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Fax machine obsolete? Thread poster: OlafK
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OlafK
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:46
English to German
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I'm considering abolishing my fax machine due to crazy amounts of spam by fax. Actually, I haven't received a business related fax in years. Do you people still use fax, receive faxes? Do you think it's okay to get rid of it and tell clients so?
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golf264 
United States
Local time: 10:46
English to Dutch
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| Possible solution | Dec 11, 2007 |
How about then just use your fax to send messages,
and receive faxes only by arrangement/agreement beforehand?
Then you avoid the spam...
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Juan Jacob
Mexico
Local time: 08:46
French to Spanish
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| What's that? | Dec 11, 2007 |
Yeah, I remember now... you put a piece of paper in a machine, you dial, and an other person receives a copy... yeah. Used it very few, a long time ago. In fact, there is a fax in my multiuse machine, but don't know how to use it. We do scan everything now, right?
IMO, yes, get rid of it. Tell your clients? Well, if you haven't receive a fax in years, no. They probably don't know you still have one.
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Margreet Logmans (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 16:46
English to Dutch
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| I've decided to keep it | Dec 11, 2007 |
I don't get a lot of spam, and I do use my fax machine.
One time, I could not contact my client via e-mail on a delivery day (ISP down)
and I printed my translation and faxed it, so at least they knew I'd kept my part of the deal.
I don't use my fax machine on a daily or weekly basis, but I've decided to keep it just in case.
Receive? Rarely.
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Evi Wollinger
Germany
Local time: 16:46
Member (2003)
English to German
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| I got rid of mine a year ago | Dec 11, 2007 |
....due to a move. I considered getting a new one for a few months, until I realized that I really did not need one.
My scanner is very fast and scans pages as fast as I could fax them - none of my clients complained, the few times somebody wanted to send a fax in the past year it was no problem for me to convince them to send me an email instead.
I have not regretted getting rid of my fax and am not planning on getting a new one.
What works for me might not work for yo... See more ....due to a move. I considered getting a new one for a few months, until I realized that I really did not need one.
My scanner is very fast and scans pages as fast as I could fax them - none of my clients complained, the few times somebody wanted to send a fax in the past year it was no problem for me to convince them to send me an email instead.
I have not regretted getting rid of my fax and am not planning on getting a new one.
What works for me might not work for you - just my own experience! ▲ Collapse
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Gerard de Noord
France
Local time: 16:46
Member (2003)
English to Dutch
+ ...
| I've never owned a fax | Dec 11, 2007 |
I've used the virtual built-in Microsoft fax for as long as I can remember.
Go to Control Panel/Printers and Faxes and double-click on Fax (Microsoft Shared Fax Driver) to see if it would work for you.
Regards,
Gerard
P.S. Never throw away your old 56K modem, you'll be able to send and receive faxes even if your ISP is down.
[Edited at 2007-12-11 21:57]
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NancyLynn
Canada
Local time: 10:46
Member (2002)
French to English
+ ...
MODERATOR | Still comes in handy | Dec 11, 2007 |
For example, my neighbour needed to borrow it to fax his mortgage papers (!)
I used it last week when a wicked snowstorm konked out my satellite internet service. My client in Europe still needed the translation, storm or no storm! I was very happy to be able to fax it over, with a promise to email the electronic version as soon as internet was available.
Some jobs have come in that way, too.
I've congratulated myself several times over the past year on kee... See more For example, my neighbour needed to borrow it to fax his mortgage papers (!)
I used it last week when a wicked snowstorm konked out my satellite internet service. My client in Europe still needed the translation, storm or no storm! I was very happy to be able to fax it over, with a promise to email the electronic version as soon as internet was available.
Some jobs have come in that way, too.
I've congratulated myself several times over the past year on keeping the old thing around!
Nancy ▲ Collapse
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John Cutler
Spain
Local time: 16:46
Spanish to English
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| Nearly extinct but holding on | Dec 11, 2007 |
If you had asked this question last week, I would have said faxes have gone the way of the dinosaur. A couple of days ago, however, I had to send in an application form for a class I´ll be attending. They needed to see my signature (or a facsimile of it), so they requested that I return the form by fax.
I suppose it's also still a way to send printed documents that aren't on a computer.
I guess the fax is more like a species close to extinction rather than actually ext... See more If you had asked this question last week, I would have said faxes have gone the way of the dinosaur. A couple of days ago, however, I had to send in an application form for a class I´ll be attending. They needed to see my signature (or a facsimile of it), so they requested that I return the form by fax.
I suppose it's also still a way to send printed documents that aren't on a computer.
I guess the fax is more like a species close to extinction rather than actually extinct. Mine mostly collects dust; if nothing else I may donate it to a museum at some point. ▲ Collapse
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Giulia TAPPI
France
Local time: 16:46
French to Italian
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| No use for me | Dec 11, 2007 |
I had to turn it off at night, because all the ads coming in were really disturbing.
It costed a lot, and nobody sent any work this way anymore.
The only problem now is sometimes I have to send papers to agencies or to the administration, but it happens quite seldom.
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Evi Wollinger
Germany
Local time: 16:46
Member (2003)
English to German
+ ...
| papers to an agency | Dec 11, 2007 |
Giulia TAPPI wrote:
I had to turn it off at night, because all the ads coming in were really disturbing.
It costed a lot, and nobody sent any work this way anymore.
The only problem now is sometimes I have to send papers to agencies or to the administration, but it happens quite seldom.
- fax is just a printed copy, like any email is, too, once you print it out. If I have to send a signed paper to an agency, I print it out, sign it, scan it, and send it back by email. The whole process does not take me any longer than dialling a number. And it does not cost extra money.
If my internet connection was down, however, that would be a different story!
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tazdog (X)
Spain
Local time: 16:46
Spanish to English
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| obsolete for me | Dec 11, 2007 |
We discovered just last week, quite by chance, that our elderly fax machine has apparently given up the ghost (it had been many months since we'd used it, probably almost a year, so who knows when it actually died). Since we'd only used it once or twice a year on average for the last five or six years, we don't plan to replace it. Scanned copies and e-mail work just as well.
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Ana Naglić
Croatia
Local time: 16:46
Member (2005)
English to Croatian
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| Still used in Croatia | Dec 11, 2007 |
Fax machines are still used in Croatia (every "proper" business should have one) - and I haven't received a single spam message, ever.
I usually get bank statements (nice feature, whenever you're receiving money) and occasionaly I have to fax bids (for projects).
Otherwise - I really do prefer e-business.
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Mark Nathan
France
Local time: 16:46
Member (2002)
French to English
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I accidentally unplugged mine a while ago in an attempt to sort out the mess of cables under the table and then, when I noticed, I thought, hey, why plug it in again?
So now I plug it in every once in a while for a pre-arranged fax, which I quite enjoy, it reminds of those episodes of Star Trek when Scottie would say things like, "Well Captain, fortunately I hung on to few old kryptonite crystals...so I think I might just be able to get us out of here..."
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Claire Cox
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:46
French to English
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I have to use mine to fax my invoices for an Austrian agency. Apparently e-mailed invoices are no longer acceptable in Austria unless they bear a digital signature and I still haven't got round to working out how I do that - although I suspect it costs money! So, it's either the fax or the post and I think faxing is cheaper, quicker and more efficient juding by the number of things we've lost in the post this year.
I was also able to use it to fax instructions to my father last week... See more I have to use mine to fax my invoices for an Austrian agency. Apparently e-mailed invoices are no longer acceptable in Austria unless they bear a digital signature and I still haven't got round to working out how I do that - although I suspect it costs money! So, it's either the fax or the post and I think faxing is cheaper, quicker and more efficient juding by the number of things we've lost in the post this year.
I was also able to use it to fax instructions to my father last week on how to set up a temporary dial-up internet connection when his broadband service was disconnected prematurely prior to their house move. I searched on the internet for a cheap non-subscription dial-up service, faxed him the information and he had it up and running in no time!
I certainly wouldn't get rid of it - belt and braces is my motto! ▲ Collapse
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| Once in a while | Dec 12, 2007 |
For some unknown reason, some translation agencies have asked me to fax my contracts intead of emailing them. I have also used it for other kinds of transactions. I suppose that the faxed information is not so easily resent or spied on by intruders.
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