Yet another article on obsolete technologies

If you want to raise some controversy, trying telling users that the technologies they know and love are obsolete and ought to be retired.

That’s what happened recently with an article by Computerworld’s Mike Elgan called 10 obsolete technologies to kill in 2010. In it, he takes on everything from the 12 volt DC port (once called the cigarette lighter) in cars to business cards to home entertainment remotes. And of course, #1 on the list is the fax machine.

In Mike’s world, everything should be emailed. Of course, MyFax users know better. There are plenty of good reasons to fax documents, such as:

- They need signatures
- They contain handwritten notes or amendments
- The law requires it (pretty much any medical record)
- You want the document encrypted during transmission
- The person on the other end doesn’t like or use email
- That’s just how your industry works (construction comes immediately to mind)

The one thing he did get right is there’s no real need for a fax machine anymore. An Internet fax service will do whatever you need done with faxes while helping you save money and make your office a little greener.

Say what you will – faxing is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. And until those fancy smart phones become a lot cheaper to own, program and use, I doubt we’ll be getting rid of our home entertainment remotes anytime soon either.