Mac aRa Modem Magic High Speed Modem Script Suite Reviewed

First, I owe an apology to Tracy Turner, developer of the Mac aRa Modem Magic suite of high speed modem scripts for Apple Remote Access.

Several months ago, I corresponded with Tracy, and he kindly forwarded a copy of Mac Modem Magic for me to review.

I had the best of intentions, but frankly I was skeptical, figuring that the 50 miles rural phone lines between me and my ISP -- the first 12 miles being ancient, poorly maintained, copper -- were so pathetic that there wasn't much hope.

I had thought of getting my son, who lives at the other end of the 50 miles, to check out the modem scripts there, but about that time his landlady had DSL broadband installed, rendering the point moot for him.

Consequently, the Mac aRa Modem Magic installer got dropped in my software installer folder and the review of languished some distance down on my to - do list.

However, last week, I was installing some other software, and decided, what the hey: why not check out Tracy Turner modem scripts? I unstuffed the Eudora file he had sent, and ran the installer, which insists on shutting them all other applications. Even the Application Switcher floating palette got put away.

The Mac Modem Magic installer replaces the Modem Scripts Folder in your System Extensions Folder with a new one containing over 200 different high-speed modem scripts. The old Modem Scripts Folder is saved as Modem Scripts Disabled.

The installation process went smoothly, and the next step was to open the Modem Control Panel and select a new modem script. The nearest match for my PowerBook G3 233's internal modem seemed to be the "Apple G3/G4 V.90 Internal" script, so I chose that.

All that remained was to try it out. I opened Remote Access and clicked "Connect." I noticed that the sound of the modem connecting with the ISP had changed slightly.

Then the connection speed appeared -- 57,600! Cowabunga! At this location, I had never previously witnessed a connection speed above 28,800, and that only on very rare occasions with a US Robotics 28,800 bps modem that seems exceptionally sympatico with the modems at my ISP (which are also US Robotics). With the 56k modem in the PowerBook, I usually get 24,000 connection speeds, or on a good day 26,400. Never once higher than that, until now.

Not only that, but Web pages and e-mail servers seem to come up faster. Netscape 4.7, for some reason, seems especially in invigorated by the new modem script. It's still dial up, nothing to get up in the night and write home about, but the improvement is substantial.

Since installing the Mac Modem Magic script, I have not had a connection slower than 57600. I'm impressed.

Tracy emphasizes that your mileage may vary, and that the scripts can't perform miracles on really cruddy a phone lines. In fact, it was partly his caveats on this topic that were responsible for my initial pessimism.

I decided to try installing Mac modem Magic scripts on my UMAX SuperMac S-900 (200 MHz 604e), which connects to the Internet with an external Global Village Platinum 33.6 modem, which also usually connects at 24,000 to 26,400 using Apple's standard script for this modem.

In this case, the choice of Modem Magic scripts was less straightforward, although the one labeled "Global Village Platinum" seemed like a logical place to start.

This one dialed up and connected, but did not display a connection speed. I logged off, and selected the "Global Village High Speed Reliable" script, which connected at a respectable 49,333. I then tried the "Global Village X2." This one connected at a very impressive 115,200, and I decided to stick with that one for now.

The interesting thing was that all of these scripts connected nicely. I don't use the SuperMac online enough to have developed a very strong frame of reference on its surfing speed, but that Global Village X2 script that connects at 115,200 really does seem to speed things up significantly, and the old UMAX is now faster at loading Web pages in iCab then the G3 PowerBook is.

I am constrained to note here that you could write a fairly lengthy pamphlet on what I don't know about modem transmission and data compression. 115,200 is 28.8 x 4, which is, I presume, pretty decent performance for a 33.6 modem on or phone lines, if it is reliably supported.

Tracy Turner told me that "All day long I'm bombarded with e-mails asking for 'proof' that this product works."

They certainly seem to on these two machines.

I did not fare so well installing Mac aRa Modem Magic scripts on my old LC 520, which uses the US Robotics Sportster 28.8 bps modem I mentioned above. I was not able to get this modem to connect with any of the half dozen or so Modem Magic scripts, both USR and generic, that I tried. This surprised me, since the installations and configuration on the other machines had gone so smoothly, and the modem works well with the Apple US Robotics Universal script.

Mac aRa Modem Magic includes common Global Village, iMac, G3, G4, and iBook Modem Scripts (see Appendix). The installer also includes support for ISDN Modems, as well as numerous common and obscure brands of modems. Tracy says they are 100% Compatible with US, UK, and overseas Mac OS's, and support new ITU-V.92 Modems, new V.44 Modem Compression (See http://macntosh.com/V.92.html for more V.92 info).

Modem Magic promises to optimize Your 28.8, 33.6 or 56K Modem to achieve its peak speed and reliability and provide two things:

1. Faster Modem Connect Rates or Better Data Compression on 56K Capable Phone Lines.

2. Better Stability for Modems Which Repeatedly Hang-Up Involuntarily.

The latter has never been a problem for me aside from the very occasional dropped connection (frequency of less than one per month) but the Modem Magic scripts seem to connect and stay connected reliably.

Half of Mac OS 9.1's Modem Drivers are "Vintage 1996" (not V.90 or V.92 compatible). Modem Magic's V.90 and V.92 Modem Drivers were written from August of 2000 to the Present.

This product requires either a clean, working copy of Open Transport PPP 1.1.1 or better (available on Apple's WebSite) or Apple Remote Access (Included with Mac OS 8.1.1 or higher) to be fully functional. Compatible with System 7.5.3 through Mac OS 9.04; X2, K-Flex, ITU-56K V.90 or ITU-V.92/V.44 Modems.

Tracy says that Mac aRa Modem Magic had humble beginnings. He had great frustration with early 14.5, 28.8, 33.6 and numerous 56K Modems. Seeking to fix both slow data transfer rates and random disconnects, numerous fixes from the Internet were tried and rejected.

Several things were soon apparent:
• The Internet Lacked Good Websites About MACINTOSH Modems
• That 14.51 - 28.8, X2 or flex modem init strings or drivers were not V.90 nor V.92/V.44 compatible
• That modem drivers were most often extremely old, obsolete, poorly written if not downright buggy
• That he had obsessed and compulsed on perfecting these modem drivers for so long that he will never be fairly recompensed for failed eye-sight and carpal tunnel syndrome
• That even a "mediocre character" like himself (his description) can achieve a third of a million hits per month on a Website.

Tracy says that the speed and reliability in Mac aRa Modem Magic came from several thousand hours of init string, modem script planning, authoring, and testing.

Tracy says that 18.45% of all dial-up modem access occurs at 48000 bps or faster, which means that 82.55% of all dial-up modem access occurs at 46,666 bps or slower.

About 80% of phone-lines in the US ARE 56K capable, About 18% of phone-lines in the US are not 56K capable. Modem Magic cannot change this. About 1% of internal modems are defective and need to be exchanged. About 1% of external phone cords, jacks, modem cables, etc. are wired wrong or are defective. Modem Magic can't fix that either.

Mac aRa Modem Magic can't make overloaded servers, PoPs, ports nor your ISP's modems go faster. Some Internet Service Providers suffer net congestion or have too many unresolved technical Issues. Before you decide your ISP is at fault, see if they have other Points of Presence (PoPs) in your Local Calling Area. PoPs change performance frequently due to customer migration, hardware, software and network practices.

Tracy claims that the other 80% can grab a 49,333 - 53,333 bps Reliable Connection with a 56K Modem and his product. V.92 Requires a V.92 Capable Modem and ISP. What V.92 Protocol does that current V.90 cannot do:
• Increase speed 40% in the maximum data rate towards the network (Uploading, Sending) to a new maximum of 48 kbps (kilo-bits per second) on the best connections (old standard was 33.6 kbps).
• Significantly faster dial-up times on recognized connections (Faster Login).
• Ability to place the Modem "On Hold" to take an incoming phone-call.

What V.44 Compression does that V.42 or V.42bis Compression cannot do:
• Data compression based on the LZJH Compression Algorithm developed by US-based Hughes Network Systems.
• Gives an improvement in data compression exceeding 25% more compression than existing V.42bis, and a data compression ratio in the region of 6:1.

End result is throughput rates in exceeding 300 kbps (kilo-bits per second) compared with typical values of 150-200 kbps (kilo-bits per second) today, thus significantly reducing download times and speeding up web browsing.

Mac aRa Modem Magic 5.0 sells for $34.95 (demoware -- demo is limited to a few sample scripts).

Mac aRa Modem Magic 5.0 ships on a CD or you can defray shipping charges by receiving it as an e-mailed attachment. Just run the installer, and select your brand of modem in the Modem Control Panel under the Apple Menu.

If You Purchased a Previous Version of Mac aRa Modem Magic, upgrades to new V.92 compatible Mac aRa Modem Magic 5.0 are free. Just send a MM 5.0 Upgrade request.

For more information, visit:
http://macntosh.com/macara405.html

Addendum: In response to skepticism about the claims made for Mac aRa Modem Magic scripts raised by a couple of readers, I checked with my Mac guru son, who has written custom modem scripts. He told me that by experimentation, trial and error, a few years back he had written a very hot modem script for the Global Village Platinum 33.6 bps modem, which he sent to several friends who also had this modem, and who were blown away by the increased performance it provided.

He says that the key is optimization that lets the modem interface with the computer more efficiently, and allow data compression to work better. He hasn't tried or examined the Mac aRa Modem Magic scripts, but he suspects that is what they do -- provide optimization of the modems performance. He says that modem scripts that ship with modems or the ones that come with the Mac OS are often pretty mediocre optimization-wise.

Whatever, the performance boost on my SuperMac S-900/GV Platinum 33.6 rig has gained from one of the Modem Magic scripts is notable. It now brings up Web pages faster than the 56k modem in my G3 PowerBook.

Appendix: List Of Included Scripts

Charles W. Moore

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