i want to connect two computers with a phone cable, modem to modem. is this possible?

sort of yes...... The only article I found is here: http://www.jagshouse.com/modem.html

hm. i didn't know that using phone lines required an electric current. what if it is done while hooked up to the actual phone line in the house, ie. from the computer to the wall, and in another room, from the wall to the other computer? brenton

Would not the telco dial tone or off hook signal interfer?

Why not use a null-modem cable. Saves a lot of hassle. All terminal programmes I have come across have the facilty for direct connection. All you need is an inexpensive null-modem cable and to configure each computers serial ports to the same baud, parity and start/stop bits. Load up a terminal programme on each computer and away you go. The article quoted by x86 is a bit misleading. Transfering binary files is no harder than plain text. Again, every terminal programme I have used includes error checking file transfer facilities. Hyperteminal certainly does. X-Modem, Y-Modem, Z-Modem and good old Kermit. These facilities were used regularly before the advent of the internet and inexpensive networking hardware, so the knowledge might have died out somewhat. Stuart

well, if im right, a null-modem is a sort of crossover serial cable, right? my laptop doesn't even have a serial port. its got usb, printer, even that monitor port that looks like a serial... maybe i just dont' understand null-modems. can someone explain that? brenton

Yes, a null modem is just like a Cat5 crossover cable. I am amazed that there is no serial connection on your laptop. The monitor port that looks like a serial you talk of. Does it have two rows of pins or three. If its two, its a serial port. Without a serial port a null modem or any kind of analouge modem is useless. Stuart