A look at a technology expected to disappear: but maybe not yet, after the jump ...
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For years the Guardian newspaper in Britain had a recurring series of editorials beginning with the words In Praise Of — which allowed commentary on a subject not currently in the news, yet which they thought deserved to be. And so it is with the humble fax machine, whose demise has been imminent each of the past twenty years ... or so.
After having dedicated a recent Top Comments diary to hoping that Sunday newspapers will continue to exist in print, this diary’s title may have you convinced that I am a Luddite. Actually, as an accountant I send numerous Excel files via e-mail … yet this is not always possible, and it turns out I’m not the only one. Let’s have a look at this machine, to see why it’s held on.
It turns out that the first patent for a forerunner of the facsimile machine was issued to Alexander Bain of Scotland in …. 1843 — which he based upon Samuel Morse’s telegraph, from just a few years earlier. It, obviously, was crude.
But inventors kept improving upon it, until the next major breakthrough: 1955’s first radio-wave fax sent across the country, followed by the 1966 Xerox Magnafax— the first to connect to an ordinary telephone line, and which could transmit a page in a blistering …... six minutes.
I first recall seeing (and using) what was then referred to as a telecopier in the early 1980’s, to send financial reports. And by the late 80’s, the free-standing fax machine became the norm.
The fax machine will endure for a while if the nation of Japan has anything to say about it. Attributed at least in part to their complex writing system, you will have no trouble buying a new stand-alone fax machine there, unlike much of the rest of the world — nearly 100% of businesses and 60% of private homes have one. One businessman (Yuichiro Sugahara) said he tried to switch to an online ordering form, but lost customers until he switched back — they said they preferred to be able to customize orders or add special requests that formal system ordering is not friendly towards.
Elsewhere, it is industry that keeps this technology alive. Many firms say they do not want to wade through endless e-mails for pertinent documents, a fax machine provides a paper trail and some firms simply distrust cloud computing.
Regulated industries (law, health care, banking, finance) have an even more pronounced affinity: they know that phones can be tapped, but believe it has fallen out-of-favor with young, mischievous people … while computer hacking draws new entrants all the time (as several recent credit-card hacking scandals as well as our past election has shown).
Most importantly: many government agencies will not process Freedom of Information Act requests by e-mail or online …. the fax is the most advanced method they’ll accept. There is also an online fax service— which you transmit your data digitally, then which generates a hard copy at the other end (in order to make these sorts of governmental requests).
Political addendum: the past few months, many staffers have recommended the use of faxes when contacting your member of Congress … as the problem of anthrax has made receiving postal mail a matter of delay. Thanks to gizmo (my cohort in crime) for the reminder; I had it on my outline yet overlooked it.
In addition to the advantages already stated (of able to customize messages, the rigidity of online order systems that are required) — others are that you can get a printed confirm that your documents transmitted, and in some parts of the US: phone lines work better than Internet access can.
The veteran liberal blogger Kevin Drum a few years back was rather embarrassed to admit he used the fax portion of his multi-purpose device …. yet he did so for a property sale because he said it was quicker than scanning and e-mailing a document. And at least one mother brought along her four year-old nephew to send a fax at a Kinko’s …. who was bored stiff and thought it was antiquated. Yet later on he thought it was fun … and wanted one for his birthday (which she attributed to the tactile sensation of pressing buttons, if nothing else). It’ll hard to buy a stand-alone machine in North America (the Kinko’s had just one old one) but multi-use machines still have this capability.
For myself: while much of the above deals with large firms, I have a different situation living in a town of 23,000 people. Many small firms to which I might need to do business with … do not list the e-mail addresses of many people on their staff (if at all) — and so sending documents means going to “Info@” addresses. Yet they all list fax numbers on their stationery, websites and business cards. And if I need to send a duplicate invoice to a client …. sending it to an e-mail address may not reach the intended party if they are away for several days and do not utilize the “Out of Office” feature. If I fax it, clearly marked “Accounts Payable”, it will reach the department quicker.
In short: while I have no emotional attachment to this machine comparable to the Sunday paper … it clearly has some life in it. If that seems strange: consider that the last time someone in the US sent a telegram (via Western Union) was in 2006— and the last major agency in the world to send general telegrams (not specialized love letters at a premium price) was in India in 2013— not ancient history, at all. By that standard, the fax machine may yet outlive yours truly.
I could not find a song about fax machines that was at all pleasing …. so instead, let’s close with this song by the Five Americans that reached #5 in 1967, which does touch on my previous paragraph.
Western Union man Bad news in his hand Knocking at my door Selling me the score
Fifteen cents a word to read A telegram I didn't need Says she doesn't care no more Think I'll throw it on the floor
x xYouTube Video=================================================================
Now, on to Top Comments:
From dabug:
In the diary by First Amendment about US senators speaking up about the Emoluments Clause — here's my vote for top comment today (by melaka) — why? because it's a strong reminder that all of need to be working against the Republican disaster every day in some way or other and not expecting immediate miracles.And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the front-page story about contractors filing a lawsuit against the Trump Organization to be paid for work they did on his new Washington hotel— we receive a primer by Rashaverek about mechanics’ liens and how they work.And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
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