Xref: utzoo comp.dcom.modems:9390 comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:8977 alt.bbs:5167
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!uunet!osh3!chip
From: chip@osh3.OSHA.GOV (Chip Yamasaki)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,alt.bbs
Subject: Re: PC Magasine Testing Irregularities
Keywords: communications software testing zmodem
Message-ID: <1991Apr24.035510.17297@osh3.OSHA.GOV>
Date: 24 Apr 91 03:55:10 GMT
References: <89@omen.UUCP>
Organization: U.S. D.O.L - Occupational Safety & Health Admin.
Lines: 50

In <89@omen.UUCP> caf@omen.UUCP (Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX) writes:

>The April 30 1991 issue of PC Magazine features reviews of 17
>async communications programs that allegedly support ZMODEM and
>16550A FIFO UARTs.  This issue has prompted a number of messages
>questioning the published test results and the procedures used
>to generate them.

Unfortunately I was not a regular reader of the Net news when PC
Magazine ran a test of V.32 modems.  In this test the Telebit modem
failed miserably.  I hear from historical accounts ;-) that the noise on
the Net was outrageous after this.

Our agency was considering buying some Telebit T2500's at the time and
thought, since they tested fine for use, that the test must have been
flawed.  We talked to Telebit and got a copy that an official was
sending to PC Magazine, but I don't recall seing the letter in the mag. 
We did buy the T2500's and are happy with them so far.

What I would like to know is:

  Was there any "official" response from PC magazine or Telebit on the
      Net? and, if there was,
  Would someone please E-mail it to me?

>Randol N. Tigrett, PC Magazine LAN Labs Project Leader, claims
>both he and Sara Parker attempted to contact Omen Technology
>about these errors.  While Omen had numerous contacts with PC
>Magazine at the time concerning lists of features, there is no
>recall of being contacted about technical problems and/or error
>messages during the performance tests.  None of the FAX messages
>Omen received from PC Magazine mentioned any technical problems,
>and no electronic mail messages were received.  Scott McGinnis,
>author of COM-AND, another program that suffered from improper
>PC Magazine test conditions, was not contacted either.

Yes, I think they claimed to have contacted Telebit at the time of the
modem tests and had not gotten sufficient help setting up the modem. 
Some of our people here have talked to Telebit and the distributor form
which we purchased the modems and had no reports of trouble or
unresponsiveness from either.  Maybe PC Magazine staff are just not nice
people to deal with ;-).
-- 
--
Charles "Chip" Yamasaki
chip@oshcomm.osha.gov
-- 
--
Charles "Chip" Yamasaki
chip@oshcomm.osha.gov