Feature-laden communications - Software Review - Mustang Software Inc.'s QmodemPro 1.01 telecommunications program - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, May, 1993 by Charles Gajeway

QmodemPro

Rating: * * *

For DOS

AT A GLANCE: A complete and up-to-date telecommunications program.

EASE OF USE: Simple enough for a program of this power. It took very little time to pick up the basics and a reasonable amount of experimentation (and some careful reading) to handle more advanced tasks.

DOCUMENTATION: Good. The single manual is detailed and well-organized, with plenty of examples and illustrations. The writing, while clear, is a bit on the technical side, and a number of last-minute changes makes reading the README file a must.

SUPPORT: Very good. In addition to user forums on America Online and CompuServe, Mustang runs its own BBS and offers thorough and knowledgeable voice support as well.

VERSION REVIEWED: 1.01

LIST PRICE: $99

AVERAGE STREET PRICE: $75

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: 640K 286 PC or higher; hard-disk drive; mouse; Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA, SVGA; DOS 3.3 or higher

PUBLISHER: Mustang Software, P.O. Box 2264, Bakersfield, CA 93303; (805) 395-0223, (800) 999-9619

Originally shareware, Qmodem is now a popular commercial telecommunications program that offers an exceptional range of features and support at a reasonable price. With the advent of affordable high-speed fax/modems and the proliferation of e-mail sources, QmodemPro offers a unified source of telecommunications capabilities, adding fax sending and automated e-mail to a broad range of file-transfer features.

The menu, which disappears until called up with a mouse click or keyboard command, is logical and intuitive. It didn't take more than a few minutes to establish straightforward connections with CompuServe, GEnie, and a few local bulletin boards.

E-mail advantages. QmodemPro comes with Off-Line Express (OLX), a program used to create and edit outgoing e-mail messages then bundle them into packets for transmission via Qmodem-Pro, and to read incoming packets downloaded by QmodemPro. If you use e-mail even moderately, bundling and automating message transfer can cut your online time and charges significantly.

In addition to OLX, Qmodem's automated e-mail uses scripts, which are stored series of commands that guide Qmodem through a log-on, mail transfer, and log-off sequence. The program is supplied with scripts for CompuServe and MCI Mail, among others, but you can write your own scripts for other services or networks. This procedure is made much easier by the script-recording feature, which records your mouse commands and keystrokes and saves them to a script file.

Disappointed with faxing. QmodemPro's faxing capabilities turned out to be a non-event. The program has send-only features for text and PCX format files and does not work under Windows, despite the supplied Windows icon and PIF files. And I certainly didn't want to leave Windows to run Qmodem, especially when my fax/modem came with much more powerful faxing software.

On the bright side, high-speed data transfer was a pleasure. Qmodem offers just about every transfer protocol in common use, from straight ASCII to the newest and fastest streaming protocols intended for use with error-correcting modems. Using ZModem or YModem/G, files that can take over twenty minutes to download at 2,400 bps, take between three and four minutes at 14,400 bps. Qmodem is so fast that, with an external modem downloading at 9,600 bps, you can overload your serial port (especially on XT or AT computers); you'll need to upgrade to an NS16550 AFN serial card for reliable file transfers.

The bottom line. All in all, QmodemPro is a fine product with excellent support. Its straightforward and modular design makes it easy to learn and use. It generally performs well, and it offers an excellent support network. This is a lot of performance for the money, and anyone using DOS who's looking to get the most out of his or her modem should seriously consider this program.