News: Quick Spins
Jack of Diamonds: The Winning Card
For many of us, it's impossible to have a portable computer with enough PCMCIA slots. Ositech has created a multifunction card that gives the
expansion-mad among us just a bit of elbow room.
The new Jack of Diamonds PCMCIA Type 11 card, the first of what might become a TrumpCard family of multifunction cards, combines a 16 bit Ethernet network interface adapter with a high-speed fax/modem.
The Ethemet adapter portion of the Jack of Diamonds hooks up to 10-BaseT (twisted pair) networks with a direct RJ-45 cable connection; there is no need for an external module. The card also can be purchased with an external adapter for connection with 10Base2
(thinnet) LANS.
Regardless of the network connection you choose, the
Jack of Diamonds comes ready to work with many popular network operating systems. It ships with both Network Driver Interface Specification
(NDIS) and Open DataLink Interface (ODI) drivers. Specifically, the card comes with settings for Banyan Vines, DEC
Pathworks, IBM LAN Server, Microsoft LAN Manager, Windows for Workgroups, and, of course, Novell NetWare 3.x and 4.x. OS/2 users take note: The Jack of Diamonds comes with OS/2 NDIS and ODI drivers.
In practice, the Jack of Diamonds worked well with Artisoft LANtastic 6.0, and Novell NetWare 3.12 and NetWare 4.01. The installation instructions were clear and the NDIS and ODI drivers worked as advertised.
On the other side of the card, there's either a 14.4-Kbps or 28.8Kbps modem. The modem includes V42bis data compression and V.42 and MNP I 0 error correction This PC Card delivers both network and modem connectivity. correction to help maintain your link, even on noisy hotel and cellular connections.To use a cell phone, though, you'll need to purchase a cellular connection kit from
Ositech. T'he 28.8-Kbps model works both with the official V34 high-speed standard and Rockwefl's V FC standard.TWs modem can be set to use COM ports I to 4 and uses the Hayes AT command set. The card does not have a native communications program.Tbe modem ran perfectly with Datastorm's Proconun Plus and CompuServe's
WinCIM. Besides data communications, the modem side also does double duty as a fax machine.
Jack of Diamonds supports all important fax standards, up to and including V.17 14.4-Kbps faxing.
Unlike some communications and network software, Ositech's drivers can be safely placed into high memory.That's a nice feature, because to operate the modem and the network connection simultaneously you must load several drivers into memory. These are small files, less than 4K each, but every byte of conventional memory counts.
As all laptop owners know, each second of useful battery life also counts.To use the least amount of power possible, the card comes with automatic power management capability. So, for example, if you're using the modem but not the network interface, the card shuts down the LAN adapter.
All in all, there's a lot to like, and little to dislike, about the Jack of Diamonds. If you need network and modem connectivity when you're on the road, then the
Jack of Diamonds is the card for you.
-- Steven J Vaugban-Nichols
Reprinted by permission from Mobile Office Magazine, January 1995.
Copyright 1994 by Cowles Business Media
Reprinted by Reprint Management Services, (717) 560-2001.
