E-mail HotLine

[Michael Portuesi]

>>>>> On 16 Mar 90 23:34:19 GMT, khb at chiba.Eng.Sun.COM (Keith Bierman - SPD Advanced Languages) said:

> In article <1990Mar16.132756.20844 at eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> tohanson at gonzo (Jeff Hanson) writes:

> ... I suggest a variation, HotFax.  SGI sets up several fax machines connected
>    to an 800 number to which users can fax problems/questions/etc.  This has
>    two distinct advantages over e-mail.

> How is this easier than setting up a BBS and using modems ? Several PC
> companies provide such services.


I can think of three advantages of fax over a BBS:

1) A fax machine requires much less administrative overhead than a
BBS, and can be managed without any special training.

2) Diagrams and pictures can be sent using fax quickly and easily.
Currently, there is no standard for the transmission of multimedia
documents over phone lines.

3) A fax transmission takes less time than the typical BBS session,
which is of benefit to all parties concerned.


disclaimer: personally, I think a fax line is a good idea, but my
opinions are not necessarily those of my employer. 

-- 
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\/  Michael Portuesi   Silicon Graphics, Inc.   portuesi at sgi.com