In an ever-changing world it can be nice to have something constant. In the modern office, that constant is the fax machine. A recent TIME article questioned the endurance of this technology, and I have to say, I agree.
I understand it has its uses. I’m not sure what they are, and I can tell you that if you put anyone under the age of 35 in front of this time warp of a machine and you may as well be asking them to communicate telepathically.
I suppose the constancy is a nice thing in some ways. With all of the change going on in our fast-paced world it’s nice to see that some things just won’t change.
However, I assume that the machine’s ability to avoid the fate that befell telegrams, carrier pigeons, and smoke signals, has been carefully managed by someone in the paper industry. There are simply easier ways to communicate.
Fax machine users of the world, I bring news from the future. Well, it’s really news from the past at this point, but it’s your future and it’s called scanning your document into an email.
I admit, some of my bafflement may stem from my inability to use the machine. Although, to be fair, my inability to use the machine does come from its vestigial function.
I suppose we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
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TIME: Facing the Fax
…bi-daily smile…
