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Turn Your PC into a FAX Server
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This is for a top notch system. Depending on your planned use you may be able to get by with much less.
- Medium sized hard drive (500 MB)
- Windows (preferably NT 3.5 Workstation)
- Flatbed scanner with automatic document feeder
- PIM or other address book software
- Document management software (FolioViews, PageAhead)
All this will cost significantly more than even a really high end stand-alone fax machine but computerized faxing can do much more than a stand-alone unit and some of these components can be used for other things when not being used for the fax system. At this point we must mention that although most fax programs proudly proclaim they can "run in the background" our recommendation is to dedicate a computer to your fax system. A lot of the programs really will work in the background and if your fax needs are simple and you have lots of RAM (16 MB will seem minimal for this type of multi-tasking) the computer can be shared with other uses. However, if you're going to take advantage of some of these great new fax ideas you're going to be frustrated if you're trying to use the fax system computer for anything else. Definitely put the fax system on the network to allow other users to access the scanner and send faxes from individual workstations over the dedicated fax line.
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