new G5 - modem?

[yanges]

I am getting a 2.0ghz Dual PowerMac and was wondering if it would be wise to get the modem just in case i may need to utilize at some time or another...

it is fairly cheap so i thought i would go for it just in case...

[Brad]

I'd say get it.

Like you said, you never know when you might need it. Your broadband service might drop out or you might find yourself somewhere that broadband isn't available for some reason.

[Franz Josef]

Get it. Insignificant cost and a good backup if you need it.

[Ebby]

I kinda wish I got a modem with my G5. I would have replaced my fax machine so I wouldn't waste so much paper in fax-spam.

[atomicbartbeans]

Uh, how come Apple includes a modem with all but the highest-end machines? :confused:

Something doesn't make sense.

Although that may be because I've used dial-up for 6 years until I got broadband yesterday...

[DMBand0026]

Because Apple knows that no one (well, almost no one) is going to buy a Dual 2.7ghz G5, and surf with dialup. It's such a rarity that if anyone is going to need a dialup modem they figure they can BTO with one. Someday soon no computer is going to have a modem, they just won't be necessary. Apple has been the first to do a lot of things like this. They dropped the Floppy drive years before anyone else did it because they knew the floppy had become completely obsolete.

Now, years later, everyone else is following their lead, slowly but surely we're getting rid of useless technology. That's not to say that a modem is useless in today's world, but you better believe that it will be someday, and that day is coming sooner rather than later.

[atomicbartbeans]

Eh yeah, then it makes sense with a PM G5, but Apple should continue to put modems in all their portables for quite a while. While traveling and staying at hotels, B&Bs, etc. without internet access, my modem is my savior.

Edit: DMBand, some makers still have yet to drop the floppy drive (points, sniggers at HP). ;)

[FallenFromTheTree]

If you live in an area prone to power surges and lightening, Apple recommends
the use of an external modem.

This kind of damage to your modem can actually cause for more critical damage to your motherboard.