Hi Patricia, One good accessible program that works well, and for little money, is WinFax Pro, which allows you to receive and send faxes from your computer.
There is even a ring function, that's really loud, in my opinion, but it rings over your computer speakers, and, if you've got Jaws 7 and above, Jaws will speak out the number that's calling you, if you subscribe to that service. As has already been pointed out, several software packages have fax receiving and sending capabilities, most predominantly, Open Book and Kurzweill all versions. You can also get software like Nuance OmniPage Pro, and Microsoft Office, although I'm not too sure about the latter. Now, in terms of stand alone fax machines, I have always been very impressed with the Brother line of all in ones. I used to own one in the past, but have never needed another one since that one was destroyed in a fire in my office, Don't worry, it wasn't caused by the fax machine, it was arson. Smile. Back then, I owned a Brother MFC model fax machine. The MFC stands for Multi-Function Center. This puppy faxed, scanned, copied, served as a computer printer, with an LPT1 connection, with only one drawback, the fact that the automatic sheet feeder was the only way to access the copy and scan functions. Ideally, one would want a flatbed scanner or copier, in case one needs to scan a book, but at that time, that type of functionality wasn't available, and so we had to settle for what was available. I should also note that particular MFC model was a monochrome laser printer. Like I said, when that fax machine was destroyed in the fire in my office, since I had a fax machine at work, and one at home, we never bothered to look for another one to fill the other's position, until, that is, this past Christmas. My wife and I decided to treat ourselves to a new fax machine to be used in our home office, as the one we had didn't even have a computer interface, and the rollers just couldn't be cleaned to a point where they would grab the paper correctly. We decided to go to Staples, or Staples/Business Depot, as it's known here in Canada, as what better place to get a business fax machine than at a place called Business Depot. Well, they certainly did not disappoint in the fax department. They had every conceivable type and model of fax machine, and to be honest, As the best fax machine I had ever used was the Brother MFC, you might say that I was predisposed to getting another of the same type. I should also note that I was predisposed to getting an all in one fax machine, and that I had no plans of buying a flatbed fax machine, since I wanted to scan multiple pages fast and easily. Suffice it to say, once we got to the store, we asked for some help in the fax department, and we proceeded to shop around, feeling every fax machine they had on display, around 50 or 60, to be exact, until finally I asked him if they still made and carried Brother MFC's or all in ones. He said yes, and proceeded to show me what they had. They actually had several on display, but I fell in love with one in particular. It was the Brother MFC 685C. The list of features are as follows: *stand alone fax machine, with handset, speakerphone and digital answering machine; * stand alone fax, copier, scanner, printer, PC Fax, etcetera; * Photo-printer and scanner; *10 in 1 card reader; USB, Firewire and media card direct printing and editing; *3 inch by 7 inch colour LCD display; *Multiple computer interface, USB, Firewire; *Network capable; *Hard wire and wireless connectivity, allows printer to be connected to the network, and used as such; *auto-sheet feeder and flatbed scanning/faxing/copying; *and a host of other features too numerous to mention here. To me, this monster was expensive, because our finances only allow for one major purchase, once in a while, especially with this purchase coming out to around 299 dollars Canadian, but others with better or worse income scenarios may find it good or bad, depending on their circumstances. I should also note that there were other less expensive models available, some without answering machine, others without speakerphone, others with only a 5 in 1 card reader, as opposed to the 10 in 1 reader available with the model we purchased, and yet other without a handset, and only 3 in 1 machines, instead of the 8 in one model we got. In terms of configuring, I had to get my brother to help with the set up, as my wife wasn't technically inclined to work with this type of MFC, especially since her last fax machine only faxed, and copied, very limited in comparison to this one, so he helped me set up the network capabilities, and the machine's initial set up. One thing I would recommend, if you don't have any sighted assistance whatsoever, is to get the person at the store to help you do the initial set up in the store, so that all you have to do is get the unit plugged in when you get home, and install the software on your various computers. There are quite a number of settings that need to be configured on this particular model, such as time delay when answering the phone with the digital answering machine, configuring it to work with remote activation, as you can specify which number combination you can press to activate the machine remotely from another phone in the house. What I mean, is if you get sent a fax, and you happen to be upstairs filing your finger nails, you don't have to rush downstairs hoping you don't break a leg, you can simply set the fax machine to turn on to accept that fax by pressing a key combination on the phone. My key combination was set up to be *51, as we generally use *98 for voicemail, and a host of other key combinations for other things. Suffice it to say, there are little things that need to be configured on the unit before it's ready to function. In terms of the installation of the software, it was accessible, and you don't need to use the machine's proprietary software to use the unit in conjunction with the various functions you might want to perform with your computer. The unit also has hotkeys on it, that you can activate to start copying or scanning, which you can then assign to a particular program on your computer. The CD also comes with completely accessible versions of the user's manual in PDF format, as well as LAN and Network primers for using the unit on a network, wireless or otherwise. There are nibs on the five on the number pad, and nibs on the start/green button, and stop/white button, and a raised straight line on a button above these last two buttons, but it's name isn't coming readily to my mind, for which I do apologize. The other good thing about the keys on this unit, including the function keys, is that they are large enough that you could place dymo labels, or other labels containing Braille on them, then paste them over the button, or just to the side of each button, something that might come in handy when you can't remember which button is which, as you can see above. Smile. The added bonus of the auto-sheet feeder and flatbed scanning capabilities was an added plus for me, since I will occasionally scan books to read and the like. All in all, it was a very worth while fax machine/all in one, and, although we had to learn to eat some lean in the months that ensued post the purchase, I have no doubt that we will get many years of service from this machine. Sorry if this is a bit long winded, but I felt like bragging for once in my life. Smile. Sorry again. Victor Visit the JAWS Users List home page at: http://www.jaws-users.com Address for the list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help from Mailman with your account Put the word help in the subject or body of a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Use the following form in order to contact the management team http://www.jaws-users.com/BlindComputing.php If you wish to join the JAWS Users List send a blank email to the following address: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
