|
|
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | U.S. ROBOTICS ANNOUNCES THE LAST MODEM YOU'LL EVER BUY
| + | {{SNES| title = Chrono Trigger |
| − | Provides Migration Path to Forthcoming CCITT 28.8 Kbps Standard
| + | |image = [[Image:Chrono Trigger Title.PNG|center]] |
| − | ---------------------------------------------------------------
| + | |name = Chrono Trigger |
| | + | |company = Square |
| | + | |header = SWC |
| | + | |bank = HiROM |
| | + | |interleaved = No |
| | + | |sram = 64 Kb |
| | + | |type = Normal + Batt |
| | + | |rom = 32 Mb |
| | + | |country = USA |
| | + | |romspeed = 120ns (FastROM) |
| | + | |video = NTSC |
| | + | |checksum = Good 0x788C |
| | + | |crc32 = 2D206BF7 |
| | + | |game = Chrono Trigger |
| | + | }} |
| | | | |
| − | SKOKIE, Ill. -- June 8, 1992 -- U.S. Robotics today announced an upgrade
| + | {{Extensively Hacked|name=Chrono Trigger}} |
| − | program for the CCITT-proposed standard of 28.8 Kbps, previously referred to
| |
| − | as V.FAST. The Courier V.32bis, Courier HST Dual Standard and Shared Access
| |
| − | Modem Sharing Kits are the products currently included in the program. Field
| |
| − | upgrades will be available for $299 as soon as the CCITT 28.8 Kbps draft
| |
| − | recommendation is completed. Official approval of the standard is not
| |
| − | expected until January, 1994.
| |
| − | "The CCITT-proposed 28.8 Kbps standard won't be a reality for most
| |
| − | manufacturers until 1994," said Jonathan Zakin, U.S. Robotics executive vice
| |
| − | president, sales and marketing. "By offering modems ready for 28.8 Kbps now,
| |
| − | we're providing insurance against technical obsolescence. Customers can
| |
| − | purchase a Courier high-speed modem or Shared Access Modem Sharing Kit now
| |
| − | and take advantage of the most updated technology available. When the 28.8
| |
| − | Kbps standard becomes available later, they'll already have a cost-effective
| |
| − | upgrade option and won't have to re-invest in new equipment."
| |
| − | "Key to the 28.8 Kbps program is the fact that the upgrade to the
| |
| − | Courier high-speed modems and Shared Access Modem Sharing Kits can be
| |
| − | completed by the end user at their worksite, which reduces their `down' time
| |
| − | and eliminates excess costs like shipping and handling," continued Zakin.
| |
| − | "You may hear about other 28.8 Kbps modems that are available now, but until
| |
| − | the standard is defined, no one knows what hardware will be needed to comply.
| |
| − | Our unique modem architecture makes future `field' upgrades a realistic and
| |
| − | simple procedure."
| |
| − | Because of U. S. Robotics' advanced modular modem architecture, the
| |
| − | company's Courier V.32bis, Courier HST Dual Standard, and Shared Access modems
| |
| − | are readily upgradable to 28.8Kbps. The modems are made up of a motherboard and
| |
| − | a smaller daughterboard, which holds the modems' microprocessors and firmware.
| |
| − | The current, high-speed daughterboard can easily be replaced with a new board
| |
| − | containing the 28.8 Kbps CCITT standard. U.S. Robotics is the only modem
| |
| − | manufacturer to implement this kind of flexible design.
| |
| − | "In the CClTT, the previously called `V.FAST' standard has gained
| |
| − | universal support at the 28.8Kbps speed," said Dale Walsh, U.S. Robotics vice
| |
| − | president, advanced development and participant in the CCITT committee on the
| |
| − | 28.8 Kbps standard, "This is how our modular architecture works. The data
| |
| − | pump (which executes the modulation and demodulation of the data), and the
| |
| − | key controller functions (which perform the data compression, error control
| |
| − | and the AT command set) are on one board, making upgrades simple. We can
| |
| − | easily make the data pump faster and upgrade the controller functions to keep
| |
| − | up with the new speed. It's all in just one small plug-in card."
| |
| − | Because compatibility with CCITT standards is crucial, U.S. Robotics'
| |
| − | availability and implementation of the 28.8Kbps standard will depend on the
| |
| − | CClTT's progress. At this time, the standard is expected to define a connect
| |
| − | speed of 28.8 Kbps, two times faster than V.32bis, the fastest CCITT
| |
| − | standard now available.
| |
| − | U.S. Robotics is one of the first vendors to announce a program for
| |
| − | 28.8Kbps compatibility. The company has a history of industry "firsts,"
| |
| − | including the first CCITT V.32bis modem from a major manufacturer, the first
| |
| − | self-managing modem management system and the first portable CCITT V.32
| |
| − | modem.
| |
| − | U.S. Robotics will upgrade any Modem Sharing Kit to 28.8Kbps. Current
| |
| − | Courier models, which have the smaller footprint and a higher, 57.6 Kbps DCE
| |
| − | to DTE (modem-to-computer) interface speed, are also upgradable. The
| |
| − | company's upgrade program does not include WorldPort and Sportster modems.
| |
| − | U. S. Robotics Courier modems offer a wide range of features, including
| |
| − | fax, remote configuration, and synchronous capabilities. The Shared Access
| |
| − | Modem Sharing Kits, which began shipping in March, 1992, allow for the
| |
| − | pooling of modems on a LAN so that a LAN user can access them for dial-in or
| |
| − | dial-out communications.
| |
| − | The following products will be upgradable to 28.8 Kbps:
| |
| | | | |
| − | Courier V.32 bis, internal and external (57,600 bps versions only)
| + | ==Utilities== |
| − | Courier HST Dual Standard, internal and external (57,600 bps versions only)
| + | * [[Temporal Flux (utility)|Temporal Flux]], written using the Microsoft .NET framework, is the principal Chrono Trigger hacking utility. It is available at [http://geigercount.net/crypt/ Geiger's Crypt]. There are also a few hacking documents available there. |
| − | Courier V.32 bis FAX, internal and external
| + | * [[CTEP - Chrono Trigger Editor Companion (utility)]], Designed to be a companion to Geiger's/Evil Peer's Editor. It edits some things his does not. [http://www.blitzkrieg.finalconquest.net/ BlitzKrieg Innovations main site](formerly JCE3000GT-Soft) |
| − | Courier HST Dual Standard FAX, internal and external
| + | * [[Chronotools]], Translation utility. [http://bisqwit.iki.fi/source/chronotools.html Bisqwit's chronotools page] |
| − | Shared Access Modem Sharing Kit Single Port and Dual Port
| + | ''See also:'' [[List of Chrono Trigger utilities]] |
| | | | |
| − | THE CCITT 28.8 KBPS STANDARD: SOME BACKGROUND
| + | ==Hacks== |
| − | ---------------------------------------------
| + | Complete:<br> |
| | + | No complete hacks of Chrono Trigger are known.<br> |
| | + | <br> |
| | + | Partial:<br> |
| | + | * Prior to Temporal Flux's release, a [http://geigercount.net/crypt/index.html teaser] "trailer" was released to keep the community guessing as to what exactly TF was.<br> |
| | + | * [[Chrono Trigger:Crimson Echoes|Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes]] is a big hack that is in the works. A short demo has been released.<br> |
| | + | * Chrono Trigger - Time's Illusion is another big hack that is in the works. There is no date for a demo as of yet. |
| | + | * A minihack called [[Chrono Trigger Coliseum]] has been released, created using the Temporal Flux utility. |
| | | | |
| − | The standard for 28.8 Kbps dial-up communications being developed by the
| + | ''See also:'' [[List of Chrono Trigger hacks]] |
| − | CCITT will stretch the limits of dial-up telephone lines. But don't expect
| + | |
| − | to be sending files at top speeds immediately.
| + | ==Translations== |
| − | Dale Walsh, vice president for advanced development at U.S. Robotics,
| + | *[http://bisqwit.iki.fi/ Bisqwit] made a Finnish translation for the game. |
| − | Inc., cautions that most users won't be able to achieve the maximum speeds
| + | *[http://www.manuloewe.de/kayen.htm Manuloewe] translated this game into German. Version 1.01 can be downloaded [http://www.zophar.net/newtrans/?op=show&type=ger_snes here]. |
| − | permitted under the standard right away. When the standard is adopted, modems
| + | *[http://www.greekroms.net/ GreekRoms] has a partial translation for this game into Greek. It is available for download [http://www.zophar.net/newtrans/?op=show&type=gr_snes here]. |
| − | that conform should be able to transmit at 19.2 Kbps on lines where a modem
| + | *SadNES City has translated this game into Italian. It is available for download [http://www.sadnescity.it/ here]. |
| − | conforming to V.32bis (the current high-speed standard) can now transmit at
| + | *CTTT has a partial translation for this game into Polish. It is available for download [http://www.zophar.net/newtrans/?op=show&type=pol_snes here]. |
| − | 14.4 Kbs. But Walsh, a member of the CCITT committee developing the
| + | *[http://www.emucamp.com/CBT/ CBT] translated this game into Portuguese. It is available for download [http://www.zophar.net/newtrans/?op=show&type=port_snes here]. |
| − | standard, says it is being formulated with the increasing digitization of
| + | *[http://dsrh.hokuten.net/ct.html/ DarknessSavior] has started an English retranslation. |
| − | dial-up phone networks in mind.
| + | |
| − | The improved quality of phone lines, as much as any modem technology
| + | ==Miscellaneous== |
| − | improvements, has made high speed dial-up communications possible" says
| + | ''See also:'' [[Chrono Trigger:Fun facts]] |
| − | Walsh. "We are designing the standard keeping in mind that phone networks
| + | |
| − | will use more and more digital circuits and digital central office switches."
| + | ==Known Dumps== |
| − | Consequently, speeds in the neighborhood of 28.8 Kbps will be the
| + | * Chrono Trigger (J) |
| − | exception, rather than the rule--at least until the public switched
| + | * Chrono Trigger (J) (Pre-Release) |
| − | telephone network becomes completely digital.
| + | * Chrono Trigger (J) (PSX Version) |
| − | "I'd say when it's finished in a year or so, the standard will allow
| + | * Chrono Trigger (U) [!] |
| − | 19.2 Kbps transmissions on 80 percent of all lines, 24 Kbps on 50 percent of
| + | |
| − | all lines, and 28.8 Kbps communications on 20 percent of all lines," says
| + | ==External Links== |
| − | Walsh, who also helped develop the CCITT V.32bis standard for 14.4 Kbps
| |
| − | dial-up communications. "As the phone networks improve, top speeds will be
| |
| − | more easily achieved, so I think it's more realistic to think of it as a
| |
| − | 19.2 Kbps standard that is sometimes capable of higher speeds.
| |
| − | A common misconception is that the coming 28.8 Kbps standard will allow
| |
| − | speeds of 115.2 Kbps, when combined with V.42bis data compression. Walsh noted
| |
| − | that such calculations are based on an assumption that V.42bis allows 4 to 1
| |
| − | data compression. Outside the lab, V.42bis allows compression ratios between
| |
| − | 2 to 1 and 3 to 1, meaning that under REAL LIFE conditions, the forthcoming
| |
| − | standard will allow maximum throughput of about 86.4 Kbps.
| |
| − | "It's a mistake to use the 28.8 number and max everything out from that,"
| |
| − | said Walsh.
| |
| − | Not that the 28.8 Kbps standard doesn't have its advantages. After all,
| |
| − | 19.2 Kbps is an improvement over 14.4 Kbps. And the forthcoming standard will
| |
| − | adjust for line conditions, a critical factor in high-speed data
| |
| − | communications--like no previous standard. The standard under development
| |
| − | will include a "probing" function that the modem can use to "sound out" the
| |
| − | quality of the phone line. That will allow the modem to optimize transmissions
| |
| − | to take advantage of available bandwidth.
| |
| − | "We are still working on the training sequences," says Walsh. "But before
| |
| − | transmission starts, the standard will enable the modem to determine what band-
| |
| − | width is available and how to best position the signal to match available band-
| |
| − | width."
| |
| − | The standard achieves higher speeds through its ability to use more of a
| |
| − | line's bandwidth, not just the center portion of the channel used under current
| |
| − | standards.
| |
| − | "It will more closely match the modulation scheme to what's available,"
| |
| − | says Walsh. "That way, the modem can shape the transmissions to adapt
| |
| − | precisely to the channel, which is very important if you want to transmit at
| |
| − | high speeds.
| |
| − | The most recent committee meeting was held last month. Still to be
| |
| − | agreed upon are such critical issues as training sequences, coding schemes, and
| |
| − | signaling rates. Walsh said he expects the committee to reach final agreement
| |
| − | in 1993, with official CCITT adoption likely in 1994.
| |
| − | While some have taken to calling the standard under development V.Last,
| |
| − | Walsh isn't convinced this will be the final modem standard. After all, he
| |
| − | notes, no one thought dial-up phone lines would ever be this noise-free, and
| |
| − | further advances in that area could make even higher speed dial-up
| |
| − | communication possible.
| |
| − | "I'm certain we'll have at least a fax version of this standard as the
| |
| − | quality of phone lines keep improving," he said. "We're trying to be sure that
| |
| − | this standard will serve users into the year 2000. But modem standards are
| |
| − | like wars: you always think it's going to be the last one."
| |
| − | U. S. ROBOTICS, INC, (NASDAQ:USRX) (800)DIAL-USR voice for more infor-
| |
| − | mation.
| |
The following article is a game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
