Faxing documents through a regular fax machine can be a hassle. Often times there are things that go wrong, busy phone lines, paper jams, and broken equipment. Online faxing is the next step in faxing and takes away so many of the hassles. Online faxing can help any individual or business in many ways, the least of which is cost. Online faxing can help to cut the costs by reducing several things:

• Equipment needed
  • Online faxing only requires the computer that you already use, as well as a scanner
  • Reduces the need to buy toner and paper, as well as maintain a separate phone line with long distance, it uses the internet connection that you already have
  • No need to lease or buy an expensive printer that includes a fax machine on it, as well as saves on maintenance costs when this machine breaks down
• Access to faxes and faxing from anywhere
  • Online fax users can log into their account from any computer
  • Users can send a fax or print a received one from any computer, reducing the need to run to a printing store when on the road, faxing from those can run up the costs pretty quickly

Online faxing can also increase productivity. With a traditional fax machine only one fax can be sent at a time, sending more requires additional units and additional phone lines. As long as you are connected to an internet network you can log in and send a fax. As long as the document is on that computer, or even on a network drive, that computer can be used to send a fax. This is especially convenient if you are out of the office, whether it be a business trip or vacation, as long as you have access to a computer you can still send important documents. It is also possible to send a single document to many, many people. This will allow a document to be sent more securely than email to everyone that needs it, instead of people making copies and handing them out.

Because of the importance of privacy, especially in industries that deal with intensely personal or medical information, many online fax services are now HIPAA compliant. Standard email can be easily intercepted by people with malicious intent, while online faxes are heavily encrypted. Many providers’ encryption meets federal regulations, providing safety and security for all of your information. Because of these and many other reasons, there is no reason to keep the old fashioned fax machine in either your home or office. Online faxing provides many of the same features of traditional faxing, while also adding new benefits that can help any fax user.

Online faxing has become a big trend recently, combining convenience and low cost into a package that can work for everyone. The traditional fax machine uses the same idea as the original modems, the beeps and whistles are translated into the faxed document. Online faxing uses digital technology, allowing for the image to be sent in high resolution. If faxing to another online fax user it even allows the document to be sent in color.

Fax machines were invented years ago and while they have changed recently, they still use several basic design ideas. The transmission of faxes still goes through the modem, which is limited in the resolution it’s able to provide. Online faxing still uses a modem to send a fax to someone with a machine, but actually uses packets of digital information instead of analog sounds. This allows the document to retain much higher resolution, removing the grainy quality many faxes suffer from. When sending a fax from a traditional fax machine, the process goes like this:

• The document is scanned by the fax machine, usually at a resolution of 98 lines per inch
• The document is saved into the internal memory of the fax machine
• The information is encoded and then sent through a phone modem to a receiving line
• At the receiving end the document is received by another phone modem and decoded
• The receiving fax machine prints the document

This process can take some time, depending on how large the document is, and can also need to be repeated by the sender if the receiving machine is busy. When sending an online fax the process goes like this:

• The document is on the computer, whether through scanning or simply creating it, anything from a scanned piece of paper to a word processing document
• The photo is uploaded at digital speeds and sent to the main server
• If the receiver is also an online fax user
  • The document is sent to them completely electronically, no busy signal possible at all
  • The user can retrieve the document at any time and from any machine
• If the receiver is a traditional fax machine the data is converted and sent through a phone modem
  • The receiving machine prints the document

Online faxes, due to being sent by a server, are able to send the same fax to many different people, sometimes even allowing thousands to be sent at once. The quality of the online fax also depends on the resolution of the original scanned document, although this resolution will decrease if not printed by a high quality machine. Online fax providers also provide users with a phone number that they are able to use and receive all documents sent from a traditional fax machine.

1.)    Wireless Internet Connections:

Wireless internet connection is also known as Wireless broadband. In order for one to be able to use this type of internet connection, one needs to have radio frequency bands. It is also easily reachable as long as one’s WIFI adaptor is located where there’s network coverage.

2.)    DSL (‘always on connection’):

DSL means Digital Subscriber Online. DSL uses 2-wire copper telephone line and a modem to enable internet connection. In addition, it can carry data and voice signals. The types of DSL connection (xDSL) include;

a)      ADSL:  Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) maintains data rates from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when sending data and from 16 to 640 Kbps when receiving data.

b)      SDSL:  Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) supports data rates up to 3 Mbps. It works by sending digital pulses in high-frequency and cannot function concurrently with voice connections over the same wires.

c)       VDSL: This is a very high DSL that provides fast data rates over short distances. So when it comes to VDSL connection, the shorter the distance, the faster the connection rate.

3.)    Dial up (Analogue):

Dial up uses a telephone line and a modem for internet connection. The disadvantage of this connection is that it conveys data at a slow rate and blocks the telephone line.

4.)    Cable:

Cable internet connection uses TV channels to transmit data and it is very fast and reliable than other types of internet connections. It uses a coaxible cable. The two types of cable are coaxial and optic fiber.

5.)    Satellite:

This uses a communication satellite that is on a stationary position that orbits the earth. The satellite is placed in a fixed position above the earth’s surface.

6.)    Tier carrier:

Tier Carrier connections are used by Internet service Providers (ISP) to connect to Internet Backbone.

7.)    ISDN:

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is used for sending video, voice and data over telephone wires.

8.)    B-ISDN:

Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network operates as ISDN. The only difference is that it uses fiber optic telephone lines.

9.)    PCI Modem:

This is quite cheap. The user has to click on the telephone access icon and the computer dials the phone number which is provided by one’s ISP (Internet Service Provider) and connects the network. The modem usually changes the received analogue data to a digital one.

10.) OC3:

It is also known as optical carrier and the 3 indicates the speed of the fiber optic networks. OC3 is used as a backbone for fiber optic that requires large networks.

Internet also known as “the Net” is a short form of internetwork which refers to a system of interconnected networks that make use of the internet protocol suite to serve many users around the globe. It has a wide range of information resources and services.

Internet basically started in the early 1950s and 1960s when computers were developed. It began with a point-to-point communication which did not permit direct communication between any two random systems. In the late 1960s and 1970s, packet switched networks were developed by using a range of protocols. In 1982, the internet protocol suite was standardized and internet was established. The internet was later commercialized in 1995.

In the 19^th century, the internet had precursors which included data communication which is passing on data between two different places that are connected through an electromagnetic medium like a radio.

On the August of 1962, Licklider and Welden Clark made public the first descriptions of networked future called “On-Line Man Computer Communication”. Then later in October on the same year, Licklider was hired.

During 1960s, Paul Baran came up with networks which the US military could make use of. Then afterwards, Donald Davies developed the same and called it packet-switching. Leornard Kleinrock developed it further by offering a mathematical theory behind this technology. The early networks made use of messaged switched systems which led Tommy Krash and Paul Baran from USA to work on it using message-blocks which led to the urban legend that internet was made to defend oneself against nuclear attacks.

One of the networks that led to the existence of internet include APRANET which grew at a fast rate from 5^th of December, 1969 when a 4-node network was connected by adding University of Utah and University of California in Santa Barbra.

Since 1990, the internet has had a wide impact on the emergence of instant communication including instant messaging, Voice over Internet Protocol, electronic mail, etc. Internet is continuing to grow rapidly and is accessible to more people worldwide.

FLASH INTERNET PLUGIN.

Flash Plugin is also called Shockwave Flash. This is an adobe flash file format utilized in vector graphics, action scripts, programs and multimedia. The flash plugin files can have animations of different degrees of function and interactivity.

For one to work with Flash internet plug in, one needs to install it and ensure that it is enabled in Firefox. To install flash plug in internet connection;

a)      Confirm that one’s computer can operate with a flash browser plug in.

b)      Download flash installation plugin by going to Adobe’s installation page for Flash. Agree to the Adobe’s terms and then click install now.

c)       Wait for plugin file to download into the hard drive.

d)      Close the Internet Explorer.

e)      Double-click installation file to open the software and enable the installation process to start.

f)       Go to “start menu” and reboot the computer.

g)      Open Internet Explorer then wait for the flash animation to load to show that the flash internet plugin connection has been installed successfully in the computer.

If one needs to check if their flush internet plugin if up to date, go to flash player download page at Adpbe.com then download the flash installer. When download has ended, close the Firefox and click on file menu select exit. Open flash installer and follow all the instructions carefully.

Flash plugin files can be produced from a number of Adobe products which include Flash builder, Flash, MXMLC, After Effects, open source Motion-Twin Action Script 2 Complier, open source Ming library and free software suite SWF Tools.

Flash plugin was started by a company known as FutureWave Software acquired by Macromedia. Their idea was to have a format that could be used again by a player running on a system and which would operate with connections that are slow.

Putting the flash plugin software into action has been allowed but on the condition that it delivers files that have no errors. GNU is in the verge of developing a free software player called Gnash under GNU General Public License.

JAVA PLUGIN.

Java Plug-in is a software that enables authors to direct JavaBeans or Java applets on their intranet to run by making use of Sun’s Java 2 Runtime Environment. In addition, it also creates a connection between popular browsers and Java platform. It comes with a future-ready Java 2 SDK architecture, full java 2 SDK 1.2.2 support, free public download and easy install and free java plug-in HTML converter.

Installing Java is quite easy;

i)                    Go to Java.com.

ii)                   Click free Java download button.

iii)                 Click download now.

iv)                 When download is complete, close Firefox.

v)                   Open the downloaded file to start the installation.

After all these, the Java download and Java web start software will be automatically installed in one’s computer.

One can make Java plug-in work on Firefox by simply following the steps below;

i)                    Find the file libjavaplugin by issuing the website locate libjavaplugin_oji.so.

ii)                   Link the .so file to Mozilla plugins folder.

iii)                  Restart the browser and go to http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp to see if the installation was successful or not.

Java plugin enables one to work and be able to play fun games in a protected computed surrounding. It also allows one to calculate their mortgage interest, view images in 3D and chat with family, friends and business associates.

For those who own blackberries, you can own a java plug-in for eclipse that improves the productivity by offering debugging, specific development and simulation work flow. It also gives the blackberries new features such as improve in loading things, eclipse indigo 3.7 for the latest eclipse and ability to download and install Blackberry plug-in.

Sun’s JRE offers a java that can be used by today’s web browsers which comes with high reliability and dependability. The Sun Microsystems is currently working effortlessly to ensure that deploying applications and applets written in java programming language are made simple for everyone to understand.

Adobe Reader is also known as Adobe Acrobat Reader. It is a free application that enables one to analyze and print PDF files.

Installing Adobe Reader is quite easy. First you start by downloading it and then after it is finished loading, go to where you saved the installation and run the installer. After this, one is able to start using the Adobe Reader. With Adobe Reader, one can update the latest version whenever they may need to.

One can also update their Adobe Reader to include the latest stability and security updates. This update is available for those who use Windows, Mac OS and Linux. One can also enable the adobe browser plug in by clicking on test link to PDF file at adobe.com and test page with embedded PDF document at plugindoc. mozdev.org.

If by any chance links to PDF files do not open automatically in a window or tab, one should open plugins to see if the Adobe Acrobat plug is already enabled and go to about: plugins and search for Adobe Acrobat entry. If one doesn’t come across the Adobe Acrobat one should;

-Choose Edit-> Preferences-> Internet.

-Deselect Display PDF in Browser and click OK.

-Choose Edit-> Preferences-> Internet.

- Deselect Display PDF in Browse and click OK.

-Open the Mozilla again and confirm that the plugin is enabled.

One can also disable their Adobe Reader if one doesn’t wish their PDF (Portable Document Format) files to be opening automatically in a window or a tab. This gives one the ability to be able to decide on another action for PDF file links.

One can save their PDF files to one’s disk and open them without using Adobe Acrobat plugin. Adobe Reader can be used with Internet Explorer (Netscape on Windows). When downloading a PDF file, the Zone Alarm Pro may block it and stop the download from taking place.