http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/
2007/02/23/BUGKCO9M0F1.DTL
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Over the past few years, she estimates she’s received hundreds of junk faxes — each one costing her money by using up paper, ink and electricity. Weiss has tried repeatedly to opt out from receiving additional faxes.
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Might I suggest either of two strategies to help the poor besieged fax receiver?
One, put a PC on the phone line and set it up to receive faxes. While it doesn’t prevent junk faxes (spam faxes might be called spaxes?), it would allow here to save paper and toner. For example, depending upon what software she was using, (I have a copy of WinFaxPro10 that I no longer use. She can have it. I moved to strategy #2), the PC would, give her a set of “files”, one each for transmission, that can be quickly “thumbed thru”. The good can be printed; the bad sent to the electronic bit bucket. Saves the paper and toner. Can dispose of the “trash” rather quickly. I even believe that it has “rules” that you can trigger from the ANI with the fax. (ANI is caller id in techie terms).
Two, she could use a service like eFax. Essentially it does the same thing, but she’d have to subscribe and change her number. (i think inbound is free?) It turns faxes into emails. The ANI is in the message subject line. Depending upon what email package she uses, again rules can send some of the junk to that bit bucket. Again, no wasted toner and paper,
If she was strapped for funds or not “into” computers , I’d use Strategy One. A technically literate friend can put this together rather easily. Even if she doesn’t have a computer, she doesn’t need much to do this. I bet the whole shebang would be under $500. Heck she have have one of my “toxic waste” computers (The one’s that when a relative out grows, they give it to me to “recycle”.) Might cost her more to get it from Jersey than buy something locally. As I said that can be put up on on almost any old one that works. Bet WalMart has something new for under 500$!
As a business person, if she’s computer literate, then I’d use Strategy Two. I think efax, and others of it’s ilk, have very modest fees last time I looked.
Either one might be cheaper and less exasperating for her. She can fax me at my free efax number 781-723-3746 if she wants some commiseration.
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