Apple has finished version 1.5 of the Apple Modem Tool, and modem users would do well to check it out. Major improvements include MNP support in software and additions to the user interface that enable you to create and edit a pop-up menu of frequently dialed phone numbers and to create and edit new modem types. Other new features include a cool About box (click on the version number), a better interface for switching between dialing and waiting for a call, and a Cabling button that displays a picture of the cable pinouts that you need. You can save the picture as a TeachText file, print the file, and either bring it to a store to get the right cable or use it to create your own cable.

Finding the modem tool proves a little difficult, since Apple hasn't posted the tool anywhere that we've heard, but has shipped it with the Newton Connection Kit and allowed it to ship with a demo version of Communicate Lite from Mark/Space Softworks (see TidBITS #184). Unlike the Newton Connection Kit, that demo is widely available on the nets, so you can snag the Apple Modem Tool and take a look at Communicate Lite while you're at it. I'll upload the demo to <ftp.tidbits.com>, and you can get it from <netcom.com> as:

/pub/mspace/communicate-lite-demo.hqx

or from your favorite sumex or mac.archive mirror site. It's also available on AppleLink (in the Third Party Demos folder) and on AOL (in the Macintosh Communications Forum's New Files library), but not yet on CompuServe, GEnie, or Delphi. If you'd like to upload it there, I'm sure people would appreciate it.

Mark/Space Softworks -- 800/799-4737 -- 510/649-7627 -- 408/982-9781 (support) -- 408/982-9780 (fax) -- mspace@netcom.com