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Internet access has greatly reduced the number of fax machines in use in the U.S., but a lot of people still need to send and receive images of documents for business and legal reasons. Most of these functions have moved from dedicated fax machines to fax software. Although most of that fax software is written for Windows, there are programs that work specifically for the Mac, and Web-based services work with any Web browser.
Dedicated Fax Programs
Dedicated fax programs for the Mac, like Fax Center or Page Sender, work with a modem and a landline. Mac OS X includes drivers that automatically emulate a fax machine in software for converting documents to TIFF images and sending them over the modem. They integrate well into Mac OS X's drop-downs -- they show up as additional printing resources.
Web-Based Services
Web-based fax services take a document on your computer, convert it to a TIFF or PDF file and send it to a fax account. The fax account is typically presented in the format of a phone number, followed by an @ symbol, and then the name of the fax hosting service. The recipient needs an account at that service, and when he logs in, he gets the fax as an email attachment. TCP/IP-based fax machines are available that can print the fax out automatically, just like a traditional fax machine does. Internet fax services work through the Web browser, and as such, they work equally well on Mac and Windows environments.
Hardware Requirement
Prior to 2002, most Macs had an internal fax/modem and could send faxes by the simple expedient of plugging a landline into the jack. When Apple switched over to Intel processors in 2003, it started phasing out phone jacks and internal modems, and by 2004, they weren't in new models at all. To use dedicated fax software on a modern Macintosh, you'll need a USB fax/modem dongle. Fortunately, Mac OS X kept the drivers needed to do software emulation of a fax machine, so this remains a plug-and-play operation.
Future Considerations
Because most Macs haven't had a modem port as part of their basic configuration since the early 2000s, dedicated fax software is being replaced by browser-based software and apps in the iTunes store for iOS. The software that's still out there is usually working as a user interface to an Internet-based fax service and shows up as a printer added to the list of available devices on your Mac. Of greater concern is that many of the programs that handle landline faxes don't work in the Mac OS X 64-bit kernel and are unlikely to be updated. For now, you can still boot up Macs in a 32-bit kernel by holding down the '3' and '2' keys during system startup.
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About the Author
Ken Burnside has been writing freelance since 1990, contributing to publications as diverse as 'Pyramid' and 'Training & Simulations Journal.' A Microsoft MVP in Excel, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Alaska. He won the Origins Award for Attack Vector: Tactical, a board game about space combat.
Cite this Article Choose Citation Style
Burnside, Ken. 'What Internet Fax Programs Are Compatible With Mac?' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/internet-fax-programs-compatible-mac-62540.html. Accessed 24 October 2019.
Burnside, Ken. (n.d.). What Internet Fax Programs Are Compatible With Mac? Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/internet-fax-programs-compatible-mac-62540.html
Burnside, Ken. 'What Internet Fax Programs Are Compatible With Mac?' accessed October 24, 2019. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/internet-fax-programs-compatible-mac-62540.html
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