Hi-Tech, Low-Work
1 Laptop
1 PDA with GSM, GPRS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (HTC BlueAngel)
1 GSM Phone with Bluetooth (SonyEricson T610)
Wi-Fi internet access
Result?
I can’t send a *#”$% FAX!
There I am, ready to fax my resignation letter to my manager, all neat and stuff, and as I was preparing myself to do “Print -> Fax” I discover I don’t have the Fax service installed on my Windows XP.
Ok, fine, I though maybe I’ll just use the fax application on my PDA, which by the way I never thought I would ever use. So I transfer the word document. Well, not really, it doesn’t transfer for some reason (apparently the conversion fails). After some messing around, I get it to convert and bang I open it in the PDA. Everything is ok there, Uf!
Opening the document with KSE TrueFax to send it shows that my signature (an image in the document) just disappeared. Oh great! as I try to click on the space where the signature should be, I discover I can actually write in the document!!! ok, fantastic, I just fiddle my signature in that space, even if it looks a bit pixelized…
So there I go! Fax – Send…wait…phone turns off…error no carrier detected. Funny… I don’t remember seeing this in the instructions manual. So I try again and the same problem occurs. Right, n’enough of this new hi-tech solution, lemme just try to use the PDA as a fax/modem.
What should be an easy task of adding a phone as a modem, turns out to be a quest for missing drivers that don’t work and the discovery that the “Fax service” is not available on the phone, only the “modem” bit… and even the modem seems to be very ‘nice’: it replies OK to every single AT command… go figure!
Ok, back to step 1: getting the Fax installed in Windows. Maybe I’ll just fax it through the normal land line. There I go, Add/Remove programs -> components -> fax… I tick and I say next… and it says it needs Windows XP SP2 cd-rom, which I actually have. So I insert it and it says it cannot find the bloody file it needs… I check manually and it’s right there!!! what do you mean you cant see it? I can see it! go get it!!!! … Oh well, I’ll just do it manually…
Some ‘expands’ later I have all fx* files under windows\system32. I try to do “Setup Fax” in the printers folder and it inserts the fax… but takes it off straight away!
I’m beginning to wonder if this is all a big conspiracy against my resignation from the company…
Only 3 hours later, after messing around with the security database (apparently this is what happens when the security database in windows gets messed up), I get the Fax component to install. Great I think! Now I can use the normal modem to Fax it!
So I do… and the land line seems to be making funny noises to the point that fax doesn’t get through… AAAARGGGH
I am not going to try any other solution, so I just kept trying and after like 5 attempts (how much noise can a line have?! I’m only sending one page!!!) I get the fax through… Was it worth it? Maybe I shouldn’t be quitting my job…
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