25 things vanishing in America, part 2: the fax machine

I use fax a fair amount, but I don't use a fax machine. I use a program called RKS Fax and fax straight from the scanner on my computer. Inbound works the same way. I have it hooked to Voip phone line that costs me $20/year, though it's a bit strange plugging my computer into my computer (plugging a wire from the phone in jack on the computer to the phone out jack on the Voip adapter).

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Since the fax was invented in 1852!!! it's about damn time it went away.

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While email has replaced faxing for a lot of people, there are still industries where they are a part of everyday life. Believe it or not, real estate agents, doctors, insurance brokers, insurance companies, lawyers, accountants, construction workers, car dealers and many others send large volumes of faxes every day. They do it with documents that need signatures or have hand written notes on them, and for documents that require a higher level of security than email can provide. I know of one medical facility that says it receives 50,000 faxes and sends another 10,000 each month. So faxing itself isn’t going away any time soon.

But you are right about the fax machine itself. It’s being replaced by Internet fax services. (Full disclosure: I work for MyFax (www.myfax.com), one of the providers of these services.) These services allow users to send and receive faxes through their email accounts or via a secure online server, allowing them to eliminate the fax machine, the extra phone line, toner, most of the paper usage (they do occasionally have to print some, but only the pages they choose) and even the energy it takes to power a fax machine 24 x 7. Not only that, Internet fax services allow them to send and receive faxes anywhere they can get an Internet connection, which is more in keeping with the mobile nature of our society as a whole. There are even free versions (such as our MyFax Free) that are perfect for the person who just needs to send a fax now and then.

So while faxes will probably still continue to be used for many years to come, there’s no need for a clunky old fax machine. There are better options.

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Faxing should go away, it's such a redundant and wasteful method of communication...

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For confidentiality, faxes have their uses; there are things I don't want to send via e-mail, and I still won't do financial transactions (other than occasional credit card purchases from well-known companies) online. That said, I use my old fax machine only about once every two months to schedule transportation for doctors' appointments.

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Funny article except...
$450.00 is not a top of the line fax. And, if you are using ink cartridges, that is a second sign of not understanding the technology. Top of the line faxes allow you to send and receive electronically through the unit so you don't use paper or ink. As one user said above, faxing is still critical to many vertical markets. In addition, faxing is point to point to in regards to safety and compliancy, faxing is secure. It is communication between two devices and any interruption at all will cause it to fail the handshaking and other error correction that is built into the protocol. It may be a dying technology for very small organizations and business but is alive and well for HIPAA, SOX and other regulations where information needs to be secure. You'd be surprised at how easily emails and other IP based technologies can be hacked and stolen. Faxing from between two $450.00 machines I would agree is old but newer MFP devices and true commercial faxes is necessary more often than not.

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times change and what was cutting edge just a short time ago today is an antique. In the early 80's with my portable fax machine and my cell phone, my umbilical to the office was broken and driving was cut by 30%.The cell phone weighed about 8 pounds and the fax about 7. Now my blackberry gives me the same info and weighs less the a pound. But 20 years from now it too will be an antique.

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Companies today are forgetting one very important thing...Not everyone has a computer or a cell phone, especially the elderly. I think the elderly are getting a lot of things stuffed down their throats. My dad was partially blind and had a very difficult time trying to figure out how to operate a cable tv. He wouldn't have stood a chance with a computer and emails. Companies want to sent bills via email, but what happens when the computer is not working, or it ends up in the Spam folder and accidently deleted? How many people can even afford a computer or a cell phone with all the bells and whistles? Not everyone who has a computer checks emails every day.

I'll bet the companies are already spending all those late charges that people are going to be paying soon!

I hope the fax machines are still around for a while..I use mine fairly regularily.

JMHO :)

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The Fax machine will not go away until Healtchare systems are fully paperless

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Can't believe the fax machines weren't thrown into the same pet rock and legwarmer volcano when the 2000s began. Saving on paper, saving on ink, environmentaly and economically. When I still see "please fax resume" I'm like, "are you for real?". Get with the millenium. Sure, for legal documents and signatures it helps, but now you can sign your name, scan a copy, email it, they print on the other side. Done.

I, however, disagree that bills will be emailed. No way. Everyone doesn't --- and many have refused to ever --- own a computer. Paper bills will always be.

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@ Ryno

I totally agree with you. Fax machines are a thing of the past. But I guess there are several businesses that dont want to waist their fax machines even though they bought it 9 years ago.

Ive been an internet fax user for more than 2 years now with http://www.ringcentral.com. Its a good value for money since you dont need an extra phone lines or someone that will accept the fax.


Paul

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