Mac Fax

[wicky]

Errrmmm.... NO

I hear what you're saying and I'm sure it works very well, but I'd like to find a more sustainable solution (ie. without an ongoing monthly subscription until the end of time). I won't be using the fax facility very much, and to me the rates for eFax seem exorbitant.

In the UK there is a £7.50 setup charge, and ongoing fees of £7.50pm. That's just shy of £100 in the first year (whereas a fax machine costs about 50 quid), and over 5 years it's £500... or 1 snowboarding holiday, depending how you measure these things.

I'm a true Mac user, and as such don't mind paying for the right kit, but this seems just plain stupid to me.

I don't want to be tied into something that ultimately is just a hole in my pocket. I prefer to spend my hard earned cash on things that make me smile, which a fax service is VERY unlikely to do.

I understand that eFax probably offers some very cool features, but all I want is to be able to send and receive fax's, ideally from my computer, but not if it costs twice the price of a dedicated machine in the first year alone.

[Ifrit]

Ifit's adaptor looks pretty good, but not sure where to start looking.

The adapter itself doesn't cost much, it just extents the 4 wires nobody uses and adds a port to it, in order to connect a telephone/fax. Maybe you should take a look in some kind of "telecommunication store". The adaptor itself is nothing special, technically wise, really.

Concerning fax devices:

Most multi purpuse devices also have a fax function (but still require a telephone line). Some of them also offer a way to store fax messages digitally. OS9 could already do this (the Apple reseller I worked for used an old bondy blue imac, and a HP multi purpose device - scanner/fax/printer). Messages were received and stored digitally. Remember, OSX has a "Fax" setting in its printer pref pane.