Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!ucsd!ucsdhub!esosun!seismo!uunet!pcrat!rick
From: rick@pcrat.UUCP (Rick Richardson)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Telebit FAX mode?
Keywords: FAX, faxcico, uucp, UNIX
Message-ID: <597@pcrat.UUCP>
Date: 15 Oct 88 14:32:01 GMT
Organization: PC Research, Inc., Tinton Falls, NJ
Lines: 41

One of the NY radio stations is holding an All FAX-request weekend.
Some Burger Kings take orders for lunch via FAX.  It is very common
now to be asked your FAX number along with your telephone number.
FAX will be the big XMAS mover this year, no doubt, judging by
the department stores.

This latest thing (the K-FAX weekend) reminded me that I've been holding
off on getting a standalone FAX because I was hoping Telebit would
come out with a FAX modem upgrade.  I'd sent them my preference
several months ago, and have been waiting for some indication that
this feature might appear.

In my view of the world, the outgoing FAX call would be selected
from some S register.  The incoming FAX call is a little trickier.
The incoming call might be a uucp data call or a FAX data call.
In the case of uucp, the usual login/password sequence causes
uucico to be invoked to do the file transfers.  In the FAX case,
you don't have the remote FAX expecting to go through the
login/password stuff.  But the modem knows that the call is a
FAX call, so it can automatically log in as user "fax" (login id
would be stored in some S register).  The shell for user "fax"
would, of course, be "faxcico".  Faxcico would take the incoming
image and dump it out to the local laser printer.

This all seems so simple to me, yet I've not heard one word
one whether Telebit plans such an upgrade.  It is nearly XMAS
buying season now, and I *will* be "going FAX", one way or
another.  I'd hate to have to settle for yet another phone
line and a separate FAX modem.  The "faxcico" software doesn't
have to exist, but the modem capability must exist, in order to
keep me happy.  It would be fun to write a "faxcico".

Telebit responses via this newsgroup or mail will be appreciated,
whether or not the answer is yes.

-Rick
-- 
Rick Richardson | JetRoff "di"-troff to LaserJet Postprocessor|uunet!pcrat!dry2
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