Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!linac!att!bu.edu!nntp-read.bu.edu!robertl From: robertl@bucsf.bu.edu (Robert La Ferla) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.fax Subject: Re: Network FAX servers Message-ID: Date: 21 Feb 91 07:55:57 GMT References: <91051.013355U12570@uicvm.uic.edu> Sender: news@bu.edu.bu.edu Reply-To: robertl@bucsf.bu.edu (Robert La Ferla) Organization: Boston University Computer Science Department Lines: 29 In-reply-to: U12570@uicvm.uic.edu's message of 20 Feb 91 07:33:55 GMT > Someday, I would like to provide networked fax facilities that would > allow PC users, Mac users, Unix users and any other authorized (tcp/ip) > network user to send out fax documents from a selected number of popular > applications -- as if they were submitting print jobs. I can picture > documents created by MS-Windows applications (eg. PageMaker, Word), > WordPerfect, MacWrite, MacDraw, Quark Xpress, FrameMaker, troff, > TeX and miscellaneous email software being faxed out. If I choose > PostScript as the document transport vehicle, I would only need > a little program (a la print selection) running on the different > boxes connected to an Ethernet wide area network that would basically > get the phone numbers and PS files to send to the fax server, which > in turn would convert PostScript to G3 FAX (time consuming) before > faxing out. >> Does this make any sense? Is this too much pie in the ski? >> Are there better ways of approaching the problem? It makes perfect sense. NeXT workstations do exactly that. All applications have a print option from a menu that brings up a panel that asks which printer or FAX to print to. It's a wonderfully useful feature. Incoming faxes are converted to PostScript and look great on the 400 DPI NeXT laser printer. It is simple to send print requests from other UNIX boxes to the NeXT for printing or FAX. Robert La Ferla Lotus Development Corporation robertl@bucsf.bu.edu "Improv-ising in the NeXT dimension."