Fax Me The Future
May 31st, 2011
It even doubled as a weapon against robbers!
Back in the 1980′s, the greatest feat of technology ever created by man was the fax machine. Just think about it, a machine that allowed you to send documents from one person to another instantly. That’s right, no postage, no envelopes, and none of that anxiety of not knowing if your precious files reached the other person in time. It also became a status symbol. Having a fax machine meant you were high-tech, you were the savvy business-person who knew how to get ahead, as you sat there with your state-of-the-art Macintosh computer and your lunch break rounds of Pac Man at the local pizza parlor while rocking out to Aerosmith.
That was, until the fax machine started having problems. Since you had to dial a phone number to send documents, you had to make sure the number wasn’t connected to a phone, or else the person you were trying to send the fax to . It was also so big, it would need its own desk. As quickly as it came in, and as hyped as it was, it was soon mortally wounded by its quicker, quieter adversary: the desktop computer. With the maturing of the internet, especially e-mail and online document processing, many people began to type their information on a computer and send it electronically.
Even still, the fax machine plugs along, becoming less bulky in the form of Copier-Printer-Fax combos. In fact, I had to fax documents to my college last summer. So maybe the noble fax machine hasn’t died, it’s just ill. In many offices, fax machines still have a use, especially in cases where having hard copies and paper trails are necessary, but with ever improving technology, its days may be numbered.
Our rebels are tech-savvy, as is everybody else in the world, including the ever-growing Fed. Without a doubt, 2019 may bring about another revolution in file sharing, but there still may be room for the noble fax machine.
