Just the Fax 101

As I continue to work at Staples while I'm revamping my life's goals, I'm always amazed by one of the most interesting, annoying technological inventions ever created.

Let's start with the important stuff. Lemme dispel some myths that cause people to get all miffed when they have to fax somethin', k?



1. Fax machines DO NOT send your originals. You do not have to make copies for yourself before you "send them". Maybe "sending a fax" is a misnomer. Or, maybe we've all just forgotten that "fax" is our dumbed-down word for facsimile which means, "An exact copy, replica, or duplicate."

2. A fax machine is nothing more than a scanner, a telephone modem, and a printer. No teleporters, matter deconstruction/reconstruction devices, or even laser beams (usually) can be found anywhere near a fax machine. You place your original document so the machine can scan the print, which it then turns into data that can be sent over a phone line...(and this is important)...to another fax machine. Which brings me to #3.

3. Fax machines are worthless unless there are two. You need a fax machine (I'm including computer-based faxing as well) to send, and another to receive. If the sending machine appears to not be doing anything...it may be waiting for the other to respond. One of the biggest complaints customers give us, is that our fax machine is sleeping, when really, it's waiting for the receiving machine to wake up!

4. Read your confirmation sheet!!! You wouldn't believe the time wasted because confirmation sheets aren't looked over. Here's a hint: If it says "Okay", and the correct number of pages is there, and it displays the correct fax number...It got there, folks! I promise! (This doesn't mean the receiving fax still has paper or toner to be able to print the facsimiles, but the data got there.) On the other hand...if your confirmation sheet says "busy" or worse, "no response"...well, I'll give you 3 guesses.

Personally, I think fax machines need to go away. Scan it, email it as an attachment, and be done with it. Not only does faxing waste paper, but it requires a landline phone, and again, at least 2 fax machines. Does anyone have a valid use for this antiquated junk? (bonus points if an 8bit musician comments) Got any other tips I missed?

And...no matter how hard you try...it is impossible to fax a cat.

photo credit: anomalous via Flickr 

My wish list to social-media sites (and Septa)...

Dear Santa (or Twitter, or Gmail, or Google Maps, Septa, etc),

I've been very good this year, trying out all of your awesome services, most of which are totally free. I've obeyed all the crazy Terms of Service agreements and privacy policies. When I've have problems, complaints, or just simple suggestions, I've used all of your customer satisfaction tools to report them.

But, now I feel like I just need to rant a little, and I hope it won't move me from the nice list over to the naughty list, but I have to. Here are some of my biggest feature/failure requests to some of my favorite companies. If you have solutions, or similar requests, lets build a big list to Santa!

GMail: I only ask one thing...Why can't I assign multiple labels using a single filter? There are other services (i.e. OtherInbox) that are stealing away my bacn because you make it too difficult for me to easily sort and organize the mass volume of emails that come to me.

iGoogle (with canvas view): Your top canvas-view apps are GMail and Google Reader...yet, for me to label, sort, and archive my emails, I still need to launch the sites in their own pages. Why only put half the app in a canvas view? It only wastes my time, adding an extra step to my process.

Twitter: Ya know, actually...you guys have been doing awesome, lately. My biggest complaint lately, is that sms seems sluggish, delaying messages for sometimes hours! (I woke up with my cellphone's inbox, including the 2gb memory card FULL! because it didn't recognize my "off" command.) I know you guys are posting status updates when necessary, it's just frustrating when you post something I've known about first-hand for days. That is all. :)

Oh, and Septa...our transit company for Philadelphia area, and the company I love to hate. I realize you're not even close to participating in social media, but you should. Whoever's got the Septa account on Twitter, you're on the right track (no pun intended), but now that I'm back in the area, I've noticed how silly some of your policies are. Being forced to pay a $2 onboard surcharge for not buying your tickets in advance is fine...except when you close the train stations at noon (or don't open them at all on Sundays). Your refund policy for getting the $2 back, is just a waste of time for both your passengers and your company.

Thanks, Santa!

photo credits (in order of appearance): P Pogo, ivanlanin, rorowe (me)