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I've tried both the pp CD and the PCMCIA. Each has plusses and minuses neither of which should be a dealbreaker. On my first 560, I bought a parallel port machine with a printer pass-through port. The only downside was that I like to use an Iomega tape backup which also needs the parallel port. They don't work well together. The workaround is to manually change connections because they don't like AB switches either. On my new machine, I bought a PCMCIA CD. Its only negative, thus far, is that my PCMCIA modem is an Xjack. When the CD is connected threre's not enough room for the XJACK modem to be connected. Easy solution is to unplug one or the other. As above, minor problems in the overall picture, and if your modem isn't XJACK, there is no problem (at least with that issue). Mike K. -----Original Message----- From: David Ross <ross@math.hawaii.edu> To: hzkd0@eng.amdahl.com <hzkd0@eng.amdahl.com> Cc: THINKPAD@cs.utk.edu <THINKPAD@cs.utk.edu> Date: Thursday, December 04, 1997 3:02 AM Subject: [TP560] Re: ThinkPad 560 questions >> 2. I know it does not have a built in CD-Rom. But, I can hook up an >> external CD-Rom to the parallel port. Any problems with this set up? >> Or is there a better alternative? > >PCMCIA CDROMS are usually (not always!) faster, but less flexible (in >that you can't also use it on your desktop machine). Incidentally, I >just spend several days trying to get one drive (from CMS Enhancements) >working on my 560; finally gave up, sent it back, and now have a genuine >IBM drive (installed instantly, runs great, looks very cool). Moral: >not all drives work with all machines (though PP drives should have fewer >problems). > >If you only want the CDROM for software installation, and have access to >another PC which *does* have a CD, then you can install over a cable and >avoid the extra cost. > >> 3. This does not have a built in modem, but, If I buy a PCMCIA >> modem card, I should be able to dial anywhere. Correct me if I am wrong. > >If by 'anywhere' you include more than one continent, it helps to have >an "international" or "global" modem (which will recognize foreign >dial tones, busy signals, rings, etc) - not essential, but very nice >IMHO (my IBM "International" pcmcia modem works a treat in England, >much more convenient than the motorola I tried the previous trip). > >- David R. >