How to make money with linux...

[mikebw at bilow.bilow.uu.ids.net (Mike Bilow)]

Charley Sparks <cesparks at bellsouth.net> wrote in a message to Mike Bilow:

 CS> If anyone is interested I have a Motorola PMD-100D.. it 
 CS> collects dust in the desk .. it is a bit better on batteries 
 CS> and has a charger for the NiCad that came with it. I played 
 CS> with it on Win CE.. 

("PMD" is a typo; "PM" officially stands for "Personal Messenger.")

A very interesting offer, and I might take you up on it.  However, the PM-100D
is NOT a later model of the PM-100C: the "C" suffix indicates that the modem is
compatible with the CDPD network, while the "D" suffix indicates that the modem
is compatible with the ARDIS network.

CDPD and ARDIS are completely different technologies for accomplishing much the
same thing.  Without getting into a lot of low-level technical details, CDPD
runs over the common analog cellular network, while ARDIS runs over a
proprietary data network owned by Motorola.  Originally, ARDIS was built to
order for IBM's sales force and field engineers, and was a joint venture of
both IBM and Motorola.  While ARDIS is a better technology, since it supports
simultaneous diversity and other signal enhancements, it has exactly one
national provider and coverage limited to major U.S. cities.  As a practial
matter, ARDIS is considered obsolete.

I should disclaim here that I have no personal experience with ARDIS, and I am
not even sure how one goes about ordering service.  I have heard that it works
well when you are in its coverage area, but that the coverage is awful.

CDPD, on the other hand, should work nearly anywhere that an analog cellular
provider is available.  Depending upon your contract and provider, your
unlimited use may only apply in your particular geographic area, and very
costly roaming fees -- on the order of about $1 per 100 KB -- may apply
elsewhere.  This is not as bad as it sounds, since Bell Atlantic's unlimited
use coverage is pretty much the East Coast from South Carolina to Maine, and
national flat rate contracts are available.

While you do get wireless network connectivity with CDPD, it is no panacea. 
Although more than adequate for polling mail and doing text-based remote
administration, it feels to the user much like a jerky 9600 bps landline modem,
and viewing graphical web sites can be painful.
 
-- Mike


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