NON AVAILABILITY OF FAX OPTION IN WINDO VISTA BASIC

[jay sureka]

For Mr. Bill Gates.
I feel it is down right cheating that Vista Basic don't have faxing
facilities where as all older editions had faxing facilities. I request that
free down load is given to all vista basic buyers
jay sureka

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http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/co...microsoft.public.windows.vista.print_fax_scan

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

For Mr. Bill Gates.

He certainly won't see your message here, in this peer-to-peer
newsgroup. If you'd like to try to contact him directly, I believe his
E-mail address is (e-mail address removed).

I feel it is down right cheating that Vista Basic don't have faxing
facilities where as all older editions had faxing facilities.

And I think that's simply nonsense. When you buy a product, whether an
operating system, a car, or anything else, especially when it comes in
several different models, it's incumbent upon you to do the research,
find out what features come with each model, and choose the one that
meets *your* needs. It sounds to me like you simply failed to do your
homework, and got the wrong product; that's nobody's fault but your
own.

The reason that there are several different editions of Vista is so
each person can choose which feature set he needs. and not have to pay
for more than he needs. Not everyone needs faxing capability, and
those that don't need it shouldn't be made to pay for it.

Why don't you write to Mr. Toyota and complain that your Corolla
doesn't have some feature that my Camry has?

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

All good and valid points--the same ones I made here the week Vista was
released and users started screaming about the fact that fax had been moved
to Business and Ultimate and removed from Home.
I got flamed to ashes. Amidst the flames, I did see another side to this. In
many ways, Microsoft's marketers really did blow it on this one. They
exhibited very little understanding of this fax product and its user base.
Specifically:
1. The Microsoft Fax module has always been a very limited fax product with
few features and less than stellar reliability. It has sufficed reasonably
well for the home user who only needs to send an occasional fax and is
willing to put up with its idiosyncrasies. Vista's version has some nice new
features and is somewhat more reliable, but it has hardly reached the level
where I would consider it robust enough for business use where fax merges
and sending to multiple recipients are the norm. Moving it from Home to
Business just made no sense. They moved it away from the users who need it
to the ones who couldn't care less about it.
2. I am a firm subscriber to the caveat emptor principle. But when I tried
to see how well or how clearly documented the fact that Home had no fax and
only Business did, it was disturbingly obscure. I did finally find it in the
fine print, but only because I was expressly looking for it. Sadly, most
users do not research their OS "upgrades" nearly as carefully as they
should. Microsoft has done a very good job of creating a culture in which
casual users just expect that their next OS will not only have all the
features of their current one, but also lots of new features and lots of new
eye candy. It never occurs to them that any feature might suddenly go
missing.

This is, of course, a rhetorical discussion. Nothing will change as a
result. The most we can achieve is to hope that users learn some valuable
lessons and become more circumspect in their rush to upgrade to the latest
OS. Dig beneath the marketing before making that decision. Most will
probably still want the new toy in the end, but at least they'll know what
they're getting--and what they're not.

 

[Chas D.]

I agree wholeheartedly, the fax tool, even if rather basic, is one of the
most important assets in the communications toolbox for the home / one man
office, if anything above e-mail for serious communications. The comment has
been made that "you gets what you pays for !" which is valid to a point, but
as many new computers are coming pre-installed with Vista with little choice
except at excessive cost, that validity is limited. In any operating system,
the core tools and their useability are the heart of the structure.
Unfortunately Vista seems to display a fondness for "Gimmicks" with too
little attention core facilities. If anything my experiences with Vista Home
would tend to make me shift back towards XP rather than forwards to a Vista
upgrade.

 

[Tom Lake]

I agree wholeheartedly, the fax tool, even if rather basic, is one of the
most important assets in the communications toolbox for the home / one man
office, if anything above e-mail for serious communications.

Yes, but if you have a home office then you're using the computer for
BUSINESS
and so shouldn't be using the home versions of Vista anyway. I don't know
of any
individuals who use FAX for personal use. (I'm sure there are some but I
don't
know them). In any case, many people ASSUMED that since FAX was available
in previous home versions that it would be in Vista home versions as well.
People
who have need of a particular feature should research the capabilities of
any
upgrades under consideration. A quick look at the MS Website would have
told
them that there's no FAX in home versions.

Tom Lake

 

[SF Bay'er]

Well, just so you know one home user that needs a fax, I had to fax a form
to my doctor to get his medical clearance for minor surgery. I am retired,
am not running a business in my home and would have liked to have the fax
capability in my Vista Home Premium. And it would have been nice if my old
WinFax from my previous XP computer would have worked. Neither of those were
options, so I bought SnappyFax for $30 and now I have fax capability.
Tom

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

Indeed. The majority of users of Microsoft Fax were home users.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Well, just so you know one home user that needs a fax, I had to fax a form
to my doctor to get his medical clearance for minor surgery. I am retired,
am not running a business in my home and would have liked to have the fax
capability in my Vista Home Premium. And it would have been nice if my old
WinFax from my previous XP computer would have worked. Neither of those were
options, so I bought SnappyFax for $30 and now I have fax capability.

I'm a home user that faxes or receives faxes very seldom, but I like
to have the capability for when I occasionally need it. I don't do it
through the computer (although I run Vista Ultimate, which has fax
capability), but find it much easier to use my small stand-alone
fax-machine, which I bought on sale for $20.

I think a stand-alone fax machine can be a better solution than fax
software for many people.

 

[DevilsPGD]

In message <[email protected]> "Ken Blake, MVP"

I'm a home user that faxes or receives faxes very seldom, but I like
to have the capability for when I occasionally need it. I don't do it
through the computer (although I run Vista Ultimate, which has fax
capability), but find it much easier to use my small stand-alone
fax-machine, which I bought on sale for $20.

I think a stand-alone fax machine can be a better solution than fax
software for many people.

So when you want to send a fax, you print first and then scan what you
just printed to send a fax?

That sounds rather like "working for the computer" rather then having
your computer work for you.

Myself, I don't have an analog phoneline anymore (and haven't for many
moons), so I have no personal stake in this, just curious.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In message <[email protected]> "Ken Blake, MVP"


So when you want to send a fax, you print first and then scan what you
just printed to send a fax?

Depends entirely on what I have to fax. For example, I've had a form
that was sent to me that I had to sign and then fax.

Once I needed to fax theater tickets I had voided to a theater, so
they could send me replacements for a different performance I wanted
to attend.

And worst case, if need to create a document myself and then fax it,
yes, I might do exactly as you said. As I said, I need to send a fax
very seldom, and printing first and then faxing is no real hardship or
lot of extra work.

I've owned my $20 fax machine for about 3 or 4 years. I've received a
couple of faxes on it, and sent one out about 3 or 4 times.

As far as I'm concerned, fax is obsolete technology, and should have
been replaced by E-mail a long time ago. I have the machine only as a
convenience, so I can deal with the occasional company that for
whatever reason can't handle E-mail and insists on using it. It
happens very seldom, but it's good to have when I need it.

I don't suggest that my solution is best for everyone, but for the
person who needs fax capability only seldom, it can work fine, and can
be cheaper than fax software.

 

[Tom Lake]

In message <[email protected]> "Ken Blake, MVP"

Myself, I don't have an analog phoneline anymore (and haven't for many
moons), so I have no personal stake in this, just curious.

I have a digital phone line through my cable company and can still use my
analog modem and AIO printer's FAX capability.

Tom Lake

 

[Powerdiamond]

I would buy your explanation EXCEPT that when in all other versions of
Windows were you blocked from faxing?

Hint: NEVER!

I went to HP to try and download appropriate drivers. HP says," Vista
already contains needed drivers." I've hated Vista for a long time. XP
remains infinately superior mainly due to the lack of bait-and-switch as
opposed to it being the reason for Vista's existance.

Vista's other maddening defense is that unless you drop a bundle not only
will not let you replace it, it won't even let you erase it.

I had recently purchased a new computer and I thought 'Soft may have
corrected this crap. Especially when it first came out I thought that they
just came out a couple of years to early with it with it and just didn't get
the bugs out. Oddly enough I was able to fax with it. Imagine my surprise
when I found out that I sucks more now!!

As far as needing a more elaborate version, I don't recall that faxing was
just a use of business?

You are just a little arrogant.

 

[bjr]

Windows Millennium had no fax software. Time for you to return to
the turkey flock you came from. You are certainly no eagle!