time
Storage? I am Storage!
I'm afraid I've mainly heard bad things about multi-thingys as well. Generally along the lines of poor reliability and expensive repairs.
If your father doesn't want to leave his computer on to receive faxes, I think USR makes a modem with onboard storage that's available in Oz.
The advantage of a fax modem over a conventional fax is archival. If, like me, you need to keep most of your faxes, and preferably quickly accessible, a fax modem offers a terrific advantage. And of course outgoing faxes are higher quality. If you want to send pictures or diagrams, it's far better to tweak them in photoshop or just the scanner software, rather than let a dumb fax obliterate them.
Tannin, you only need separate modems if you are using the wrong software. Windows TAPI does a fine job of sharing a modem amongst multiple applications, it's just that the majority of software vendors seem incapable of following Microsoft's specs. Fax software is unbelievably poor in general, at least in the single user segment.
I recommend HotFax, although they have removed what I consider a vital feature: the ability to add a brief description in the log. Otherwise it's bulletproof and happily co-exists here with Dial-Up Networking as well as two separate remote control packages (outgoing of course). It's a while since I tried Winfax. The bugs and bloat tend to put me off, but it should work okay as well.
In the past, there were other packages that respected TAPI, but they seem to have disappeared. So I don't know of any other single user fax application that will work as described.
If your father doesn't want to leave his computer on to receive faxes, I think USR makes a modem with onboard storage that's available in Oz.
The advantage of a fax modem over a conventional fax is archival. If, like me, you need to keep most of your faxes, and preferably quickly accessible, a fax modem offers a terrific advantage. And of course outgoing faxes are higher quality. If you want to send pictures or diagrams, it's far better to tweak them in photoshop or just the scanner software, rather than let a dumb fax obliterate them.
Tannin, you only need separate modems if you are using the wrong software. Windows TAPI does a fine job of sharing a modem amongst multiple applications, it's just that the majority of software vendors seem incapable of following Microsoft's specs. Fax software is unbelievably poor in general, at least in the single user segment.
I recommend HotFax, although they have removed what I consider a vital feature: the ability to add a brief description in the log. Otherwise it's bulletproof and happily co-exists here with Dial-Up Networking as well as two separate remote control packages (outgoing of course). It's a while since I tried Winfax. The bugs and bloat tend to put me off, but it should work okay as well.
In the past, there were other packages that respected TAPI, but they seem to have disappeared. So I don't know of any other single user fax application that will work as described.