On Wed, 9 Jun 1999, Kent West wrote: > /dev/modem is a "generic" term for where your modem actually is. You > can solve this in one of two ways: 1) make a symlink named /dev/modem > that points to your actual modem (not recommended, because the system > then can't place a lock on the modem to prevent two people/processes > from trying to use it at the same time)
According to Documentation/devices.txt in the kernel source, an application is supposed to follow the symlink and lock the actual device (as well as the symlink). In this way, it doesn't cause the problem you predict. If you find a package that doesn't do this, file a bug report since it's quite a serious bug. For the actual quote, either load the mentioned file and search for "symlink" or email me privately and i'll send it to you.
