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The latest version 5.5 of Mac ARA Modem Magic is now available. Mac ARA modem Magic is nothing if not a controversial software product. Seventy-nine percent of Internet users still access the Internet via 56k dial-up as opposed to Cable and DSL, This suite of third-party modem scripts for various Mac-compatible modems, now numbering over 300 with the Modem Magic 5.5 release, promises faster and more reliable dial-up Internet connections. Some users and reviewers enthusiastically praised them. However skeptics have also suggested that there the cyber-equivalent of snake oil remedies.

Personally, I’ve been using Mac ARA Modem Magic modem scripts for about a year and a half now, and have found that the improvement in performance with them compared to the stock modem scripts that come bundled with the Mac OS varies with different modems. The most dramatic improvement has been with the Global Village Platinum 33k external modem I use with my Umax S.-900 tower. On that rig, connection speeds and download performance using some of the Modem Magic scripts is noticeably livelier.

On my workhorse 233 MHz WallStreet PowerBook, I’ve noticed less speed improvement, but the Modem Magic scripts do seem to hold onto connections more tenaciously, and dropped connections have been extremely rare since I started using them.

I should explain here, redundantly for regular readers, that I am on a rural dial-up connection, with some 50 miles of phone lines between me and my ISP, the first 12 miles of which are indifferently maintained ancient copper wire. Given the dodgy infrastructure, I guess I should be thankful that I get reasonably dependable service, but it is slow. The stock modem scripts give a connection speed in the Remote Access Control Panel on most days of 26400, and sometimes 24000. Occasionally, the old 28.8k U.S. Robotics Sportster modem on my wife’s even more ancient 68030 LC 520 will show a 28800 connection, possibly because it is more simpatico with the U.S. Robotics modems used by my ISP. But that’s it. I’ve never seen any of the other modems connect at more than 26400 using stock Apple modem scripts.

However, the Mac ARA Modem Magic scripts routinely show much higher connection speeds, frequently 49,333. And therein lies the controversy.

Some critics have suggested that Modem Magic does not do what is claimed, and have come close to accusing the product’s developer of fraud.

Mac ARA Modem Magic author Tracy Turner tells me that the 57600 and 115200 [speeds showing in Remote Access] are both PORT SPEEDs. The actual line connections are of course slower. However, opening a port to these two speeds is much faster than having the port set at 38400 with old V.34+ modem drivers.

These seem to me to be reasonable and not extravagant claims, and the description is consistent with what I have experienced with this product.

Another point addressed:

I can’t say that I’ve gotten anything close to 3x faster downloads, but using Modem Magic scripts in place of the stock ones does appear to speed things up a bit.

A year or so ago I tried the stock Apple GV modem script in comparison with two Mac ARA Modem Magic 5.1 scripts: the GV High Speed Reliable V.92, which is the script I was using regularly on the 233 MHz WallStreet at the time (OS 9.1), and the “No More Noise” script. Both of these Modem Magic scripts show a port speed of 115,200, which I understand to be the throughput speed between the modem and the port.

I timed two functions, the interval it took between when I clicked the “Connect” button in Remote Access and the connection hooked up, and how long it took Mozilla 0.9.3 to fully load the National Post homepage, which is graphics and ad-heavy. I purged the disk and memory caches in Mozilla before each respective test.

Here is what I discovered then:

Apple GV Script (Mac OS 9.0)
Dial-up connection time - 37 seconds
Load National Post Homepage - 65 seconds

GV High Speed Reliable V.92 (Mac ARA Modem Magic 5.1)
Dial-up connection time - 32 seconds
Load National Post Homepage - 58 seconds

“No More Noise” script (Mac ARA Modem Magic 5.1)
Dial-up connection time - 33 seconds
Load National Post Homepage - 60 seconds

I decided to try some similar tests with some of the Modem Magic 5.5 scripts, using my Pismo 500 MHz PowerBook in both OS 9.1 and OS X. Still the National Post Homepage, but using the Mozilla 1.1 beta browser this time. The cache was cleared between each test.

However, I hit a roadblock when I tried to download Web pages using the Mac ARA Modem Magic scripts in OS X. In short, I couldn’t get anything other than the initial connection to work. Not even email. Reverting to the stock Apple modem script restored connectivity. This is with the exact same scripts, as I couldn’t get the installer to work in OS X, so just dragged copies from the OS 9.1 installation into the OS X modem scripts folder. They work fine in OS 9.1. I haven’t a clue what the problem is with OS X.

Here’s the results of what I was able to test:

Apple Internal 56k V.90 (Mac OS 9.1)
Dial-up connection times
OS X - 33 seconds
OS 9.1 - 40 seconds
Connection speed - 26400
Load National Post Homepage - 1 min, 19 seconds (in both OS X and OS 9.1)

Apple G4 Cube Modem (Mac ARA Modem Magic 5.5) Dial-up connection times
OS X - 33 seconds
OS 9.1 - 37 seconds
Connection speed - 26400
Load National Post Homepage - 1 min, 40 seconds (in OS 9.1)

Apple PowerBook 2000 (Mac ARA Modem Magic 5.5) Dial-up connection times
OS X - 43 seconds
OS 9.1 - 42 seconds
Connection speed - 49,333
Load National Post Homepage - 1 min, 10 seconds (in OS 9.1)

Apple G3 G4 V.90 Internal (Mac ARA Modem Magic 5.5) Dial-up connection times
OS X - 45 seconds
OS 9.1 - 40 seconds
Connection speed - 49,333
Load National Post Homepage - 1 min, 15 seconds (in OS 9.1)

I found that some of the Mac ARA Modem Magic Scripts I sampled were slightly faster than the stock Mac OS script, but there wasn’t a whole lot in it speed-wise, at least on these PowerBooks.

To install Mac ARA Modem Magic:

1. Run the installer, a file named Mac Modem Magic™_v5.5_Install

This installs into the OS 9.x System Folder, into Extensions, Modem Scripts

2. For OS X or 10.1:

Mac Modem Magic™_v5.5_Install

All modem drivers, new or old, are claimed to work compatibly in Mac OS X. In OS X, you need to install into Hard Drive, Library.

You can also physically copy or “Option-drag” the drivers from the 9.1 System Folder, Extensions Folder, Modem Scripts Folder into Hard Drive, Library Folder, Modem Scripts Folder. We recommend renaming your old Modem Scripts Folder to “Modem Scripts(old)”.

OS 9.22 or older looks for the Modem Scripts in the Modem Scripts Folder in Extensions. OS X looks for the Modem Scripts in the Modem Scripts Folder in Library, on the Hard Drive.

Tracy suggests going into your hard drive, Library and renaming the Modem Scripts folder “Modem Scriptsx.old”. In OS 10.1.x, you must be logged in as root to make “authorized changes” to a PPP profile. This is a unix thing, “mere users” are not “allowed” to create nor alter PPP settings. Our current “Installer” runs in Classic 9 mode, our next installer will be purely OS X native. The modem drivers themselves work fine in OS X (do not call up Classic 9), provided they were installed by “root”.

Create a new Folder and name it Modem Scripts. Place any scripts you wish to use in it. You can also Option- drag our Modem Scripts folder from OS 9.1 or 9.2.x System Folder, Extensions to the Library if you want to copy our entire Modem Scripts folder into the OS X Library folder on your hard drive.

At this point, our modem drivers will show up in OS X System Preferences, Network, Modem.

3. After installation finishes, go to the Apple Menu, Control Panels, Modem Control Panel after installation. Select a new modem definition or modem script in the Modem Control Panel.

In the Classic Mac OS the Mac Modem Magic installer replaces the Modem Scripts Folder in your System Extensions Folder with a new one containing over 300 different high-speed modem scripts. The old Modem Scripts Folder is saved as Modem Scripts Disabled.

Existing Modem Scripts are not thrown away, you will find them in “Extensions Disabled”, in Folders renamed “Modem Scripts (old).1” etc.

Since some of the Mac aRa Modem Magic 5.5 scripts are available as a free demo, and they are a relatively small download, if you think they may offer some improvement in your dial-up performance, there is no reason not to give them a try.
Mac aRa Modem Magic offers a free demo and a free Modem Speed Test, so there is little reason not to experiment. The test page to test download speed is at http://mac56ktest.com

Mac aRa Modem Magic was first conceived of and development started in 1997, due to the Tracy Turner tearing his hair out over dropped connections and stalled, broken downloads. Not all people have connection troubles. Then again, many Mac 56k or ISDN users do get dropped connections or slow, stalled downloads.

Initially, modem init strings and modem drivers were experimented with for 2-3 Modems. After success with both increasing download speeds and stability, numerous Mac friends and acquaintances asked for help with their Modems. The demand for help via the Internet led to both a Tech Support help site <http://macntosh.com/about.html> and Mac aRa Modem Magic 1.x through 5.x.

“We are a big fans of the Mac,” says Tracy There are currently about 15 New and Older Macs that we use for testing purposes here..... We have done our personal best to address the dropped connections/slow downloads issues with the Mac OS.”

Features:
• Optimizes any type of Apple Macintosh dial-up modems of any speed.
• Users typically realize an extraordinary improvement in Apple - Mac modem speed (often by as much as 200%).
• This software is designed to work with all Apple platforms, including System 7.5.3 through Mac OS 9.04, 9.1, 9.2.2 through to Mac OS X (10.1.5). • Mac aRa Modem Magic 5.5 is available to you on-line, and can be downloaded quickly (about 1024k in size).
• Optimizes any Mac Dial-Up Connection in 5 minutes or less. Mac aRa

Modem Magic 5.x was announced by Apple Computer in Apple’s May, June and July 2001 E-Mail “Product HotLists”. Modem Magic 5.x was the 4th product from the top in these three World-Wide MUGs e-mailings.

Mac aRa Modem Magic 5.5TM easily supports these common V.90 or V.92 Modems:

All “Apple GV Internal 56k” Modems (Beige G3 Internal Modems, Blue and White Tower Modems, G3 Modems, G4 Modems, Apple Cube Modems, iMac Modems, iMac DVD Limited Edition Modems, iBook Modems, iMac Flatscreen Modems), 3com Modems, Atech Modems, Aztec Modems, Best Data Modems, Boca Modems, Diamond Modems, Eiger lab Modems, Global Village Modems, Hayes Modems, Lucent Modems, Motorola Modems, Olitech Modems, Rockwell Modems, Supra Modems, TDK Modems, US Robotics Modems, Viking Modems, Zoltrix Modems, Zoom Modems. Modem Magic 5.5 also supports less common brands of modems (with extensive selections of drivers. Modem Magic 5.1.2 Modem Drivers download faster, stay connected longer than “stock” Modem Scripts.

Prices
[$45.90] Mac aRa Modem Magic Priority Mail CD - US Only
[$46.90] Mac aRa Modem Magic Global Priority Mail CD - All Countries outside US
[$39.95] Mac aRa Modem Magic 5.5 E-Mailed Delivery Software

For more information, visit:
http://www.macntosh.com

Charles W. Moore

Cool Mac Gear