U.S. Robotics
197365
224942904
2008-07-11T03:04:22Z
MSJapan
333857
slight rewrite, rm excessive product claims.
{{Infobox Company
| company_name = U.S. Robotics
| company_logo = [[Image:Usrlogo.png]]
| company_slogan =
| vector_logo =
| company_type = Subsidiary
| genre =
| foundation = 1976
| founder =
| location = [[Schaumburg, Illinois|Schaumburg]], [[Illinois]]
| origins =
| key_people =
| area_served =
| industry = [[Computer industry|Computer]]
| products = [[Modem]]s, [[Computer networking|Wired and Wireless Networking]], [[VoIP]]
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| num_employees =
| parent =
| subsid =
| owner = [[Platinum Equity]]
| homepage = [http://www.usr.com/ www.usr.com]
| footnotes =
}}
'''U.S. Robotics''' (often referred to by its abbreviation '''USR''') is a [[company (law)|company]] that makes computer [[modem]]s and related products. It sold high-speed modems in the 1980s, and had a reputation for high quality and compatibility<!-- with what? -->. With the reduced usage of voiceband modems in North America in the early 21st century, USR is now one of the few modem companies left in that market.
== History ==
{{Refimprovesect|date=May 2008}}
USR was founded in 1976 in [[Chicago, Illinois]] (and later moved to 8100 N. McCormick Blvd. in Skokie, Illinois), by a group of entrepreneurs, including [[Casey Cowell]], who served as CEO for most of the company's history and [[Paul Collard]] who designed modems into the mid-80's. The name for the company is a reference to [[Isaac Asimov]], who is credited with inventing the term [[robotics]], and whose Robot stories featured a fictional company named [[U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men]]. The 2004 Will Smith movie [[I, Robot (film)|I, Robot]], loosely based on Asimov's works and set in Chicago, uses U.S. Robotics as the name of the fictional robot manufacturer. The film's U.S. Robotics corporate logo resembles a former real-life USR logo.
USR was one of many companies to offer dialup modems for personal computers. Prior to the development of standards such as the [[V.32]] family of protocols, USR introduced its own '''HST''' (''High-Speed Transfer'') protocol in 1986 which operated at 9600 [[bit rate|baud]]. In 1989 HST was expanded to 14.4 kbit/s, 16.8 kbit/s in 1992 and finally 21 kbit/s and 24 kbit/s as phone lines improved and the protocol was adapted to use more [[Bandwidth (signal processing)|bandwidth]].
USR was not the only company making proprietary modems; [[Telebit]]'s '''TrailBlazer''' series offered speeds up to 19.2 kbit/s in its first model, and [[Hayes Microcomputer Products|Hayes]] also introduced a 9600 bit/s Express 96 (or "Ping-Pong") system. However, USR became the most successful of the three, due to a marketing scheme that offered large discounts to [[BBS]] [[sysop]]s. This allowed large long-distance file transfers, such as [[FidoNet]] packets, to be exchanged more quickly.
[[Image:fax modem antigo.jpg|thumb|left|200px|U.S. Robotics Sportster 14,440 Fax Modem (1994)]]
The proprietary nature of HST allowed USR to maintain its market dominance even when off-brand V.32-based modems began selling for less than equivalent HST modems. As the price differential decreased, however, V.32-based modems eventually became a cost-effective alternative to HST. Nevertheless, USR maintained its user base by creating slightly faster HST protocols (in particular, a 16.8 kbit/s mode) and by producing "dual standard" modems which were able to communicate with both HST and V.32 modems at high speeds.
During this period USR differentiated its high and low-end product lines by supporting only the V.32 modes on their low-end '''Sportster''' models, while its high-end '''Courier''' models supported V.32, HST, or both in the '''Courier Dual Standard''' models. The Sportster used the same motherboard as the Couriers, and on certain 14.4 models a sequence of AT commands could be issued to enable the faster 16.8 HST mode.[http://groups.google.com/group/comp.dcom.telecom.tech/browse_frm/thread/4b07122a94a43b50] The Courier remained a favorite in the BBS and emerging [[internet service provider|ISP]] world, where they were known to run without problem for extended periods of time (although the initial large-scale deployment of Courier modems in the [[CompuServe]] network uncovered a serious bug which would cause the modems to crash and stop answering calls under high call volumes).
[[Image:USR Sportster 56k 117102 ISA (front side) (public domain).jpeg|thumb|USR Sportster 56k 117102 ISA modem supporting X2 and V.90]]
Later, when 56 kbit/s modems were introduced, USR again went its own direction, with its [[X2 (Chipset)|X2]] technology pitched against [[K56flex]] before the creation of a formal 56K standard. After the [[V.90]] industry standard became available USR abandoned its proprietary protocol. In a further effort to reduce the retail price of its modems, USR also marketed a [[Winmodem]].
Some models of Courier modems were known for their long-term upgradeability, because they used an upgradeable [[digital signal processor|DSP]] design. For example, when the Courier V.Everything modem was first released in 1994 under the product label "Courier V.34 Ready", it shipped with only [[V.FC]] support because V.34 had not been released. A free V.34 upgrade was made available later via FidoNet networks, as well as via the Internet. USR then surprised many early Courier V.Everything modem owners with a limited-time free offer of an X2 firmware upgrade, which added 56K speed capability. Finally, USR released a [[V.90]] upgrade that was compatible with X2-upgraded Courier V.Everything modems. Even the 1994 hardware released pre-V.34 was fully V.90 upgradeable without hardware modifications, yielding a very long product life to those who owned Courier V.Everything modems; many of these modems were still in use more than a decade later.
==Commoditization==
After acquiring [[Palm, Inc.]], in 1995, USR was in turn acquired by [[3Com Corporation]] in June 1997. It was then recreated as a spin-off of 3Com in June 2000, assuming 3Com's entire client modem business except for the Palm-related portion, which itself had been spun off with Palm three months earlier. Other portions of the original USR remained in 3Com as the [[CommWorks Corporation]]. USR then quickly built up its device portfolio, and now makes not only traditional dial-up modems, but also wired- and wireless-networking components including [[network switch]]es, gateways, routers, and [[wireless access point]]s. The company was acquired by [[Platinum Equity]] in 2005.
== References ==
<references/>
==External links==
*[http://www.usr.com/ Official website] of U.S. Robotics Corporation
*[http://www.usr.com/download/brochures/press-backgrounder.pdf Corporate press kit that discusses origin of company name (pdf)]
*[http://mnschicago.medill.northwestern.edu/article.asp?articleID=10461&item=1 Article discussing the Asimov-USR connection and USR's marketing tie-ins to the movie]
{{Finance links
| name = U.S. Robotics Corporation
| google = 9605236
| yahoo = 101/101968
| hoovers = 101968
}}
[[Category:Computer companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Companies based in Cook County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Schaumburg, Illinois]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1976]]
[[Category:Privately held companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Telecommunications equipment vendors]]
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