[comp.sys.ibm.pc] FAX Software for Regular Modem

roth@sce.carleton.ca (Carl Roth) (06/29/89)

I have seen ads for software that will allow you to use your pc,
and regular modem as a fax board, do they actually work.  I would
appreciate any information on this type of software, including it's
price, capabilities and where to get it.

Carl Roth
Carleton University
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

roth@sce.carleton.ca
roth@sce.uucp

uri@arnor.UUCP (Uri Blumenthal) (07/05/89)

From article <628@sce.carleton.ca>, by roth@sce.carleton.ca (Carl Roth):
> I have seen ads for software that will allow you to use your pc,
> and regular modem as a fax board, do they actually work.  I would
> appreciate any information on this type of software, including it's
> price, capabilities and where to get it.
>

And me!!!
Uri Blumenthal		(uunet!bywater!arnor!uri)

joel@peora.ccur.com (Joel Upchurch) (07/06/89)

 From article <628@sce.carleton.ca>, by roth@sce.carleton.ca (Carl Roth):
> I have seen ads for software that will allow you to use your pc,
> and regular modem as a fax board, do they actually work.  I would
> appreciate any information on this type of software, including it's
> price, capabilities and where to get it.
>

I may be mistaken, but I thought that these ads were for a service
where you send your files to them by regular modem and then they
send them out on their fax modem. You of course pay for the service.

If you only need to send a fax once in a while, it might be cheaper
to just go to some print shop or office supply store that offers
fax service.
-- 
Joel Upchurch/Concurrent Computer Corp/2486 Sand Lake Rd/Orlando, FL 32809
joel@peora.ccur.com {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd,ucf-cs}!peora!joel
Telephone: (407) 850-1040   Fax: (407) 857-0713

jamesd@percival.UUCP (James Deibele) (07/07/89)

In article <3902@peora.ccur.com> joel@peora.ccur.com (Joel Upchurch) writes:
>
> From article <628@sce.carleton.ca>, by roth@sce.carleton.ca (Carl Roth):
>> I have seen ads for software that will allow you to use your pc,
>> and regular modem as a fax board, do they actually work.  I would
>> appreciate any information on this type of software, including it's
>> price, capabilities and where to get it.
>>
>
>I may be mistaken, but I thought that these ads were for a service
>where you send your files to them by regular modem and then they
>send them out on their fax modem. You of course pay for the service.
>
>If you only need to send a fax once in a while, it might be cheaper
>to just go to some print shop or office supply store that offers
>fax service.

I don't believe that it's possible for normal modems to speak "fax" without
modifying them significantly.  There are now many fax boards coming out with
1200 or 2400 modem capability (Intel started this trend with the Connection
Coprocessor, but the Complete Fax Board has similar capability, and I've seen
a couple of others whose names escape me at the moment).

DEST made a fax board with an optional modem before they went into bankruptcy.
Someone (presumably a liquidator of some sort) was offering the local PC Club
members this boards for $200 (without modem).  I've seen an ad for them with
modem for $299 in Nuts & Volts.  The capabilities of PC fax boards are
quite good, comparable to the high-end dedicated fax machines (you can do the
equivalent of mass mailing quite easily) and it's a reasonable way to go if
you're going to be working with things you create on your machine (scanners are
pricey and don't seem to work as well as the dedicated machines).  However,
you have to dedicate a phone line, allocate a lot of hard disk space (in case
the killer junk fax people find you), and give up a significant chunk of RAM
for the software to stay in memory.

A PC fax board might be a good deal for after-hours, since it will save you
some money in long-distance, you can give your machine to it, and people who
try to reach you outside of "work hours" probably deserve to get the fax 
screeching at them.

What I did instead was to sign up with MCI Mail.  My need was to send documents
created on my PC fairly frequently, but rarely send graphics or receive faxes.
They're running a special for $10/month whereby you can send up to 40 faxes
(each page counts as a fax) or MCI Mail messages a month.  MCI Mail is terse
and ugly, but it gets the job done.  You put the people you plan on regularly
sending faxes to in a mailing list and save it.  Later, you just enter the name
of the mailing list, upload the text you've prepared, and save your message.
MCI will send you a message telling you the result (success, human answered,
perpetually busy, etc.).  They're advertising all over the various PC magazines
(PC, PC Week, etc.). CompuServe offers a similar capability, and GEnie and the
rest probably will soon, too.

If you need to receive documents, find a friend with a fax machine, ask if you 
can use his dedicated number, and buy him a roll of fax paper ($$$).  Or you
might try finding out the prices of a nearby copy shop, since they seem to be
a little cheaper when receiving documents than sending them --- but it's still
going to cost you a buck a page (or more).

Good luck.

-- 
James Deibele   UUCP: jamesd@percival   FidoNet #1:105/4.1   (503) 646-8257
TECHbooks: The Computer Book Specialists  ---  Are you on our mailing list?
12600 SW 1st  Beaverton, OR  97005    BBS: (503) 760-1473 or (503) 761-7451
C++, X11, BSD, TCP/IP, AWK, OOP, VLSI, Comer, Yourdon, Weinberg, & more ...

johns@hp-ptp.HP.COM (John_Schubert) (07/19/89)

CompuServe will allow you to send and recieve FAX's through their service for
a small fee.

sharon@asylum.SF.CA.US (Sharon Fisher) (07/23/89)

In article <1400001@hp-ptp.HP.COM> johns@hp-ptp.HP.COM (John_Schubert) writes:
>CompuServe will allow you to send and recieve FAX's through their service for
>a small fee.

You can send them, but you cannot receive them.

-- 
"Inanna spoke:
	My vulva, the horn, the Boat of Heaven, is full of eagerness like 
the young moon. My untilled land lies fallow.  As for me, Inanna, who will 
plow my vulva? Who will plow my high field? Who will plow my wet ground?"
					Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth
					Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer