Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

Mac modem question (ADHD underpinnings present)

What do I need (aside from a separate phone line) to use my computer over the phone (faxing, hotsyncing, etc.) along with using the phone to talk. I would like to call in and get the answering maching, turn off the answering machine, call again and get the computer - to fax/hotsync/etc., and (here's the tricky part) turn the answering maching back on to answer before the computer again. Is there software that can do this, or is there a hardware solution that send different rings for different purposes, etc.

BTW, here are some insanely low memory prices. 512MB chip for an iMac: $86. $89 for a PowerMac. I'll have to get my mac up to 1GB.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Out of my skull, back in five minutes
Posts: 1435

This isn't really a recommendation, just what I'm using ('cause it was included with my computer, which is prol'ly the worst reason to use software).

For faxing, there's FaxStf by SmithMicro. It allows you to fax out and to receive faxes (tho, I've been unsuccessful in my attempts to convince that to work; one of these days I need to fiddle with it again), and won't screw with your answering machine. If you leave a phone line connected to the modem, and the modem isn't actively being used (it has to be on, and so does the computer), an incoming fax is supposed to be received by the computer and saved automatically. You can set how many rings for it wait for, just make it fewer than the answering machine. If the incoming isn't a fax it'll ignore it and the answering machine will pick up. If your computer is on "sleep" however, it'll wake up, and won't go back on its own. (in my experience.)
My modem, phone, answering machine and DSL all have their own cables runnning to the phone jack, however. I don't know what happens if the AM and the modem are in series.
FaxStf v.6 is $60.
http://store.smithmicro.com/buy/pro...TFORMdatarq=MAC

if you hit versiontracker.com and do a search for "fax" you get a bunch of share and freeware options too.

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Registered: Jan 2001
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Posts: 278

Re: Mac modem question (ADHD underpinnings present)

quote:

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Originally posted by dick-richardson

BTW, here are some insanely low memory prices. 512MB chip for an iMac: $86. $89 for a PowerMac. I'll have to get my mac up to 1GB.

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 35

Re: Mac modem question (ADHD underpinnings present)

quote:

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Originally posted by dick-richardson

BTW, here are some insanely low memory prices. 512MB chip for an iMac: $86. $89 for a PowerMac. I'll have to get my mac up to 1GB.

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Registered: Mar 2000
Location: NJ
Posts: 517

Haven't been here in a while. Bought one of those new iBooks and went into some kind of time vortex . OWC has good prices on quality RAM too and shipping is only about $5.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

quote:

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Originally posted by lennonhead
Haven't been here in a while. Bought one of those new iBooks and went into some kind of time vortex . OWC has good prices on quality RAM too and shipping is only about $5.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

Am I going to notice a big difference between 320MB and 1GB? At $70 a crack, it's feasible, but is it pointless?

P.S. I will be using PrintMusic! shortly, and I dabble with graphics a little.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Last edited by dick-richardson on 08-16-2001 at 04:57 AM

Registered: Mar 2000
Location: NJ
Posts: 517

Probably not, unless you want to make a RAM disk and run apps from that. They can be really fast, but kind of pointless if you don't need the speed/space.

I got the low-end model (CD). It is a fantastic machine, my first laptop. Since I have a DVD player on my G4 I figured Unreal Tournament can entertain me while on plane flights . It performs very well and I don't really notice a speed difference between my 400 MHz G4 and the 500 MHz iBook except for compressing movies and rendering 3-d scenes, but those are both alti-vec accelerated.

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