Getting Started; Hardware And Software Requirements - Zoom PCMCIA V.90 User Manual

Getting Started

The 56K PC Card you've just purchased is a full-featured
controllerless faxmodem. A controllerless modem is cost-
effective. It has an onboard DSP (digital signal processor)
to handle all the computation-intensive data transmis-
sion functions, and it relies on the power of your com-
puter to perform other, less-demanding functions: hard-
ware error correction, data compression, and AT com-
mands.
In contrast to the soft modems that ship inside many
computers today, controllerless faxmodems offer an out-
standing price/performance benefit. A controllerless fax-
modem imposes a minimal load on a computer's CPU—
typically about 1 percent—compared with a soft modem's
load of 20 to 40 percent. Even if your computer came with
a preinstalled soft modem, you can easily upgrade to a
controllerless modem and speed up your system consid-
erably.
In addition, we've designed the PC Card to be compatible
with the telephone systems in over 185 countries. If you
travel internationally with your laptop computer, our
World Traveler™ software allows you to change the
country-specific configuration almost instantaneously.

Hardware and Software Requirements

In your modem package, you should have received the
following items in addition to this manual:
• PC Card faxmodem
• PC Card phone cord
•
Communications software on CD or diskette
• Phone cord adapter (certain models only).
To use your modem, you need the following hardware:
•
A 133MHz computer with a CD-ROM drive, running
Windows® 95, 98, NT 4.0, or 2000, with a PC Card
Type II, Type III, or Toshiba 16mm slot, at least 16 MB
4 User's Guide