Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!haven!umd5!oleary
From: oleary@umd5.umd.edu (dave o'leary)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Networks considered harmful
Keywords: email fax
Message-ID: <5803@umd5.umd.edu>
Date: 19 Dec 89 17:59:15 GMT
References: <8912190403.AA05387@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <1250@toro.UUCP> <6042@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Reply-To: oleary@umd5.umd.edu (dave o'leary)
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Lines: 40

In article <6042@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> dls@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (David L Stevens) writes:
>
>	Well, one point that I haven't seen here yet is that Fax can send
>arbitrary information where electronic mail, in its current state, is pretty
>much limited to text.

The problem with FAX is that it is by definition, a facsimile of a document.
I agree that the current state is not all it could be, that user interfaces
need to be improved so Joe Shmoe, corporate exec, etc. can use it as easily
as FAX.  I see in the long run (2 yrs? 5 yrs?  who knows?) the concept of
FAX will be eclipsed by what we might call electronic mail - it is really
just a matter of communication between two (or more) people.  When I send
information to you, I want you to have the information that I send in a 
manner that you can easily interpret.  Unfortunately the best we can do
today (generally available/accessible/usuable by said Joe Schmoe) is text
transfer by email (which isn't too great) or FAX, which of course also has its 
limitations. 
 
>If Joe Shmoe, corporate executive, wants to send an idea somewhere
>for comment and he's got sketches and notes, should he take a couple hours
>to type it in and convert the figures to pic or PostScript, or should he
>Fax the original? I know what I'd do...

>Fax can do everything e-mail can do (given that all parties have
>Fax machines), but e-mail can't do everything that Fax can. Of course they'll
>use Fax machines! This is surprising? There's something wrong with this?
>-- 
>					+-DLS  (dls@mentor.cc.purdue.edu)

It is not clear that FAX "can do everything email can do" - FAX can do some
basic things in a much more user friendly manner.  Email *can* do everything
that FAX can do (well, I can't think of anything off the top of my head,
and I may not be aware of some state of the art new development in FAX) 
but the interface to mail isn't as good.  At least, the good ones aren't
generally available, and the *standrards* (that word again) aren't together
yet either.  

Sorry about the rambling.

						dave