Zoomer Frequently Asked Questions Copyright (c) 1993 David K Goodman Last change: Dec 30, 1993 This file contains Frequently Asked Questions about the Zoomer: the Tandy Z-PDA and Casio Z-7000 machines, and others of the same type. The items are organized by experience level, but with recent items at the top. Please submit any questions that you feel would be of interest to others. Please do not re-post this to other BBSs or services. A $10 donation to the address below would encourage me to maintain this list. Enjoy. ______ Dr. / oom /------ % Dave Goodman 448 Ignacio Bl #220-Z Novato, CA 94949 CIS: 72330,130 AOL: DKGoodman ----- New Questions: For New and Non-users ------- Q. What kind of AC adapter can I use? A. The adapter sold by Casio and Radio Shack is recommended. It is 6 volts, 800 milliamps, negative tip. Q. What do I need to know about airports and the Zoomer? A. The X-RAY machines at airports only affect photographic film. They do not seem to affect magnetic media such as diskettes. Since the Zoomer doesn't even have magnetic media, it is totally unaffected by airport security equipment. Sometimes you will be asked to turn on the Zoomer to prove that it is actually a working computer. Most airlines will request that you keep it off during takeoff and landing, but will allow use during normal flight. Q. Can I use the same serial cable with both my modem and PC? A. Modems and PCs communicate using different pins on the serial cable. To use your cable with a device it was not designated for, you need to add a "Null Modem Adapter" available from Radio Shack and most computer retailers. The adapter comes in 9-pin and 25-pin versions. Get the one that matches your serial cable. Q. What are the pinouts of the serial cables? A. Casio/Tandy Zoomer Z-7000 serial port pinouts: ZOOMER SERIAL PORT TO PC CABLE 1 Ground 2 Receive 3 Transmit 4 Data Terminal Ready 5 Frame Ground 6 Data Set Ready (and 10 CD) 7 Request To Send 8 Clear To Send 9 Ring Indicator (no connection) 10 no connection ZOOMER SERIAL PORT TO MODEM CABLE 1 Ground 2 Receive 3 Transmit 4 Data Terminal Ready 5 Frame Ground (no connection) 6 Data Set Ready 7 Request to Send 8 Clear To Send 9 Ring Indicator 10 Carrier Detect Q. How do I modify CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT? A. Be sure that you know what you're doing, because it's possible to lock up your unit and lose all data on B: if you don't set up these files properly. The default CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are on the A: drive, which is ROM (read-only). To make changes, you must copy the AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and COMMAND.COM files to the root of your B: drive. You can then modify the B: versions using an ASCII editor such as the one in America Online. NOTE: You must have both CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT on B: to boot from that drive. The CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files on A: will then be ignored. If you don't copy COMMAND.COM to the B: drive, the system will not be able to boot, and won't recover gracefully. You will be forced to do a hard reset to get the system to boot, losing all data on your B: drive. The Zoomer will not boot off of the C: RAM card. ----- For New and Non-users ------- Q. What's a Zoomer? A. A PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). A pocket-sized computer with pen input and personal information applications. The two current Zoomers are the Tandy Z-PDA and Casio Z-7000 which are nearly identical. Q. What are the specs of the Zoomer? A. The following applies to the Z-PDA and Z-7000: CPU: 8 MHz 8086 compatible Internal Memory: 4 MB ROM, 1 MB RAM Operating System: GEOS 2.0 Built-in Applications: Date Book, Address Book, Note Book, Pocket Quicken, America Online, Calculator, Dictionary, Form Calculator, World Clock, Language Translator, Games (Solitaire, Pyramid, Uki), File Manager, Consumer Info, U.S. Info, World Information. Display Resolution: 320 x 256 Monochrome Power Supply: Main: 3 x AA Alkaline batteries or AC adapter Backup: 2 x CR-2032 coin batteries Battery Life: Main: approx. 100 hours Backup: 5 years if not needed 2 months with dead main batteries Power Consumption: 0.57 W Input/Output: 10-pin RS-232 serial port, Infra-red port, PCMCIA card slot, Earphone jack, display screen, touch panel, 1 Joystick button and 2 Fire buttons Dimensions: 1 H x 4 1/4 W x 6/15 D inches Weight: 15.2 oz. including batteries Q. Where can I get a Zoomer? A. The following is from Casio Tech Support on America Online: RETAIL LOCATIONS: Adrays Circuit City (select locations) Computer City Superstores Fry's Electronics Good Guys Incredible Universe Lechmere's Office Depot Office Max The Silo Service Merchandise Staples The Wiz Top's Appliance Warehouse Clubs MAIL ORDER: Damark Catalog Dellware Microwarehouse Skymall Q. Where do I go to get stuff? A. Here are some of the major players: Geoworks 2150 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 644-0883 SDK for programming for GEOS: 1-800-GEOS-SDK Quick Shuffle card games: 1-800-824-4558 x450 Palm Computing, Inc. 4410 El Camino Real #108 Los Altos, CA 94022 1-800-881-PALM - Orders (415) 949-9300 - Tech Support (voice) (415) 949-8699 - Tech Support (FAX) PalmConnect data transfer package $119.95 Full size PDA pens America Online 1-800-827-6364 AGD - Association of GEOS Developers 916-753-6004 for membership information Global Products - Casio Distributor 1-800-633-0633 EAI - Casio Distributor 1-800-272-0272 Q. What accessories are there? A. The following is listed by Casio Tech Support on America Online: From Palm Computing: Z-125 Palm Connect (Data Transfer Package) $119.95 From GeoWorks: Quick Shuffle Game Card $34.95 + $6.95 S/H Zip and Zing Cards (Turbo RAM Cards) 1 MB $249 2 MB $349 In stores: Z-225 Leather Cover/Case $39.95 XP-1 Replacement Pen $5.95 XC-100 1.8 MB Memory Card $329.95 SB-92 PC/Printer Cable SB-82 Modem Cable Q. What kind of handwriting recognition does it have? A. It recognizes block, not cursive writing. It does not "learn" or adapt to your writing, but works well right out of the box. By learning a few tricks, the user gets better at printing text that can be recognized. There is also a pop-up on-screen keyboard for entering text more directly and accurately. Q. Is there a keyboard available? A. There is no keyboard, and no connector for one. It is possible, I believe, to connect one via the serial port, but none are available to my knowledge. Q. What about serial communications? A. The serial port requires a custom cable available separately or with the Palm Connect communications package from Palm Computing. There is currently no general-purpose communications program for the Zoomer. There are applications available now or in the near future from Palm Computing and Intellilink to connect the Zoomer to your PC or Mac. Q. How do I program for the Zoomer? A. Call 1-800-GEOS-SDK and order the $99 SDK from GeoWorks. You'll need Borland C 3.1 and lots of disk space. You'll also need to learn the unique object-oriented style of the SDK. Q. Where can I get a Zoomer? A. Radio Shack and Casio retailers. Q. Whats a PCMCIA slot? A. It's where you can insert electronic cards to add memory or I/O devices like a modem. Q. What's RAM and ROM? A. Random Access Memory is the kind you can read and write to. Read Only Memory you can only read from. Q. What's a modem? A. A device that lets your computer talk to other computers by connecting to the phone system. Q. Can I run DOS programs on the Zoomer? A. No. The Zoomer is not configured like most DOS machines, having no keyboard, non-standard video and non-standard serial I/O. (A few special DOS programs that display output in a well-behaved fashion and don't require keyboard input can be made to run, but defeats the purpose of the Zoomer.) Q. How do I reset the Zoomer? A. Remove the battery compartment cover and press a pen or paper clip into the reset access hole. Then wait a minute or so (with a blank screen) for it to reboot. If that doesn't work, try a hard reset: hold down the A and B Fire buttons at the same time that you press the reset switch. Keep the buttons down for a few seconds after pressing reset. A hard reset will erase any data not on a RAM card or built-in, so should be avoided. If you're resetting because the screen is blank, try adjusting the contrast before assuming that it's locked up. Q. How do I backup the unit? A. Copy files to a RAM card, or use a serial cable and optional software to copy files to another computer, or send via modem to another computer or service.