3 ms·
I like the nitpicking in the comments about what a MODEM is. Early MODEMs were 'acoustic couplers' and the terms should never be confused lest anyone not unders
by Theodores 7y ago
I like the nitpicking in the comments about what a MODEM is. Early MODEMs were 'acoustic couplers' and the terms should never be confused lest anyone not understand the emoji.
Anyway there is nothing obsolete about any of these symbols. Context is everything and sometimes you need diagrams of how things used to be done. The symbols are handy for explaining the past.
- gumby 7y agoThe acoustical coupler was literally the coupler/adaptor to a headset; the modem itself was an electronic package connected to the coupler (if needed). I have used all manner of acoustical couplers including some built into terminals, some attached to modems and some that could be connected to a modem (like a Bell 103)
- Theodores 7y agoThe comments in the article did point this out, that the 'acoustic coupler' and the MODEM were not the same thing. I just found it funny that people should get so nit-picky about such things when it is just a matter of emoji symbols and when there are so many other conventions such as the save icon that we don't need to so triggered by. Some people in the comments just could not let it go, they had to hammer on about the difference between the MODEM and what an acoustic coupler was when the world has utterly moved on and nobody cares.
- mark-r 7y agoThe early modems required acoustic coupling, so the two functions were built into the same device. Because of that it was common to use either term to refer to the same device. It was only later when US federal law was changed that modems could connect directly to the phone line without requiring acoustic coupling.