Re: FREE GAME: Spirit of the Mouse

On Mon, 7 Oct 2024 07:01:56 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
We had an acoustic coupler for awhile.  I think I could type faster than
it sent letters.

I'm not sure if I'm jealous or not.

I never had an accoustical coupler but -at the time- it seemed the
height of technology. In fact, when I finally purchased a modem for my
8-bit, the lack of a coupler was a disappointment. Surely this
non-destinct slab of off-white plastic was an inferior brand! If only
had I one that mated directly with my phone, the experience and speeds
must be better, right?

     [I was younger and had no idea of how modems worked]

    For years, I lusted after getting a modem with a proper
accoustical coupler, and was continually disappointed that the only
ones I could find were, for some reason, rated for slower speeds than
what I already had. Obviously, the fast modems with accoustical
couplers were so rare and expensive that they never were sold in
ordinary shops. But maybe one day I'd get lucky and own a "real"
modem.

I never got one, and when eventually I learned that accoustical
couplers were actually the inferior technology, my desire for the
device faded away. But for the longest time, it was my holy grail.
Amongst modems, anyway.

I can't remember the speeds I connected at, back then. It was probably
a 1200 baud modem. I remember the characters appearing on screen, but
it seemed fast enough to me; then again, just the idea of streaming
data over the phone seemed almost magical. My typing skills back then
were minimal, though, so it was definitely faster than anything I
could put on screen! ;-)