes.
The average is not necessarily a highly populated bin. It may in fact be empty (bimodal distributions can have this).
And the clanker doesn't even explain what changes for compatibility changes that Commodore and Bell agreed to and Bell didn't deliver...
Such a horrible piece of writing.
There's only two in the whole article, what are you smoking?
"This article" is the HN post, not the wiki article. Confusing pronoun reference.
What? A quick scan and I counted 10. There are two in the opening paragraph.
Around the same time, I purchased a Novation D-CAT which worked the same way as the one described (plugging in between the phone base and the handset). It was my first modem, and I primarily used it with my Lear Siegler ADM1A terminal (an upper case only terminal made entirely from discrete logic, and no internal CPU).
The late 70's and early 80's was an era of rapid evolution in modem technology. Within a year or two I had purchased a Hayes Smartmodem 1200, and had that connected to one of my CP/M computers.
I purchased several other modems over the years from US Robotics and Hayes. I think I purchased my last one in 1996, which was the year I got ISDN (2BRI).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novation_CAT
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lear_Siegler
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayes_Microcomputer_Products
Commodore made all kinds of wacky stuff back in the day before they concentrated entirely on computers and peripherals. I have a Commodore AM radio and a couple of Commodore wristwatches, chickenhead logos and all, not to mention the calculators and typewriters which were their original bread and butter.
1. If Commodore could simply design and sell a piece of hardware that connects to the phone line, why couldn't the modem connect directly to the phone line?
2. Wouldn't the adapter be illegal under the same regulation? The phone remains physically connected to the network (there is a cable running to it), yet when the switch is flipped that phone is no longer functional!
3. Why did Commodore even need to ship a phone, rather than just the adapter?
Squinting a bit I can see that perhaps there was some contracts behind these scenes between these two companies that let Commodore bend the rules as long as they were paying the bribe of buying a new phone, but it isn't explained at all.
That was a brilliant move by the telecom company to sell a huge batch of useless extra phones to poor suckers Commodore.
They are useless because they're identical to the customer's own phone except for the fact they say Commodore.
33 years later, Commodore releases a modern phone: The Commodore Callback Flip-Phone https://commodore.net/callback/
They announced it, they haven't released anything yet. There is not a single real photograph of an actual device on the site. There's a wait list where you can sign up for eventual pre-orders, with an offer that they'll ask you for slightly less money.
Also, it's not Commodore but someone playing "Weekend at Bernie's" with what's left of the brand. The real Commodore went through bankruptcy and liquidation in 1994.
We had similar idiotic regulations in Holland. Most people rented their phone though they did have a plug (albeit a special one we called the pigs nose).
But in the 80s nobody gave a crap anymore and we just connected whatever we wanted. Aftermarket and technically illegal phones were sold everywhere.
Now, that’s a Commodore phone I can get behind.
This website is so nerdy and so cool!
Only vaguely-related, but looking at the bilingual text on the Vicmodem box, what happened when Commodore sold their Pet computer in Quebec?
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