US Robotics SportsterVoice User Manual page 5

A modem is a computer peripheral that allows you to connect and communicate with other computers via telephone
lines. Modems allow you to combine the power of your computer with the global reach of the telephone system.
Because ordinary telephone lines cannot carry digital information, a modem changes the digital data from your
computer into analog data, a format that can be carried. In a similar manner, the modem receiving the call then
changes the analog signal back into digital data that the computer can digest. This shift of digital data into analog
data and back again allows two computers to "speak" with one another. Called modulation/ demodulation, this
transformation of signals is how the modem received its name.
With a modem and a standard telephone line, you can send faxes to the office or important customers without
leaving your computer. And with an online or internet connection, you can share recipes with fellow gourmets, catch
up on the latest news, view a weather map from Singapore, keep in touch with distant friends by electronic mail,
surf the World Wide Web and much more.
2