Someone please explain why this can't be done

In message , Ron
writes
"Elmo P. Shagnasty" wrote in message
...
Just put a faxmodem in your PC and run fax software, and have your
inbound fax line go to that.
Can't. All slots taken. Besides, I wouldn't put 10 year old tech back into
my system. And, my mobo doesn't even have EISA slots.

Get an external one then and plug it into a usb somewhere.

--
Timothy Lee http://www.wightproperty.com
tlatwightpropertydotcom

E. Barry Bruyea wrote:
On 21 Nov 2004 09:39:34 -0800, (Alan) wrote:



A little trivia here; faxes were around during the mid fifties.


You gotto go back a lot further than that. I believe the first pat.
on the concept predates the telephone. Actual application isn't
anywhere near that old.

I was using them in the 60's and they were not new then. Early fax
machines used rotating drums with "carbon paper". At connection both
machines had to work at sync their drums and then signals told
receiving machine when to strike the paper and leave a mark. Don't
think you could even call them analog and signal was bi-tonal.

Mickey

Ron wrote:
"J. A. Mc." wrote in message
...

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 06:54:09 -0500, "Elmo P. Shagnasty"
found these unused words floating about:


In article , "Ron"
wrote:


Then why did I buy this HP Fax machine? No, I need a solution to make

THIS

fax work.

That's like saying "gee, I'd really love to start doing landscape work;
I need my Honda Civic to tow a large trailer. Why can't it do this?
Why did I buy this car if it can't do what I want?"

You knew what the HP did when you bought it. Why are you crying about
it now?

I understand if you say, "There should be a machine out there to do
this." When you turn it into "why did I buy this machine if it can't do
something like this," that's between you and yourself.

It's a great question, actually, that the rest of us would love to know
the answer to: why DID you buy it if it didn't meet your needs?

More importantly, why are you coming here to bitch if you bought the
wrong machine for your needs? You aren't blaming the MACHINE, are you?

Besides ... FAXing is 30 year old technology ... why is he/she/it even

using

it? G


Exactly. That's why I said I wish everyone had a PDF maker and a scanner.
No more TAPI.


"Besides, I wouldn't put 10 year old tech back into my system."



Ron, you're making a BAD assumption that there is a computer sitting
near every fax machine. You are also making an assumption that the
person on the receiving end has same setup as you and is able to
receive your non-std fax transmission. Some restaurants with busy
lunchtime business use fax machine to receive orders so food is ready
when customer gets there. Don't think you'll find a computer sitting
on the counter in the kitchen.

"sherwindu" wrote in message
...
10 year old technology. What's wrong with that? You are a PC salesman's
dream
who runs out and upgrades their machine, just to have the 'latest'
technology.
You
already have a 3 in 1 machine. You are probably anxiously awaiting the 4
in 1
so you
can see how many functions you can cram into one device.

No, I don't upgrade everytime something new comes out. But certainly when
new devices that I DO want do not work with current setups.
Case in point: My mom needs a new printer. She has an "old" system. How
many printers out there NOW have LPT ports in them? Huh? Lots you say? Oh,
ok so I just get her a USB card, right? Now, what? Oh that's right, she's
still only using Win95(the early one NOT the one with USB support). SO, now
I should also get her Win98 or later, right? SHeesh. You just don't get it
do you?

I use my cable modem to
get high speed Internet, but I don't need that high speed for faxes. It's

Why? Isn't 56k good enough for you? Snob. : ) Listen if it weren't for the
"got to have it" people, the very same people you spurn, you wouldn't have
your cable modem and a helluva a lot of other stuff you have. Demand sparks
innovation and tech progress. Even you should see that.

called adapting
to the available technology.

That's just it, Homer. The technology for what I want IS available. News
Flash: I'm sure someone will chime in here with the specifics, but
analog-to-digital conversion has been around for awhile. Heck, my camcorder
allows me to convert VHS(analog) tapes to AVIs(digital) via a passthrough
DV-IN cable and store them on my computer for editing and burning to DVD.
Now, damn it, if we can do THAT, then surely we can take an incoming fax
transmission and convert the analog signal to digital and send it to the
computer for viewing rather than having to read a "hardcopy". So, why don't
we have a fax that'll do this? Because not enough people are demanding it.
Not enough are asking for it. I'm trying to do my part. And you're trying
to, hmmm, well, who knows what you're trying to do.

Some of us gave you, what I thought was a
reasonable
work around, but you appear to be a technology snob who wouldn't want to
violate


How could you possibly have a clue as to who or what I'm like from merely
reading my posts? Did I forget to include emoticons? Sorry. : )


their machine by plugging in that ten year old stuff. I commend you
trying to
protect
your PC. By the way, if you have a mouse, you better get rid of that old
technology
and update to voice actuated input, just to be consistent.

Well, I did. I got rid of that "old" cord tech, by going optical
cordless(bet you don't have one of those, it's too snobbish to own one of
them). Not because I had to be a pioneer, but because it was practical and
affordable. BUT WAIT!! There's those new-fangled Touch Screens. Sorry to
disappoint you, but as cool as they may be, they're too damn expensive and
I'd have to be hunched over the screen the whole time to use it. Oh and
darn it, I'm still using a CRT instead of one of those trend setting LCD
screens. Why? Because I like my CRT and it's working fine.



Sherwin D.

"J. A. Mc." wrote in message
...
On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 15:50:16 -0500, "Ron" found these
unused words floating about:


"sherwindu" wrote in message
...
10 year old technology. What's wrong with that? You are a PC
salesman's
dream
who runs out and upgrades their machine, just to have the 'latest'
technology.
You
already have a 3 in 1 machine. You are probably anxiously awaiting the
4
in 1
so you
can see how many functions you can cram into one device.

No, I don't upgrade everytime something new comes out. But certainly when
new devices that I DO want do not work with current setups.
Case in point: My mom needs a new printer. She has an "old" system.
How
many printers out there NOW have LPT ports in them? Huh? Lots you say?
Oh,
ok so I just get her a USB card, right? Now, what? Oh that's right, she's
still only using Win95(the early one NOT the one with USB support). SO,
now
I should also get her Win98 or later, right? SHeesh. You just don't get
it
do you?

Yeah ... we get it ... BUTT
There's a huge difference between updating because NEW things don;t workl
with OLD system and refusing to use "old" technology just to be a yuppie!


Well if there is, you don't know it.

"Ron" wrote in message ...

surely we can take an incoming fax
transmission and convert the analog signal to digital and send it to the
computer for viewing rather than having to read a "hardcopy". So, why don't
we have a fax that'll do this? Because not enough people are demanding it.

Because you can do it using a fax modem, as everyone has being telling
you. When you get a combination machine, it rarely does everything all
the stand-alone devices would have.

Anyway, instead abusing people who have spent their time to try and
help you, why don't you bitch at the manufacturers of your machine.
Ask them for a service manual so you can solder a cable to get your
image data out.

I'm reposting this as sender "Brackish Water" complains multiple attempts to
post via another service are not appearing on Usenet servers. Name of
service that failed to propagate post has been snipped. Apologies who end
up seeing it more than once! Re-post begins he

Earlier attempts to post this did not seem to go through. Don't know why.

If you want to receive faxes on your computer, not on your separate fax
machine, without adding a separate faxmodem, there is a way you can do it.
It may even be free.

A service I use at www.efax.com provides free inbound-only fax service for
up to 20 fax pages per month. They provide you a dedicated 24 hr/7 da /365
day/year phone number, and their server converts each incoming fax into a
bitmap which it forwards to you as an email attachment. They also provide
free reader software you install on your computer to view or read print
these converted faxes.

If there is a catch (besides the limited number of faxes you can receive) it
is that your fax number will probably be in some faraway area code where
they have a special deal with the local phone company for cheap lines.
However, I have never yet had anyone refuse to fax me a document because my
fax number is long distance. And I like the fact that I can still receive
faxes when my computer is otherwise engaged, or turned off, all for free.
No, I do not work for efax nor get a commission or anything. If you upgrade
to certain of their paid services, you can get a dedicated local or
toll-free fax number.

If you want to receive more than 20 fax pages a month or send faxes via
their service, you can do so, but that moves you into a "pay for" service
category. At that point, you can evaluate with arithmetic whether it makes
more economic sense to buy the service, or reconsider maybe adding an
inexpensive faxmodem, whether internal or external, to your kit of tools.
Feel free to make your own decisions for your own reasons, I do not
understand the reluctance to buy an inexpensive older tech device if it will
solve a problem and make your life or business easier. There's a lot to be
said for lowest-common denominator solutions. Whatever, hope this helps.

There are other services like efax; just don't know a lot about them. There
may also be other hardware/software solutions. Maybe a little time Googling
will help track down what you need. Try searching on "fax2mail" for
starters.

There are definitely some ways to go. I am surprised that viewing faxes
stored in the "all in one" isn't a built-in feature (if you're sure it
isn't); but if the device works as advertised for the price you named, IMO
it is still a good, justifiable buy.

"Ototin" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 15:50:16 -0500, "Ron" wrote:

No, I don't upgrade everytime something new comes out. But certainly when
new devices that I DO want do not work with current setups.
Case in point: My mom needs a new printer. She has an "old" system.
How
many printers out there NOW have LPT ports in them? Huh? Lots you say?

There are many Epson Stylus ink jet printer that has a Centronics
port.

Now, damn it, if we can do THAT, then surely we can take an incoming fax
transmission and convert the analog signal to digital and send it to the
computer for viewing rather than having to read a "hardcopy". So, why
don't
we have a fax that'll do this?

There is something like that already. For example, a fax/modem
connected to a PC and a software called Winfax running on the PC.
Incoming fax transmission are stored on the diskdrive that could be
view on the screen and printed if you so desire.


Yes, but that would require another purchase and this printer/fax would not
be part of that solution. I understand I COULD have bought an external Fax
modem. But I didn't. I need a workaround for what I have. I'm currently
looking into virtual port monitors that send what a printer would normally
print to a file saved as an image on the PC. I'm not running this for a
business, it's just a personal project. About ten years ago, I did have a
fax/modem and I did use WinFax Pro. But that required an EISA slot for the
modem and the software was, well, I guess it was okay for that time, but it
should have improved by now. I'd like Adobe PDF maker to open automatically
and convert the image into a pdf file. If I pursue this long enough, I'll
figure it out. And it won't involve an external modem in addition to my new
HP all-in-one. But thanks for the idea.

"Rememberbooks" wrote in message
news:1101233392.2KkvU7xFsHVFzGcisRva8A@bubbanews.. .
I'm reposting this as sender "Brackish Water" complains multiple attempts
to
post via another service are not appearing on Usenet servers. Name of
service that failed to propagate post has been snipped. Apologies who end
up seeing it more than once! Re-post begins he

Earlier attempts to post this did not seem to go through. Don't know why.

If you want to receive faxes on your computer, not on your separate fax
machine, without adding a separate faxmodem, there is a way you can do it.
It may even be free.

A service I use at www.efax.com provides free inbound-only fax service for
up to 20 fax pages per month. They provide you a dedicated 24 hr/7 da
/365
day/year phone number, and their server converts each incoming fax into a
bitmap which it forwards to you as an email attachment. They also provide
free reader software you install on your computer to view or read print
these converted faxes.

If there is a catch (besides the limited number of faxes you can receive)
it
is that your fax number will probably be in some faraway area code where
they have a special deal with the local phone company for cheap lines.
However, I have never yet had anyone refuse to fax me a document because
my
fax number is long distance. And I like the fact that I can still receive
faxes when my computer is otherwise engaged, or turned off, all for free.
No, I do not work for efax nor get a commission or anything. If you
upgrade
to certain of their paid services, you can get a dedicated local or
toll-free fax number.

If you want to receive more than 20 fax pages a month or send faxes via
their service, you can do so, but that moves you into a "pay for" service
category. At that point, you can evaluate with arithmetic whether it
makes
more economic sense to buy the service, or reconsider maybe adding an
inexpensive faxmodem, whether internal or external, to your kit of tools.
Feel free to make your own decisions for your own reasons, I do not
understand the reluctance to buy an inexpensive older tech device if it
will
solve a problem and make your life or business easier. There's a lot to
be
said for lowest-common denominator solutions. Whatever, hope this helps.

There are other services like efax; just don't know a lot about them.
There
may also be other hardware/software solutions. Maybe a little time
Googling
will help track down what you need. Try searching on "fax2mail" for
starters.

There are definitely some ways to go. I am surprised that viewing faxes
stored in the "all in one" isn't a built-in feature (if you're sure it
isn't); but if the device works as advertised for the price you named, IMO
it is still a good, justifiable buy.



Yes, thanks, I have looked at eFax. I'm currently looking at virtual port
monitors. If I can somehow get the fax printer to print to a virtual port in
the way of a file and saved as an image, this fax output could then be
redirected to the pc. The fax machine will think it's printing but will
instead create a .tif file or a pdf file on the pc. I have had some success
so far. Alphatronics makes such a port monitor and when I directed the fax
printer to print a test page, a little image of the page popped up near the
task bar. Now I just have to figure out how to save this to file. Maybe I'll
try pooling a couple of printers(one being the fax and another being a
"print to file" port. That way, if the mechanical printer malfunctions or
runs out of ink, I'll still have an electronic copy saved on the pc. Still
experimenting.

Ron

Yes, but that would require another purchase and this printer/fax would not
be part of that solution. I understand I COULD have bought an external Fax
modem. But I didn't. I need a workaround for what I have. I'm currently
looking into virtual port monitors that send what a printer would normally
print to a file saved as an image on the PC. I'm not running this for a
business, it's just a personal project. About ten years ago, I did have a
fax/modem and I did use WinFax Pro. But that required an EISA slot for the
modem and the software was, well, I guess it was okay for that time, but it
should have improved by now. I'd like Adobe PDF maker to open automatically
and convert the image into a pdf file. If I pursue this long enough, I'll
figure it out. And it won't involve an external modem in addition to my new
HP all-in-one. But thanks for the idea.



I don't really understand your argument here about how the modem
and sw should have imroved by now. Are you using that as the reason
for not using a modem in your pc? Also you keep mentioning isa modems,
there are pci modems. You don't need to use a 10 year old modem. I bet
you could find a new pci modem for under $10 almost anywhere. And
like others have mentioned, there are usb modems as well.
Ok so you don't want to buy anything new. Well It seems like you
have something working with your virtual port monitor, i don't know
anything about them but good luck.
You just seem really determined to use what you have, which i can
appreciate, but it seems like you are gonna spend a lot of time on it and
most likely won't get what you want even.
So I would just set up your old pc as a print server. If you already
have an old computer in the garage or closet, why not set it up? It
won't cost you anything. You could put any os on it, use it as a print
server, file server, web server, etc, you could have the fax modem and
some newer fax software running and do quite easily what you want.
network your computers and run vnc or some other remote desktop sw so
you don't even need a monitor attached.
If might be a more worthwhile project then just forcing your all in one
to do something it wasn't designed to do.