An Unpleasant Task And No Mastery

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday January 30, 1997

By MARK CAMM

taskMASTERpro Sound, 33.6K modem and full duplex telephony board Distributed by Digiland, ph 1800 622 994

TOO light to be an anchor, too heavy for a kite, and not much use as a doorstop: this was my reaction to this multimedia communications plug-in board. I do have some positive things to say about it, but not just yet.

I spent 23 hours over two days, including Australia Day, trying to make it work fully and reliably, and I failed. A colleague, Michael Taylor, a PC consultant and troubleshooter, spent six hours trying to make it work. He failed, too. He even missed a James Bond movie to help me, a sacrifice on his part that only true James Bond fans will fully appreciate.

Are these just exaggerations purely for a little bit of journalistic sensationalism? Not on your life. Although the board is distributed by Digiland, it was passed on to me for review by a person, a PC manufacturer, whose integrity and judgment I have always valued. To turn around to him now and say, in effect, "Sunshine, you put these things in your PCs and your reputation could be in tatters", hurts.

There are many used-car salesmen and foot-in-the-door journalists in disguise in the PC industry, from the PR side to the shopfront. But there are also people who are simply decent, honest human beings and it is always a pleasure to deal with them. When it is people such as this who ask you to review a product, and the product sucks like a supercharged Electrolux, you're not so much worried about losing a good contact as a good friend.

OK, that aside, here's something positive about the taskMASTERpro : if I could actually have got all the components to work together simultaneously, without crashing, without freezing, without system errors, then I would have had a product I would have been satisfied with. Perhaps not ecstatic, but satisfied.

The card replaces in your PC your sound card and internal modem, if you have one. Then, on this one card that you plug back in, you get sound, a fully featured fax modem (28.8K, but upgradable to 33.6K with the supplied software), and a full duplex telephone that includes hands-free conversations and answering machine. On paper, brilliant.

If, and I mean if someone talks you into buying a taskMASTERpro, do not try to install it yourself. Even, as I have said, when people with a reasonable level of knowledge and experience try to do it at home, it is just not a paying proposition. Have it installed for you by the technicians at the shop selling you the card. This goes not just for the taskMASTERpro, but every add-on board, even if it is a Windows 95 plug-and-play device. Take no risks and certainly take no prisoners. You have better things to do with your time.

Before trying to install the taskMASTERpro, I removed my internal modem and sound card, and removed all traces of the software running them to reduce the inherent risks of software and hardware conflicts. I need not have bothered. The software and hardware conflicts caused by the taskMASTERpro, those affecting how the PC sees and reacts to its various devices and software drivers, were many, varied, infuriating and insoluble.

The taskMASTERpro also came with a headset to allow for hands-free use of the telephone. Headset? One part consisted of a screw-in ear piece, and the other a dingle-dangle microphone. Absolutely pathetic, and the worst thing is, it was only this so-called headset that would work with the card. Nothing else would.

I have a feeling that as far as the taskMASTERpro's electronics and technological integrity are concerned, they are of a fairly high standard, but showing definite signs of age. I'm almost positive it was developed purely for use on Windows 3.x, and under that aging environment would probably shine a lot brighter than it does under Windows 95.

The software that comes with the package is among the worst I have had to deal with, and the documentation is next to useless.

Perhaps a Windows 3.x owner with some patience and technical ability, not to mention persistence, might find the taskMASTERpro a godsend. It fairly shrieks as a Windows 3.x device. As for Windows 95 users, avoid it at all costs.

* If you do want a single multimedia plug-in card that includes sound, fax modem and telephony, loves Windows 95, comes with good, reliable software and comprehensive documentation, then Creative's Phone Blaster would be a very good choice.

I've used Phone Blaster and found it to be simple to install, use and live with. Comparing it to the taskMASTERpro is just, well, plain stupid, so I won't.