Filed under: iMac
iMac no longer has built-in modem
The first iMac signaled to the world that the floppy drive was no longer needed. Oh, the pundits wailed, 'People won't buy a computer without a built-in floppy drive!'The iMac became the bestselling computer of all time.
Looks like Apple has decided that the average Joe and Jane no longer need a modem, and have jettisoned the built-in modem from the newly announced iMacs. Fear not, my Dial-up using brethren, Apple has you covered, for a mere $49 you can get a USB modem that 'goes perfectly with your iMac.'
I suggest you use that $49 and get yourself a DSL or cable modem, but that's just how I roll.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chuck Counselman said 9:19PM on 11-14-2005
My Apple USB Modem appears in System Profiler | Hardware | USB on my iMac G5 (iSight) running OS 10.4.3; however it is not available for faxing in System Preferences | Print & Fax | Faxing | Set Up Fax Modem.... Nor is it listed among the many modems/drivers that may be configured in System Preferences | Network.
Neither the printed instructions nor the Help built into the OS nor Apple's Support web pp. is any help. How can this modem that Apple advertises as a fax modem actually be used as such?
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brian said 6:51PM on 10-12-2005
Also, an internal modem comes with the base Mini but is optional on the higher two. (Still internal, though.) This change happened on the last rev. (The last *real* rev, that is, not the secret it's-really-1.33-or-1.5 rev from a couple weeks ago.)
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yPod said 10:50AM on 10-23-2005
Noooooooo... i guess i'll have to spring for cable now, if I don't, I'll waste a usb port. GASP!
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Brad said 7:48PM on 10-12-2005
I'm sorry, but an internal modem is still a necessary thing in a computer. Floppies needed to go, but internal modems are still useful.
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Blue Balloon said 8:49PM on 10-12-2005
yay.. no more floppy disk and dial-up modem. Seriously, why need dial-up modem? It's time to move on, we're on new era.
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James said 8:30PM on 10-12-2005
Argh! I wager that I am not the only one still using the modem TO RECEIVE FAXES!
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david said 9:23PM on 10-12-2005
Also, were there / are there no answering machine applications for the iMac? There are some pretty nifty PC applications out there for voicemail that allow you to do all sorts of things, like send an e-mail to work with the voice mail message attached. Just curious, ARE there actually any apps like that for the Mac out there?
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Mr Yuk said 10:48PM on 10-12-2005
I'm posting this via dial-up. There are a bunch of people who can't get DSL or cable like me and need the modem and don't want to pay $90/month for Sat. The Airport Extreme has one built in that works nicely; mo better solution than a USB one but also mo $$.
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icerabbit said 10:49PM on 10-12-2005
I guess you won't fall back on dial-up when DSL/Cable is out ... nor send & receive faxes either. Really a shame. The average computer user is far from ready to go without a modem.
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ToeKnee said 1:36AM on 10-13-2005
For God's sake, people. Apple would not do this without good reason. I am sure their research indicates that MOST people who buy iMacs have either wireless or ethernet connections.
In addition, my own experience indicates that MANY average computer users confuse the phone/modem port with the ethernet port. Just recently, I was at my local Apple Store talking to a genius when the genius next to us was dealing with a couple who had hauled their iMac G5 back very upset that it DID NOT WORK with their cable modem. The problem was immediately solved when they pulled out the cute white Apple PHONE CORD and handed it to the genius, who very politely explained that that was not an ethernet cable. He proceed to hook the iMac up to the store network with a real cable and was surfing in 30 seconds.
Good riddance, built-in modem. I am sure if you look around, you can find a $25 USB modem which will work fine for you, otherwise, spend the $49 and get over it. The iMac G5 has an amazing number of features for that money. Hellava deal.
P.S. if you think you are saving money by not getting broadband, I hope you are factoring in the value of your time, because you waste a LOT of time waiting on dialup. My 6 Mbs Comcast cable connection is $60/mo because I refuse to subscribe to cable TV (I don't have time nor do I want to tempt myself). When I look at it as $1/day compared to other ways I spend my money, it's a STEAL!
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ToeKnee said 1:42AM on 10-13-2005
yeah, I meant $2/day - am heading off to bed now.
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Chris L said 2:39PM on 10-13-2005
Smugness is easy. Don't forget that a LOT of people who are natural targets for these machines live outside the reach of broadband (such as here in Alaska, where people 2 miles from the university are outside the reach of cable or DSL).
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Astmasters said 6:35AM on 10-23-2005
The most interesting thing about the Apple USB Modem is neither fax nor dial-up but the fact that it can handle voice.
This means, almost 10 years after Apple pulled its Geoport adapters and Telecom Centre software, the Mac will finally be able to do telephony.
We are currently working on drivers so that the new modems can be used with the open source Asterisk telephony server.
This means you can turn any Mac which has a USB port into a PBX for only $49 (or $98 if you have two phone lines) as the software is free.
More info on Asterisk for the Mac is at http://www.astmasters.net
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