Just the Fax, Sir!

Disclaimer:  This is a truncated version of my post "Sending and Receiving Faxes (Without a Fax Machine)."   It is meant to be a quick reference for those of you who may be interested in these services.  If you want a more detailed explanation of the process and why someone may use this software, you can find the original post here.


SENDING FAXES

What you'll need:

A Printer
A Scanner OR a Smart Phone with the this Android app or this iOS app.

1.  Scan your document
2.  Head to GotFaxFree

Click on the image for detailed instructions.

You can only send 2 faxes a day using the free service,  If you happen to hit that wall use FaxZero.

3.  GotFaxFree or FaxZero will send you a confirmation email.  Click the link in the email. Once the fax has been received by the intended both services will send a follow-up confirmation.


RECEIVING FAXES

1.  Sign-up for eFax free.

eFax free has a simple and intuitive signup process.

2.  eFax Free will send you a confirmation e-mail to sign up for the service, along with your assigned fax number.  Confirm the service.

3.  Give someone your fax number as you would with traditional fax service.

4.  eFax will send you an e-mail when you have received a fax, complete with PDF attachment.

5. NOTE: eFax Free allows 10 pages a month.

A simple email alerts you to a fax.  A PDF is attached
at the bottom of the email.

Sending and Receiving Faxes (Without a Fax Machine)

Disclaimer:  This is the full-post, describing in detail not only how to use virtual faxing solutions, but also the reasons behind why someone may want to do so.

If you just want a quick summary of using the services, you can check of my truncated post here.




As a supergeek, there are six words I absolutely dread.  Hearing these words leads to immediate spikes in blood pressure, curse words, and sometimes even dizziness.

"Please send us a fax at..."

The fax machine is the contradiction of the information age.  Sure, it may be sold in the technology section of your nearest office supply superstore, but the more tech inclined someone is, the LESS they want to ever interact with one.

Thankfully the importance of the device has dwindled in the age of e-mail, instant messenger, and attachments, but some businesses still insist on using these relics from another time.

Fact:  The Pterodactyl evolved wings so the species would
no longer have to use the fax machine.

My geek level is fairly advanced.  I'm the type of guy who will occasionally build his own Linux kernel "just for fun."  That being said, I've never used a fax machine.  I have to sheepishly admit that if someone asked me to, I wouldn't know how without someone walking me through it.

Up until now there have only been a handful of times I had to fax anything.  I halfheartedly looked up ways of faxing documents online, but quick searches only turned up many paid services.  Most have monthly fees and aren't worth it for someone who sends only a couple documents a year.  In the past sending a fax has meant a trip down to Kinkos.

I work in Healthcare and am in the process of a change in employment.  The new job needed my immunizations records.  This meant calling all sorts of former Healthcare providers- former employees, my High School school nurse, heck even my old Pediatrician- trying to locate the information.

Hospitals are notorious for still relying on the fax machine.  Part of that has to do with the one advantage the Fax Machine has over its all digital counterparts- signatures.  Health information is protected by Federal HIPPA privacy laws.  This means many hospitals will not even confirm they HAVE you records until you send a release of information.  Every healthcare provider has there own release form, and each provider wants it faxed with a signature.

All in all I had to go through 5 providers to get all the necessary documentation,  A single provider accepted E-Mail verification.   The other four all required multiple faxes.  Each day required more and more paperwork.  I needed a better solution.

SENDING FAXES

What you'll need:

A Printer
A Scanner or a Smart Phone with the right app.

For this process, I was using a scanner, but in the past I had particularly good results with this Android app.

For iOS users, this has been recommended to me.

I started with this website, which was extremely helpful in pointing out the best options on the market.

By far the best service I found was Got Fax Free (GFF) (2nd on that list).  There were 2 major benefits compared to its competitors.

Sending faxes took less than three minutes, which wasn't always the case with the competition.  More importantly, GFF places NO ads on your fax.  Almost every other competitor places an ad for their service on your cover page.   With GFF your receiver has no idea you used an online fax system.

The interface, while not exactly pretty, is still easy to follow along.  Nonetheless, I have created an image to guide you.

Click on the image for detailed instructions.

GFF does, however, have one very important limitation.  You can only send 2 faxes a day using the free service,  If you happen to hit that wall, as I did one day, just move on to another service.  In my case I used FaxZero.

Sending Faxes with FaxZero took longer.  FaxZero itself gives a window of between 5 and 30 minutes. In my experience it tended to take about 10 minutes from fax to confirmation.  Also, FaxZero will put ads on your cover page.  Both these caveats, however, beat a trip to Kinkos any day.

On the positive size, the interface for NetZero was much nicer than GFF's, especially on mobile browsers.


RECEIVING FAXES

By a week into the experience I was a fax sending machine.  Need a release of information?
"No problem." Done.

One issue that popped up repeatedly, however, was paperwork going missing.  This could mean the fax was never sent, the sender dialed the fax number wrong, or even the receiver just plain lost the fax.

When this occurred I found myself once again playing middle man between two providers.  Trying to troubleshoot an issue between two separate companies can be maddening.  Each side assumes they did things right, and you, as the "client" have no way of determining the source of the issue.

In fact most of time both sides will assume its your fault.  You, after all, don't have a fax machine, and clearly you have no idea what you're doing.

"Me Good Electronics.  This No Me Fault!"

Keep in mind that for most of these people the fax is their life.  Your embracing of newer technology, ironically enough, makes you look appear technically incompetent as soon as you add a landline based machine into the equation.

"If only I had my own fax number," I thought, "I could maintain copies of these documents myself and cut out half the equation."

I  looked up several services.  While many offered approximately 30 pages a month, most came with the caveat that if you didn't receive at least one fax a month your service was canceled.

I was looking for a more permanent number.  Something I could put on a business card or in an email and it would be my Fax number.

 I found the solution with eFax free.  While eFax free only allows 10 pages a month there's no monthly minimum.  What that means is your Fax number is yours.

eFax free has a simple and intuitive signup process.

eFax will send you a confirmation e-mail to sign up for the service, along with your assigned fax number.  After that simply give someone said number for your faxing needs.  eFax will send you an e-mail when you have received a fax, complete with PDF attachment.

A simple email alerts you to a fax.  A PDF is attached
at the bottom of the email.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

One of the great benefits of using virtual fax services is you can literally send and receive faxes from anywhere,  Shortly after signing up for both services I arrived to an Occupational Health appointment and was informed they did not have possession of the many documents I had sent them.  This could have meant an appointment reschedule, but with my smartphone in hand I simply took a seat, downloaded the PDF from my eFax email, and then resent the documents using GetFaxFree.

As it turned out, there had been a mixup in the office, and they had my paperwork all along.  All the same, it's likely without the services at my disposal I would have already left the building.  Using virtual fax I didn't have to worry about what happened or where the documents were.  I simply faxed them- all from my phone.  In less than five minutes the problem was solved!

In fact, the automatic archiving feature of these services has actually made me LIKE faxing.  At the end of the appointment a nurse asked me if I wanted copies of my paperwork.  To prevent issues like this in the future, I've been scanning my paperwork into Google Drive for archival purposes.  Suddenly, it occurred to me there was a faster way.

"Can you fax them to me?"

ARKHAM ORIGINS Rises to the Occasion

This post was originally titled "5 Video Games You (Maybe) Haven't Played (But Totally Should)" and was meant to list 5 games that, for various reasons, I felt my fellow gaming geeks didn't give the proper attention they deserved.

My intention was to start with the best known games at the top, with each game becoming more obscure as the list went on.

While writing my first entry, "Arkham Origins," I came to realize this section had morphed into its own post.

You may vaguely remember "Arkham Origins."  It's that one Batman game you decided to skip when the reviews were best summed up as "Eh, it's alright, I guess."

Well I'm here to tell you why those reviews were a big steaming pile of doggy poo.

Screw Metacritic!  Clearly the opinion that matters is that of some random well dressed geek blogger.

Don't believe me?  My last post had over 90 page views!  That's almost a hundred! Clearly I'm reaching celebrity status here, and everyone knows you should buy something once it has a celebrity endorsement.

Batman: Arkham Origins
Buy on Amazon

“Arkham Origins” is the follow-up to “Arkham City,” wildly regarded as the “Citizen Kane” of the superhero video game sub-genre. Following the release more or less every geek and his sister shat themselves with excitement and anticipation, and with good reason. An open world, top of its class melee combat, and engaging storyline which weaved in TONS of Batman's rouge gallery combined to… you know what? Forget it. The game made you feel like you were “The Goddamn Batman!” and that's all that mattered. If you had a significant other in October of 2011 you were either putting out an APB on him/her, OR you were trying to wrestle the controller out of his/her bloody hands because screw you I want to be Batman!

The world collectively gave the middle finger to life as people stopped whatever wedding, birth, or new job they had planned. Anyone who was obsessed with Batman OR video games was playing this, and that includes pretty much anyone who is not my Mom.

But seriously Mom, you need to check this game out.

Because Batman totally stole this move from my Mom.
Trust me, I never skipped school again.

A new series entry was only a matter of time, and during the wait the internet went wild with anticipation. That day finally arrived in October of 2013, and once again every self-respecting geek dropped what they were doing so they-

-they took a collective sigh. Then shrugged.

"Bruce... *cough cough*.... Your parents...
Would be so disappointed."

Arkham Origins currently holds a metacritic score of 76, so while not a disaster, it pales when put up against “City's” score of 96. Sales were approximately half of the previous game. Those numbers would be absolutely dreamy if your game is, say,"Costume Quest," but for a highly anticipated prequel to one of the best regarded games of the last generation that's an epic fail.

"This is worse than that time you let us die!"

It's a shame, really, because Arkham Origins is a damn good game.

The reviews are not shy about the game's supposed short comings. It rarely deviates from “City” and the new features are “win” buttons. The melee system takes a small step backwards. Neither long-time Bat veterans Kevin Conroy or Mark Hamill provide the voice work. The online component is a waste of time. The storyline seems “padded out.”

And you know… fair enough. It's not that the any of these particular criticisms aren't valid, it's just… they're really nitpicky.

“Arkham City” has a renowned combat system that lets you use a wide variety of bat gadgets to engage dozens of foes in combat- all the while maintaining a steady flow and making what's a complicated process feel seamless. It's not necessarily easy, but it's fair- every problem has a solution which can resolve in you avoiding being hit, but you better have lightning fast fingers to pull it off.

In contrast, “Origins” attempts to nod to its prequel roots by slowing down some of Batman's reaction times. The result is that on occasion you find yourself in a position where you can't avoid taking damage. It's a step backwards, and I'm going to completely concede, right here, that as a result, “Arkham Origins” has only the 2^nd best melee combat system of any video game ever.

"This combat is a joke!"

The games “big” new feature is an improved version of detective mode. Detective mode was already a sore spot in “Arkham City.” It's a pause from the normally frantic pace of the game, and while it's incredibly cool the first time you play through, it fails to hold up on replays. It ends up being a quick but annoying video game chore.

The new system does little to improve that, though maybe makes said sections of the game slightly more tolerable during a second or third go around. It's neat but it's not an exciting or interesting feature. But when the biggest gripe about a game is it plays exactly like that other game you dropped over 100 hours into on Steam- you know, actually, is that even a complaint? I mean, hell yeah, don't touch this, I still feel like Batman!

"We will fight injustice, but we will never fight
self-absorbed fan-fiction!"

The online component, on the other hand, is a mess. The biggest issue is that the developers…

Wait, you know what? WHO CARES? The last two Arkham Games didn't have a versus mode. The “Arkham” series was never about online play. I tried “Origins” online play once, shrugged, and then pretended it just plain did not exist. You should too.

The voice work is actually quite stellar. Roger Craig Smith pinch-hits for the legendary Conroy and attempts to mimic a younger, somewhat less detailed version of the original performance. Actually, I take back attempts, because overall he succeeds in what is a very challenging balancing act. Yes, there were times where if I listened very carefully I'd think “I miss Conroy!” Not once, however, did Smith's interpretation ever take me out of the game. I mean, are you really going to tell me this doesn't sound like Batman?

As for Mark Hamill's absence? First of all, Hamill publicly retired from the role, so let's cut the developers a break. Did we really expect no one would ever use the Joker again in an animated medium? More importantly, Troy Baker takes over the role, and he nails it. As in full on grand slam.

Baker's interpretation is some of the smartest voice work ever to grace the Bat-Universe. He was given a seemingly impossible task- take the reigns from an actor whose performance is nothing less than iconic. If you grew up in the 90s, then Mark Hamill is the Joker to you.

On the surface it looked like he had two options, and both options just plain sucked.   He could try to imitate the original and be called out as a second rate copy cat, or he could make the performance his own and undoubtedly irritate millions of fans who have become accustomed to the Joker sounding a certain way.

Baker intelligently sides-steps this catch-22 by pulling a little bit from each approach. Baker correctly doesn't try to reinvent something that's worked so well. He starts with an imitation- his Joker's voice shares the same DNA as Hamill's- but then adds small, but perceivable, personal touches.

Casual listeners would probably never even know the voice actor had been changed. Baker's work is that good. If, on the other hand, you're the type of guy whose fridge is covered in Batman magnets and sometimes hears Mark Hamill's laugh in your sleep? The change is noticeable.

"Does this even NEED a caption?"

Which is all to say that Baker leaves the interpretation of the character intact, but makes changes to the nuances. He adds just a hint more sinisterism to the voice. Notably he doesn't over do it. Other non-Hamill voice actors have attempted to give the Joker a raspier voice, likely in an attempt to pull out the darker shades of his personality, but instead only masking the ironic lighter sides of his persona that make him such a compelling character in the first place. Baker manages to avoid this trapping completely.

The final result is a voice that's somewhat more attuned to the grittier Arkham universe than Hamill's, which originated on the mature but still kid-friendly Batman: The Animated Series. Baker amazingly manages to not only equal, but- and I can't believe I'm saying this- somehow improve upon Mark Hamill's classic performance.

Check out this video in which Baker does a line reading of Alan Moore's iconic “The Killer Joke.” Baker hits every word just right. It's chilling.

The storyline starts off with an incredibly interesting premise but does admittedly tend to go off track in an attempt to both pad itself out and work around the pitfalls of combining story with interactive entertainment. In other words, interesting plot points often diverge into three less interesting plot points that require hours of gameplay to resolve. I.E. Batman can't get to the next floor of a building without a gadget, so he better go through a completely different building with its own boss on the other side of the city just to retrieve said equipment.

To attribute this issue to “Origins” alone is unfair. Even the renowned “Arkham City” suffers from this frequently- arguably more so than “Origins.” More importantly, ANY video game which is not named “Chrono Trigger” suffers from this at some point. This isn't a problem with “Origins.” This is an issue with gaming being a still young medium and writers not quite yet tapping the outline for basic story structure.

It's also worth mentioning that “Origins” does manage to improve upon its predecessor in a couple ways. For one, the developers spent a lot of time trying to create more engrossing boss battles- an unfortunate weak spot of both “Arkham City” and its predecessor “Arkham Asylum.” They don't always succeed, but at its worst “Origins” bosses are no less than the equals of the series' previous games. At its best the game actually manages to implement a few exciting and intelligently conceived final rooms.

Best of all there's an incredible portion of the game focusing on the Joker's past- believe me, you'll know it when you see it. It's the best moment of the series. Hell, it's one the best moments of any Bat-Media at all. Aided, no doubt, by Baker's marvelous voice work.

All coming from a game with a 76 Metacritic score.

The only real flaw of “Origins” is it bares the unfortunate cross of being the follow-up to one of the best designed video-games in the last ten years. Instead of being judged on its own merits, the game was judged against the sky-high ceiling of its predecessor, and it didn't quite hold up. But you know what, it came close. Really close. And occasionally, in a few moments of brilliance, it even surpasses “City”. 

If you've avoided the game do to the lukewarm reviews, I promise you you've been misled. “Origins” is another stellar game in the Arkham universe. You're missing out.

If this game had been released in 2009- before “Arkham Asylum” was even a thought on anyone's mind- the Bat fans of the world would have broken twitter in a giant nerdgasm. Instead the game is only remembered as “Not as good as the last one.” It deserved better.

"Mom get off my Steam account!
...I've made a huge mistake."