In the span of little more than two decades, telephone services has become just another part of a total communications package. Big providers routinely offer Internet, television, and telephone services based on an all-digital platform. While these inevitable changes are for the better, there can sometimes be unanticipated problems.
Fax machines, for example, are the workhorses of many offices, and many people still use them at home. The concept behind this technology is over a century old, and was originally designed for use over analog-based telephone lines. Attempting to use an older machine with a new, all-digital phone system can set the stage for disappointing results.
The result can be one-way transmissions, inability to answer at the far end, and for the user, general frustration. Alternate forms of Internet faxing sometimes require extra software, and in the case of VoIP service, special kinds of adapters. Dealing with this type of technological fix can be frustrating to people who are just trying to get a job done.
The new fax-to-email services now available can totally eliminate the need to keep using a bulky machine that consumes electricity, even when not in use. Unless you want to print everything you receive, there is often much less paper to buy. Not only is this a money saver, but also is beneficial to the environment.
Besides saving ink, there are logistical advantages. Because the documents appear either as attachments or files in an email, they may be viewed from any normal email location, without having to be in the office. There is no waiting for that familiar old beeping noise, and the transmission process is only limited by the speed of your connection.
The system is transparent to users on both ends. Subscribers receive a real fax number, and when dialed from another machine, the information being sent is converted into a digital file, which then appears to the recipient as an email attachment. It can be saved for easy reference without being printed. Sending works similarly by attaching a file or scanned copy of a document.
Compatibility between old-fashioned faxing and 21st century digital voice technology is no longer an issue with this type of service. Users rarely get busy signals, and garbled printouts become a thing of the past. There is never the need to free a paper jam. Fax to email services are one way to incorporate old technology into the digital age, while cutting down on wasted time and money.
By Lenore Rocamora
Fax machines, for example, are the workhorses of many offices, and many people still use them at home. The concept behind this technology is over a century old, and was originally designed for use over analog-based telephone lines. Attempting to use an older machine with a new, all-digital phone system can set the stage for disappointing results.
The result can be one-way transmissions, inability to answer at the far end, and for the user, general frustration. Alternate forms of Internet faxing sometimes require extra software, and in the case of VoIP service, special kinds of adapters. Dealing with this type of technological fix can be frustrating to people who are just trying to get a job done.
The new fax-to-email services now available can totally eliminate the need to keep using a bulky machine that consumes electricity, even when not in use. Unless you want to print everything you receive, there is often much less paper to buy. Not only is this a money saver, but also is beneficial to the environment.
Besides saving ink, there are logistical advantages. Because the documents appear either as attachments or files in an email, they may be viewed from any normal email location, without having to be in the office. There is no waiting for that familiar old beeping noise, and the transmission process is only limited by the speed of your connection.
The system is transparent to users on both ends. Subscribers receive a real fax number, and when dialed from another machine, the information being sent is converted into a digital file, which then appears to the recipient as an email attachment. It can be saved for easy reference without being printed. Sending works similarly by attaching a file or scanned copy of a document.
Compatibility between old-fashioned faxing and 21st century digital voice technology is no longer an issue with this type of service. Users rarely get busy signals, and garbled printouts become a thing of the past. There is never the need to free a paper jam. Fax to email services are one way to incorporate old technology into the digital age, while cutting down on wasted time and money.
By Lenore Rocamora
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