Archive for Software Stuff
January 5, 2009 at 12:03 pm · Filed under Software Stuff
If you already have photo editing software on your computer, you may want to know how to convert a number of images at a time to the format you desire. This feature, batch image format conversion, may be necessary to send out picture invitations/announcements to friends and family via email, or you may be preparing a business brochure and need to find a way to get the best quality graphics on each brochure that is sent out. Here are some companies/programs that offer this service that you may want to take a look at.
www.snowbound.com has a number of format conversion software programs that will work well with your computer and give you graphics with rich color and detail. The conversion tools support a number of formats and file types, including PDF, JPEG, and Microsoft Word. The programs also allow you to split multi-page files into single page files, and to convert PDFs, so the files are easy to see and read no matter how you download them. The program is best supported by Windows NT and Windows XP, which are on most computers. You can even provide the company with an evaluation of your Snowbound or Snowbatch software once you purchase the image conversion program.
If you’re not sure which company you want to purchase your batch image conversion software from just yet, or if you want to know more about what the program should be able to do, you can check out www.batchimage.com. There are a number of companies that sell batch image format conversion software on the site, so you can click on the links for each programs to learn more about which one would be best for your computer. Programs include Batch Image Commander, which comes in three modules (command line, time-based controlled tray icon, and batch timer processing modules). These features help you to accurately resize your images while retaining the resolution and quality, change the JPEG quality, and create captions for your photos. You may also want to check out Batch It!, Batch It! Pro, and Batch It! Ultra, which are Windows-based image processors that are easy to use. You can create HTML and thumbnail galleries using these programs, and can individually crop or rotate certain images in your photos. The Pro and Ultra versions of the program allow you to convert more files at a time, and can also give your graphics a better resolution. For more information on these products, or to find out about other companies that offer batch image format conversion, visit the site for more details.
Mansi gupta enjoys writing about image converter. Learn more at www.autoimager.com .
January 4, 2009 at 12:35 pm · Filed under Software Stuff
Bet you get the following message from time to time: “The system has recovered from a serious error” message from time to time with two buttons: “Send Error Report” and “Don’t Send” regarding sending the report to Microsoft. The error message appears when an application runs into a problem it can’t handle. When this happens, XP stops the app and the error report prompt appears so you can send the error report to Microsoft if you’re connected to the Internet.
In the case of hardware or a driver (software managing hardware) attempts something that could cause problems, XP puts up that annoying BSOD (blue screen of death) and the computer is either restarted or you have to turn it off and back on. System error reports go to the Microsoft Online Crash Analysis Web site, aka MOCA. Go figure - the Web site drops the ‘M’ in the URL.
When one of them error report windows pops up and you decide to let it send a report to Microsoft, be sure you’re connected to the Internet before hitting the “Send Error Report” button. Behind the scenes, XP creates a short message describing the error and provides additional information such as operating system version, failure type, language, cause of the problem, etc. to help Microsoft resolve the problem. The message is encrypted.
In the error report window, there is a link “click here” for seeing what the data report contains. After you send the report, you’ll get a message from MOCA with the steps on how to solve the problem and other information depending on the problem. Such information could be links to downloading updated drivers and how to prevent the problem from happening again.
What about when getting errors from a non-Microsoft application or hardware? MOCA reports these errors to the company behind the application or device, so it can be helpful to send these forward. So those of you who never send non-Microsoft-related errors might want to reconsider.
You can also use MOCA to track errors when you get BSODed. This Microsoft Knowledgebase article shows how to use error reporting.
Many people don’t use the reporting at all because of privacy concerns. We’ve heard plenty of jokes about how Microsoft knows everything about everyone who has a computer. You can read Microsoft’s error privacy information to get exact details on what Microsoft learns about your computer when getting such reports.
Error reporting is not just for Microsoft, but pays off for you since it can help reduce the problems with your computer when you get the error resolution messages back from MOCA. You can turn off error reporting, but I don’t recommend it.
Some saud they’ve never received resolutions to their problems when submitting an error report. I don’t know if this happened or not, but it may not be obvious that Microsoft is providing a possible solution.
I got an error after writing this report and submitted it to Microsoft. After it finished, the following window appeared. Click on “more information” to get details about the problem and a possible solution. When I clicked on it, it takes me to the Microsoft Online Analysis Web page and provides the following information.
Clicking on “Word Quits…” takes me to a knowledgebase article for details. Some problems probably have multiple possible solutions and there would be a bulleted list of other knowledgebase articles.
Maybe instead of “more information,” it would be better for the link to say, “More information and possible resolution.” “More information” might lead people to believe it’s tech speak about the problem and people don’t have time or interest to read that, so they close the box instead of clicking on it to see what is really behind the link. I’ve been guilty of that before.
Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl’s notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn’t wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.
January 1, 2009 at 6:21 pm · Filed under Software Stuff
There is nothing worse than that sinking feeling in your stomach as you realize that everything you have been working on for the last month is gone! It has happened to many home business owners - maybe even you. You bootup your computer one day and you realize that your computer has been hit by a virus and all your data has been wiped out! Because a lot of your home business operations are likely to be conducted and stored on your computer, setting yourself up with the proper office computer software, including virus protection is essential.
Of course before you start choosing software for your home office computer you will need to asses exactly what you need. You will need to select software customized to what you do. For example, if you are entering data reports, you will need to install spreadsheet software. Likewise, if you are writing for a living, you will need a solid word-processing software program. Photographers will require photo editing software, while a book-keeper will not.
Beside the specialized programs there will be a few other software programs that every home business should have. You will need a way to keep track of your expenses, invoices and all of the money in your business. There are a number of really good finance software programs on the market that will help you do this. Quickbooks and Quicken offer a few options depending on the size of your business and whether or not you have employees and inventory to track as well. You will also require tax preparation software; however this needs to be purchased every year. Although if you have a separate accountant or book-keeper, you will not need this.
You will also want a word-processing program that will handle basic letters, label printing, estimates and other daily business needs.
There are a number of choices here. You could try the Microsoft Works package which has an integrated word-processor. If that doesn’t quite meet your needs then Microsoft Word offers all the features that you could ever need. If your budget is really tight then make sure and check out the Open Office software package - it’s totally free and gives you a complete home office suite of programs.
Of course if you are using the Internet, you will need an Internet browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape in order to access the internet. Firefox is an especially good web browser and doesn’t suffer from nearly as many “issues” as Internet Explorer. Some of these programs also come with an email program to keep your email filed properly and allow you to compose new messages as you need to.
Of course, the most important software that you will get for your computer is virus protection software that will keep your computer safe. A firewall is also a good idea to protect your investment. Be sure to set up a backup system for your computer as well. By backing up your work, every day, once a week or at least once a month, it will not be quite such a disaster if your computer suffers a virus as you’ll be able to get all your info back and continue working.
There is a wide variety of computer software available on the market today and you may need to look around for the programs that are going to work the best for you. Remember to keep to the basics however and do not overload your computer with a bunch of programs that you will not use.
October 14, 2008 at 6:05 pm · Filed under Software Stuff
As many Americans complain that our Corporations are moving all their manufacturing to other nations and taking all those jobs with them, one has to wonder why is all this happening in the first place?
Well imagine if you will that you are a corporation and you are constantly being bombarded with class-action BS lawsuits. Imagine the unending over regulation from all the various agencies from the SEC on down?
Imagine the costs you have to pay to comply with all this. Next imagine that if you moved your company offshore you could eliminate 75% of that nussiance, pay lower taxes and increase profits?
Would you choose to offshore? Well that is exactly what the shareholders want; increased profits, quarterly increases and increased valuation because of it right? Indeed, now you are beginning to understand why the off-shoring and outsourcing is occurring.
Next consider that you foreign competitors who sell in the USA no longer have an advantage over you in the market place, because now you too are a foreign corporation or a division of one. After all this you also see you have much lower labor costs, no Union demands and you can still sell to the US Middle Class? Wow, bonus indeed, so why on Earth wouldn’t you outsource? Hmmm? Consider this in 2006.
“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/
October 13, 2008 at 1:01 pm · Filed under Software Stuff
The word Tweaking simply means to fine tune.You want to fine tune your computer so that it will boot up faster.Tweaking your computer so that it will run at peek performance will cause you to enjoy your computer like you never imaged.
There are procedures you can perform that will speed up the operating system boot-up.When tweaking your startup process,take care not to allow your computer to boot up too fast.Too fast booting will cause your PC to miss valuable data and not check all peripherals it needs to allow the computer to run at its best.
Speeding up your booting process will reduce the waiting time you can use the computer.Here are some procedures you can perform that will help speed up your PC startup.Be sure to backup your hard drive in case you should make an error.Take your time and perform these tasks at your own risk.
Take notes of everything you do.Backup your BIOS with such utilities as Cmos14.zip.This file is just 5,569kbs zipped and You can download a copy from our site at the url www.ultimatepcrepair.com/files/cmos14.zip
FIRST….Use Scandisk and Defragment on your hard drive if you are not performing these two maintenance steps regularly.Over time,your files become scattered all over your hard drive.This causes the computer to hunt for every piece of file fragments throughout the drive.
SECOND…..Clean Up Your Registry.The installing and uninstalling of applications cause your registry to have many files it does not use.Your system slows down at startup because these files are loaded into memory every time the PC is started.Registry Healer which is a trial ultility will scan your registry for problems.
And Registry Tuner allow you to view and remove unwanted software in your registry.Windows Reg Edit is a small ultility within Windows that will perform the same function. You may want to give Registry First Aid a try as well.
Visit the online version of this newsletter at http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com/news/35.html to download the trial versions of the above utilities.
THIRD…….Edit Your SysEdit Configuration by Clicking on Start,Run,and then type “sysedit” in the open block. You will be presented with your system files.Check and remove any files you know are not needed.You can type “REM” at the start of a line to disable it to see if your computer has need for it.
Take notes of any changes you make so that you can undo what you did should any problems arise.The ultility Bootvis is a good Windows XP ultilty that helps your boot process,We used it on our Windows Home XP computer and we noticed a difference.To learn much more visit www.microsoft.com/hwdev/platform/performance/fastboot /BootVis.asp and download your copy.
FOURTH….Remove unwanted programs that may be starting up in your Startup Folder.This folder as well as your Sysedit file may have programs slowing the PC down. Click on Start,Settings,Taskbar and Start Menu Tab, Start Menu Programs,Remove,and go down to the Startup Folder.There you can expand and remove any unwanted programs.
FIFTH…..Go to Start,Run,type “msconfig” in the open box and press enter.Click on Startup and here you can remove programs here as well.The thing to remember is to take notes of any program you remove just in case you find that program useful after all.Be sure to take the time and backup your system files so that you can restore these files should something go wrong.Take notes of files you remove from Sysedit or msconfig.
SIXTH….Enable your Quick Boot option in your BIOS.Access your Bios and locate this feature that bypasses some of the checks your computer makes at POST.The downside to enabling this feature is that it increases the chances of a hardware failure going undetected.You may want to use this feature from time to time and see if the difference in bootup speed is worth it.
We hate it when our computer creep alone when we turn on the power button,when we play our favorite Hi-Resolution star wars game,or when we decided to go on the internet,that is,if it doesn’t take a couple minutes to logon.Upgrading and tweaking your PC to run faster can be performed quick and easy,if we put to use the neat utilities Windows as well as many third party software has to offer.
Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the knowledge and confidence of every computer user. Use his informative articles and videos to understand all about the PC. Read more in depth articles for pc training and repair at www.repairarticles.com
October 13, 2008 at 4:33 am · Filed under Software Stuff
Most dental offices are now computerized with sophisticated software to simplify the complicated process of clinical practice and patient management. Software serves in a wide variety of applications, ranging from the substitution of routine office paperwork to more sophisticated imaging techniques.
The practice management software (PMS) eases the handling of administrative tasks such as patient recordkeeping, inventory control for dental supplies, appointment scheduling, insurance processing and real-time reporting (billing) when the transaction actually takes place. Many versatile Windows-based software programs exist that allow the dentist to do chair-side data entry and scheduling. At present, many web-based dental PMS programs are also available that provide advanced solutions to improved clinical practices.
The progress in computer technology and improved methods of medical imaging have complemented dentists well in diagnosing and planning the course of appropriate treatment. The imaging software with digital modalities like 3-dimensional modeling, intra-oral video camera and X-ray units, and cephalometric and tomographic X-rays, helps the dentists make crucial decisions. The imaging software has been used in cosmetic dentistry and orthodontics to a large extent.
In cosmetic dentistry, the software has served to enhance the awareness of esthetic dental treatment. The main purpose of the cosmetic imaging software is to allow the manipulation of smiles and simulation of the results in the proposed treatment. There are smile libraries and databases to explore and judge the procedures to be followed.
Computer image-guided surgery is widely followed in several branches of surgical interventions. Introduced in the early 80s in the form of simulated operations, present-day image-guided surgical systems are very precise and safe systems. They are controlled mainly by an infra-red light, and function without a mechanical link between the operative field, instruments and computer. Dentists are widely using this cutting-edge technique in the application of oral implants, considering the need for outstanding safety and accuracy for this procedure.
Dentists provides detailed information on Dentists, Cosmetic Dentists, Software For Dentists, Family Dentists and more. Dentists is affiliated with Dental Implants in Las Vegas.
October 11, 2008 at 9:45 am · Filed under Software Stuff
I’ve spent the past couple of days learning a new computer language, PHP. I’m currently in the process of developing an online management system, and after a careful anaylsis PHP seemed to be the right language to develop with.
So I have been going through some tutorials and looking at lots of coding examples. As a pretty experianced programmer, I am still having a hard time understanding some code developed by other people.
Which leads me to the first tip in this series.
The following coding tip is very straight forward, but ESSENTIAL to keeping you effective in the Information Technology Industry, especially when working in a team enviroment
1. Comment your code:
If anyone is going to be reviewing your code at any point in time, you should always leave appropriate commets to help guide them. Here is how I structure my commenting, lets use JAVA for this example
/////////////////////////////////////////
// Title of Program Author’s Name
// Date of creation
//
//Breif description of the program
/////////////////////////////////////////
public class TestClass
{
//Variables
protected int iCounter;
//Here is where you would list all your global variables
//Methods List all the methods after this for good programing structure
////////////////////
// main(String args [])
// Do: What is the main function of this method
// Input: What is brought into the method
// Returns: What the method returns
public static void main(String args[])
{
//
}//End main Method–> Keep track of your end braces with a small comment
}// EndTestClass
Commenting while you are developing does not take a lot of time, and it will definitly pay off for you later, especially when you try to review some complex code.
Graham McCarthy, has 6 years experiance developing software for both educational and business oriented purposes.
Website: http://concisecoding.blogspot.com/
Certification:
- A College Diploma in Computer Programming Analysis from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario Canada.
- A University Degree in Information Technology /w Honours from York University in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
October 8, 2008 at 3:54 pm · Filed under Software Stuff
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies as well as Navision (which has very good positions in Europe and emerging markets where it can be easily localized). Great Plains Inventory control is pretty robust and here we would like to give you highlights on standard functionality as well as what could be added to its standard features.
Historically Great Plains Dynamics / eEnterprise was designed with modules structure with very clear ERP workflow - Inventory control had a link to General Ledger and was interacting with Sales Order Processing, Invoicing, later on with Purchase Order Processing (it was some development and unsuccessful marriage with Intellisol Purchase Order Processing third party module), Project Accounting and Manufacturing set. Inventory control has addition in the form of Bill of Materials module (we see the whole spectrum of downsizing manufacturing companies, who are switching from full-featured manufacturing to Great Plains Inventory control with Bill of Materials).
Features:
• Inventory Allocation - from SOP Sales Order, Invoice you can automatically of manually allocate Inventory items
• Sales Item, Service, Misc Charge, Flat Fee, etc - these are types of the Inventory items.
• Serial and Lot Number tracking - serial number is unique, while Lot Number might be assigned to the lot of items
• LIFO, FIFO, Average with Periodic or Perpetual - these terms should be familiar to accountant
• Inventory Class - you can group items into the class and have reporting in ReportWriter or just Crystal Reports to summarize by inventory class
• Kit - item might be a set of items - or a kit
• Substitute items - you can have two (GP version 7.5 and 8.0)
• ABC Codes - is you are familiar with replenishment or manufacturing
• Accounts distribution - Great Plains first look if you specify accounts on the item level, then if these are empty - it look at the class level and then to Setup->Posting->Posting Accounts
• Inventory Count - this nice feature was added several years ago with version 5.0
Add-Ons:
• Barcoding - you have to check with your Microsoft Great Plains Partner which third party solution fits to your needs.
• Manufacturing - Great Plains Software bought Icontrol Manufacturing and integrated it into Great Plains about 8 years ago and now it is seamlessly integrated with Inventory Control module
• Web front - there are eConnect (SDK for eCommerce developer), eOrder, and other eXXX series products that you could deploy. There is a good chance that you will have to develop custom web-interface to your Great Plains back end
Good luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns - we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com
Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies - USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com
October 7, 2008 at 10:30 pm · Filed under Software Stuff
Spyware - this is one of the biggest threats to security and privacy in the internet today. Spyware intrude, break and enter our computers and pose a great threat especially with more malicious spywares. Leaving a home or business computer unprotected from spyware is just like leaving the front door open to intruders. The internet was not designed with security checks in place, that is why spywares have spread unchecked and now pose a big threat to the security and privacy of millions of internet users all over the world. Roughly 90% of computers today are infected or are vulnerable to spyware. It is more important more than ever to make sure spyware protection is in place in the form of spyware removers.
To combat spyware, it is important to understand what a spyware is. The term spyware covers a wide variety of malicious software that is designed to intercept or take partial control of the operation of a computer without the informed consent of the owner or user. The term spyware implies software that stealthily keeps an eye on the user; however, it has come to refer to software that undermines a computer’s operation without the owner or user knowing it. Spyware, adware and other malware will exploit the vulnerability of a computer usually for commercial purposes.
Spyware programs embed themselves into the computer and monitor the user’s internet browsing activities, spy on confidential information such as credit card info, send annoying pop-up advertisements and slow down your computer’s performance. Other consequences of spyware infestation include hijacked browsers resulting to reset home pages, changed search results, spam emails, toolbars added to the browser without consent and many more. In such cases, a spyware remover is necessary to clean up the system from all spyware programs and hidden malware.
A spyware remover is a necessary and worthwhile investment to keep any computer system free from spyware programs that could wreak havoc in it. Every computer must be well equipped to combat spyware and its effects. As the threat of spyware worsens, there is a variety of techniques available to counteract it. Spyware removers and other anti-spyware programs are available that help stem the threat of spywares. These spyware removers are designed to remove or block spyware. There are a number of spyware removers available, some are free while others require payment.
Some of the most popular spyware removers include Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware SE and Spybot - Search and Destroy. These spyware removers are effective tools for removing and intercepting spyware programs. Microsoft has also offered its own spyware remover dubbed Windows AntiSpyware Beta, which is currently released as a free download for users of Windows XP, Windows 2000 and 2003. Anti-virus firms have also introduced spyware remover functions in their respective products.
There are two ways in which a spyware remover can combat spyware. Real time protection prevents spyware from being installed. Scanning and removal inspects the contents of the computer’s files and removes files and entries, which match a list of known spywares. Most spyware removers today combine the two approaches. Spyware remover, just like anti-virus software require regular updates of its database of threats as new spyware programs are released all the time. The best spyware program protects the computer from any intrusive spyware and prevents it from being installed as well as keeps the system free from any trace of spyware programs.
For more information about spyware and security software, click on Security Software
October 7, 2008 at 5:16 pm · Filed under Software Stuff
The Internet is reshaping every form of communications medium, and faxing is no exception. The latest twist: Internet faxing services that let you send messages to any fax machine from any Web browser or email, and others that give you a “personal fax phone number,” then forward any documents sent there to your e-mail inbox.
The Fax Machine - Workhorse in the ’80s and ’90s.
It enabled you to send a document to anyone, anywhere, at any time, and know that it was received instantly. It was a godsend in the 1980s and everyone had to have one. But it has become an expensive bit of machinery that will cost you money every time you use it. Smart organizations are now reducing or eliminating the fax machines they use in favor of electronic services. The fax machine costs you in paper, toner, phone bills and repairs. It is like a taxi-meter in that regard, and the bill keeps growing and growing. Currently most of the documents that you fax are created on a computer. If you fax them through a fax machine, you must print out the documents, manually create a cover page, and you must go to the fax machine to send the documents. Every time you receive a fax, you must retrieve it from the community fax machine, rather than having it delivered directly to your PC workstation like any other document. Many people still use fax machines today. The alternative is to use fax services from companies that provide Internet fax services.
Fax Machine Costs
The fax machine is considered a simple tool by many, which is probably why they haven’t replaced it yet. Anybody can stick a document into the auto feeder, dial a phone number, and send the document at 14.4 or 33.6 Kbs. But it costs to send a fax.
Among the actions employees must take to fax a document, labor is the greatest hidden operating cost. Labor is a key factor because your staff is more expensive than phone calls, and it makes the biggest difference in fax costs. Most businesses neglect to factor in the costs of actions such as employees walking to the machine, waiting to use it, the faxing process and the employee’s return trip to their desk. All of this takes time. And in the world of hidden fax operating costs-you guessed it-time is money. Also, keep in mind that it isn’t unusual to find executives with six-figure salaries performing some of the same fax-related tasks as clerical workers. When that happens, those labor costs can be as astronomical as some of those six-figure salaries. Costs also incurred are lease and maintenance charges for fax machines as well as sending charges for making fax phone calls. These depend on the rates you pay and the speed at which your fax machine and the machines you send to can distribute faxes.
How Internet Faxing Works
Ever heard of eFax? You sign up for a fax number. When people send you faxes, they’re auto-forwarded to your e-mail Inbox, where you can read them, trash them if they’re junk, or print them out only if necessary. Not only do you save paper and ink, but you don’t need a fax machine or a second phone line-and you get your faxes wherever you happen to be in the country.
Together, in principle, these Internet fax services offer all the advantages of fax — a universal system for quick and convenient distribution of anything you can put on paper — without making you spend your money on a fax machine, fax supplies or fax phone fees.
In the business world, any time that you can save money, your customers will ultimately save money too. That is why Internet faxing is a good idea. Internet faxing is the practice of using your email (or a website) to send and receive faxes. The speed and efficiency of email, coupled with the lower costs of sending broadcast faxes via email is more desirable than making lots of phone calls.
Sending and Receiving faxes over the Internet with your regular fax machines sounds cool, but so far, today’s standard fax machines do not yet know how to speak Internet - you can’t use them over the Internet. Some of the newer models will have this capability, but it will take time to gain worldwide acceptance. In the meantime, there are a number of services that bridge the gap between traditional faxes and the new world of Internet-based communications.
A number of companies, such as eFax, Faxaway, Internet Fax Provider and MaxEmail, allow you to send or receive faxes over the Internet. These services are either free or charge a monthly fee.
However, many of these services are limited in what they can do:
- Require people to dial a long distance number to send you a fax [eFax, MaxEmail]
- Attach their own advertising to your outgoing faxes to cover their cost [eFax]
- Don’t offer fax numbers in all local area codes [eFax, MaxEmail]
- Don’t work for handwritten faxes (unless they are scanned in) [all]
Still, Internet faxing provides many advantages. Convenience and better resolution are the two main pluses. They allow you to send and receive your faxes entirely with your email service - the best thing to happen to the business world in the last 10 years. You can send and receive faxes anywhere you can access your existing email account: from your home, office, client’s office, hotel, airport or cottage. Or even better, a web-based interface that keeps track of everything you’ve done with your faxing business and allow you to do cheap and efficient broadcast faxing.
Some of the advantages of Internet faxing:
- To send a fax, simply send an email. It will automatically be converted to a fax and delivered immediately
- To receive a fax, simply check your email. All faxes sent to your fax number will be forwarded to your email
- Web fax - For people who need to fax their information to thousands instantly. Send thousands of faxes in minutes from our website - Broadcasting.
- Avoid tying up your computer or telephone lines
- No software to download or hardware to buy
- Easily distribute press releases, product and pricing information, newsletters
- Sending to International phone numbers is cheap - the charge is based on the destination country
- Easy and convenient - faxes are sent and received over the Internet from the office, at home or on the road. Your Internet “Fax Machine” is available 24×7 and is never busy.
- Toll-Free is cost effective - some virtual fax numbers are toll free so that no matter where your customers are, they will not pay any additional long distance charges and your North American clients and contacts can reach you free of charge.
- Privacy - You are the only person to see your faxes, giving them the same privacy as your email.
- Portable - You can receive your faxes at multiple email addresses simultaneously and you can send and receive faxes while traveling.
- Receive faxes directly in e-mail - Faxes are receivable and retrievable anytime, anywhere. Faxes are not misplaced and privacy is ensured.
- Send faxes directly from e-mail. - Eliminate manual faxing. Faxing is integrated into workflow and faxes are delivered faster and at less cost.
- Immediate Implementation - No unique client/server or software is necessary, only standard e-mail capability. Minimal to no user training.
- Unlimited scalability - Support as many users as required without purchasing additional fax machines.
- Combine multiple document types into one fax - Fax multiple documents as easily as sending an e-mail.
- Account code tracking - Budget and cost management is simplified.
- Automatic retries for busy or incomplete deliveries - Eliminates need to continually check progress of a fax.
- E-mail notification of incoming faxes - Users know immediately when a fax has arrived.
- Delivery confirmation via e-mail - Users always know when their faxes have been delivered.
Quick Summary of the 4 big services
- Efax - (http://www.efax.com/) Undisputed leader in the field of Internet faxing. Offers free version. Free version doesn’t provide you with a local number. Regular service is expensive. Offers many other products - remote control of computer, etc. Requires proprietary fax viewer software to view faxes. The most local area code numbers available in the US.
- Fax-away - (http://www.faxaway.com/) Competitive regular service. Web faxing not supported. Many customizable features and options for sending. The personal fax number they assign you is not local - they are all in some location where the area code is not local to you - just like the free eFax service - not too useful for your customers.
- Internet Fax Provider - (http://www.internetfaxprovider.com/) Offers toll-free numbers which can be used anywhere in the US with the first 50 faxes per month included in the monthly rate - very convenient for the people sending faxes to you - they will not pay any additional long distance charges. Best rate for broadcast faxing. Many customizable features and options for sending. Comprehensive Web faxing features.
- MaxEmail - (http://www.maxemail.com/) Offers local numbers in the US. However, you will find that only the major cities are covered. No web faxing available. Good receiving plans.
These fax services use the Internet to mimic real fax machines - that is, they deliver your fax to a recipient’s fax machine, anywhere in the world, just as if you had dialed it yourself. Most of these services charge anywhere from 10 cents to 20 cents a page. That’s more than you’ll pay to send a fax across town, but it’s much less than you would pay to dial an overseas phone number, even for a short fax.
Most major e-fax vendors offer additional features, including broadcast faxes, the ability to route incoming faxes to you as email attachments and monthly billing.
On the sending side: Most Internet faxing vendors allow you to send faxes by attaching files to an email. When the Internet Fax server gets the email, the emails get converted into a fax coversheet with the recipient’s fax number pulled from the “To:” address. The attached files then get converted to TIFF or PDF files for easy viewing by the recipient. The service will then deliver the converted fax to the recipient’s standard fax number.
On the receiving side: Most Internet fax vendors will provide you with a phone number that you can then give to your customers. This number can be a local number (if you are located in or near a major US city) or a toll free number (available everywhere.) People will send you faxes to that number in the standard way. The service will then convert the fax to a PDF or TIFF image (or in the case of eFax, a custom image for viewing w/ their software) and send to your email as an attachment. You can then view the fax with any standard Windows Image viewer.
In the future as more fax machines include built-in Internet connectivity, faxing might give email a run for its money as a cheap, convenient way to send documents. Until that time, however, e-fax services will provide the best alternative to picking up the phone and sending faxes the old-fashioned way.
Conclusion
In summary, after reviewing all of the major Internet faxing service vendors, I have found the best service to be the one provided by Internet Fax Provider (IFP). IFP has the best rate plans and offers toll-free numbers that include 50 free faxes per month. I don’t go over 30 faxes per month, so it certainly makes sense for me - because with the toll free number provided, my customers don’t have to pay long distance charges when they send me a fax. IFP also has the best broadcast sending rates and regular sending plan with the most features. And it was the simplest to use (you don’t have to use all the available options.)
For free Internet faxing, I found that eFax offers the best plan. But of course, it puts limitations on the service and you don’t get a local fax number. Also, if you live in a big city and you would like a local fax number, then eFax is the best solution. That is if most of your customers are local, because if not, they will pay toll charges when sending you a fax.
Internet Faxing Services Reviewed
The following services provide some type of Internet Faxing:
CallWave
http://www.callwave.com
Installable software helps consumers and businesses get more out of their wireless phone, home phone, and Internet-connected PC by ‘bridging’ calls between these devices.
More of a cell phone solutions provider - requires custom software.
Data On Call
http://www.dataoncall.com
The company offers a comprehensive suite of fax services including electronic faxing (inbound and outbound), web/fax integrations, developer APIs, fax broadcasting, fax on demand, and custom applications.
Only offer 858 area code and toll free. Expensive. Broadcasting at 8cents/min.
Digital Mail
http://www.digitalmail.com/
E-mail to fax and fax to e-mail services. Users receive a unique phone number, accepting voice mail and faxes.
Difficult to understand, No price structure setup
EasyLink
http://www.easylink.com
Small Business Integrated Desktop Messaging - E-mail to fax, fax to email and desktop faxing. The service was previously named FaxSav.
Large corporate solutions - not meant for small businesses or individual users.
eFax
http://www.efax.com
Send faxes, Receive faxes, anywhere you can get email.
They have a free service with limitations. Standard service is expensive.
FaxMate
http://www.faxmate.com
E-mail to fax, desktop to fax, broadcast fax, and fax to fax via the Internet. Its U800 service allows users a personal toll-free number, which automatically forwards faxes and voice mail to e-mail.
International send rates are standard. $30/mnth, $0.15/min
Faxaway
http://www.faxaway.com
Internet fax & unified messaging service. Faxaway gives customers faxing tools at their desktop.
No local numbers available. Competitive rates and many features and options.
FreeFax
http://www.freefax.com
Send via web, receive as email
Ad supported. Only web-based interface available.
IntelliFax.com
http://www.intellifax.com
Allows you to send and receive Internet faxes. Provides middleware for other Internet fax vendors.
Limited local numbers available. Good send rates. Limited features and options.
Internet Fax Provider
http://www.internetfaxprovider.com
Email-to-Fax, Fax-to-Email, Broadcast faxing. Best Internet faxing solutions and rates available in the US. Simple to use with powerful options.
Offers toll free numbers with 50 free incoming faxes included.
Best rates for broadcasting service. Web-based interface included.
Interpage
http://www.interpage.net/sub-faxing.html
Offers a variety of Internet and Telecommunications-based services - including E-Mail Paging, Web and E-Mail Fax Services, Remote Site Monitoring & Internet Voicemail. Focus is not on faxing services. Competitive rates - meant for large corporations.
MaxEmail
http://www.maxemail.com/
Allows you to send and receive faxes via the Web or e-mail and includes voicemail. You can receive notification of incoming faxes and voice messages directly to your digital phone.
Expensive service. Offers local fax numbers, but not as many as eFax and not as convenient as a toll-free number with free service.
Our Fax
http://www.ourfax.com
OURFAX, is the world’s first, easy to use, ad supported 100% FREE service, that allows any email user in the world, to send faxes directly from their email address, to almost any fax machine in the world.
Free - Ad supported, Amateur website
SuperFax
http://www.superfax.com
Super Fax is a small internet fax device that replaces your fax machines, receive your faxes, and emails them to you, on your email address.
$495US per unit. Still need a fax line
ZipFax
http://www.zipteam.com/zipfax/
ZIPFAX.com will allow you to send from your desktop e-mail to fax machines. It offers text only with no attachments.
You must prepay for online postage with a minimum opening balance of $9.99. Rates are 14 cents per page for most US states.
About The Author
Ellen Farrell - former telecommunications specialist in Telecom. Have reviewed many telecomunications products for large and small business. Worked with large Telecom service providers in marketing and development. Currently review technology for business development in Northeastern US. farrell@faxwize.com
Next entries »
