Toshiba 2800-S201, User Manual

Page: 83 / 293

Part I: Getting to Know Your Computer
Learning the Basics
Setting up for communications
83
Setting up for communications
To communicate across the telephone lines with another
computer, you need:
A modem (a 56Kflex modem comes with your
computer)
A telephone line
A communications program
In essence, the telephone line is just a very long data cable
that connects to another computer. You use a
communications program to converse with the other
computer or network. For the simplest of connections, you
can use a terminal emulator program such as Microsoft’s
HyperTerminal. Connecting to America Online
®
requires a
specialized communications program supplied by AOL to
you at no charge. To connect to the Internet, you need a
Web browser, such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
To connect your computer to a network, you need either:
A network card (to connect to the network’s
communication system)
A modem (to connect to the network through a dial-up
connection)
For specific information about connecting to the LAN or
WAN, consult your network administrator.
To use a dial-up connection, see Connecting your computer
to a network on page 82.