Xref: utzoo misc.wanted:5743 comp.sys.ibm.pc:32473 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!vax5!b27y From: b27y@vax5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU Newsgroups: misc.wanted,comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: info wanted on answering machine and fax programs Keywords: fax, answering, pc-clone Message-ID: <19216@vax5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU> Date: 2 Aug 89 01:20:00 GMT References: <1933@leah.Albany.Edu> Sender: news@vax5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU Reply-To: b27y@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (Mike Gray aka Misha) Organization: Cornell Information Technologies, Ithaca NY Lines: 100 I have both of what you are asking about : the answsering machine and the fax card. The watson system: the "answering machine" is actually a voice mail system called WATSON by Natural MicroSystems. the Board and software costs $199 with 1200 baud modem and a 2400 baud version for $299. It is actually a very powerful voice mail system. It will act as an answering machine. You can also have people call in from any touch tone phone, get you personal message, and leave you a personal message (By entering there own "password"). You can also call in yourself remotely and get any new messages that may have been left for you. Much of what you do at the computer can also be done remotely. It can also be used for other voice puposes: in Brooklyn the US MAIL have an information system, were customers can phone in, type a certain number, and get info about the Us mail's services and rates. It is a Watson based system. You can also program it to do all that evil comptuer telemarketting, where the computer calls innocent people and blabs some pre recorded message to them. It comes with a calender, dictation, and phonebook. The calander has an alarm system, which will remind you appointments -- it will even call you at a number at play back a reminder for you. (you can use it for wake up calls). the phonebook will not only keep track of phone numbers, but dial the number for you Overall it is a very powerful gadget. basically it is just a sound digitizer, with the phone technology attached. And also you can use it as a modem, and it is compatibile with every other modem program. You can also run the voice mail system in the background, while you can work on something else, while watson answers your phone. there is a jack for an external speaker, so you don't always have to talk thruogh you phone. I also have a faX card called the FAX BASHER by DEK which is really a coard called the Complete FAx made by the people who make all the COMPLETEtm line of stuff. (DEK only really sells repakaged stuff). It is also a nice little package. It is only a 4800 baud fax but they put out a nicer 9600 baud version. If you don't have a scanner (Which we do) then the Fax stuff is not so hot. This board cost us about $250 the 9600 version runs I think $350. The better version also has a jack for most scanners built in, and also comes with a 2400 baud modem. If you have a scanner then you can of course fax anything. Without it you are limited to anything that you can create on the machine. My software will fax documents created by ASCII, Microsoft Paint, DR. haLO, PC PAintbrush, and some other stuff. The fax software runs in the background and will interupt some programs printing and redirect it to the fax. all you have to do is set the printer configuration of the software to some ePSON printer (I forget the model) and then print it. The fax software wuill convert it to fax and send it if you wish. The nice features you get with FAX CARD vs real Machine: you can do some neat telemarketing: ie fax the same document to 1000 different phone numbers, late at nite when the rates are cheaper. Some machines do this, but they also cost $1500 and up. You just make a list of the documents to be faxed, the phone numbers to fax them to, and the times to do it. When you come back it gives a detailed list of which documents made it, which failed (due to busy signal or other maladys) and when they got there. And yes it does retry failed deliverys. ALL the software runs in the background. It is very well written, so that the background process seems to interfere very little with my foreground process (Unlike watson, which slows thing down prettey well). It will answer phone, receive fax, send fax, or print fax, while I do something else. The only problem I have is the printing: I have an XT Clone with a panisonic 1091i and each document takes about 15 minutes to print. This makes receiving documents a pain, since If it is contract needing signed< I can't get a hard copy for 15 minutes. I am sure that If I had another syetm it would work faster. (You can view fax on the screen before you print them however). There must be a ton of graphic conversion going on, which is shat is taking so long. If you have a 386 box with a different printer, I am sure that printing would speed up apropriately. Besides that everyting runs pretty smoothly for me. It runs on my XT and the only problem seems to be with the printing, and some of the FAX viewing since I am viewing in Monocrome cga. Highspeed VGA would be nice. If you have any questions fell free to get back in touch with me. I really like the WATSON system, and the fax software is nice, but I think I am going to get a real machine when I can afford it (they are very expensive). Although scanners are also nice toys too. --misha-- /*----------------------------------------------------------------------*/ /* Michael Gray b27y@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (ARPA) */ /* Misha Computing b27y@crnlvax5 (BITNET) */ /* 526 Stewart Ave UUNET!CORNELL!VAX5!b27y (UUNET) */ /* Ithaca N.Y. 14850 (607)277 2774 */ /* */ /* "Save the Humans" --Bumper Sticker */ /*----------------------------------------------------------------------*/