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From: max@mthvax.cs.miami.edu (Max Southall)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: New Modems
Message-ID: <1990Nov29.040945.23924@mthvax.cs.miami.edu>
Date: 29 Nov 90 04:09:45 GMT
References: <1990Nov21.221114.11850@unixland.uucp> <9842@discus.technion.ac.il> <1990Nov26.062122.24546@sbcs.sunysb.edu> <1990Nov28.042729.8077@jwt.UUCP>
Organization: University of Miami Department of Mathematics & Computer Science
Lines: 12

In possible defence of Telebit and their modems' failure to measure up in
the PC Mag tests, I believe it was Byte editor Phil Lemmons who wrote a
special editorial a few years ago pointing out that reviews are often
influenced by advertisers' input. Often, reviews are linked to advertising
"spreads" by customers, and those not participating in the ad campaign often
don't receive reviews at all, or ones they wouldn't want to quote to
customers. At the time, Lemmons called for the computer press to clean up
its dismal act, of which he gave numerous examples. At the time, Byte was
a very different rag than it is now, not just a product review advertising
manual, so I don't know if even Byte has succumbed. Certainly, Lemmons is
no longer editor, and Steve Ciarcia with his real technical know-how was
forced out too. Maybe we should ask Jerry Pournelle to do a *real* test!