Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2017 December 25

= December 25 =

Fax system
How important is a fax system nowadays?

Which is used as alternatives?

123.108.246.98 (talk) 18:52, 25 December 2017 (UTC)


 * People usually send pdfs or scanned images by e-mail these days, though occasionally you will find fax machines still in use. See Fax.    D b f i r s   20:55, 25 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Someone (with probably a COI ) has given some reasons why some old fossils still use FAX The Top 10 Reasons Companies Continue to Fax in 2017 . Oh Gosh! I might be an old fossil too, as the last time I used my fountain pen was just this month to write some Christmas cards to be delivered by snail-mail !!! Note to self. I must buy a modern ball point pen for next year as to not get too far behind modern times.. Aspro (talk) 22:44, 25 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Simply get or look up your local Yellow pages and check out how many businesses still offer a fax number as connection option. I think most still do but its slowly vanishing since the smartphones are as capable for sending documents today as any PC and according Kaiser Family Foundation even 31% of the children age 8-10 own a smartphones now. There is also a mass of "Apps" for Android and iOS (smartphone operating systems) that make your smartphone work like a fax system. So it seems its still widely used. --Kharon (talk) 05:47, 27 December 2017 (UTC)
 * For a personal anecdote, in the U.S. my experience is that medical providers almost universally still use fax to transfer patient information between each other. From my limited knowledge this is for a few reasons: they already have faxing set up, so why change it; issues with HIPPA compliance; and incompatibility between providers' electronic systems. Things have been changing a little with the adoption of electronic medical records: many offices now issue "electronic prescriptions" which are sent via Internet, not fax. (One of my medical providers gave me an overview of how their system works when setting up one of my prescriptions for a mail order pharmacy.) --47.157.122.192 (talk) 07:19, 27 December 2017 (UTC)
 * I set up a small business in 2004. My business cards, web page, yellow pages listing, etc. all had my fax number, because I wanted to make my business look professional. My fax number went to a service that received the fax into a disk file and then sent it to me via e-mail. No actual fax machine was involved. This service cost much less than a separate fax line, and was much more convenient. I could also send outgoing faxes by sending an e-mail attachment to this same service. So, did I use fax, or not? I think many companies, large and small, use some equivalent of this. -Arch dude (talk) 04:09, 30 December 2017 (UTC)

Business Travel
A curiosity. Just wish to accumulate a basic knowledge i.e.: Is it possible to travel to U.S.A with a business idea? My family and friends are their to support it with expenditures, from traveling to publishing... 123.108.246.98 (talk) 18:52, 25 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Ideas have no value. Implementation of ideas has value. 71.85.51.150 (talk) 20:40, 25 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Once the trolls are done, we can get back to the topic. Your question requires more information: can you easily get a visa? If yes, then travel is open to you, and how you spend your time is only lightly regulated. For instance, if you have a tourist visa, you may not take up employment, but you are free to discuss business ideas. On the issue of publishing, you would not be allowed to act as a journalist without the appropriate visa, but you could (for example) research a book. DOR (HK) (talk) 17:54, 26 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Visa policy of the United States is what you want; note the links to official U.S. government sources in the bottom sections. I'm afraid we can't give legal advice, so if those resources don't answer your question, your best bet is to contact the U.S. embassy in your country, if there is one. Family/friends of yours in the U.S. may also be able to get assistance from the U.S. State Department or an immigration lawyer. --47.157.122.192 (talk) 07:10, 27 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Speaking of trolls, the endless drip of "how do I travel to/do business in/go to school in the US?" questions from Bangladeshi IP addresses on half-a-dozen or more spam blacklists is fascinating in and of itself. One wonders why a person whose family in the US will pay to get his work published even needs a travel visa when he's got access to both the internet and knows what a fax is. μηδείς (talk) 03:38, 28 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Embassy or consulate. —Tamfang (talk) 08:42, 28 December 2017 (UTC)

FM Station Names
I drive a Toyota Prius with its standard VHF/FM radio labelled "Toyota P3808" in Europe. Since the radio selector buttons were tuned to national FM broadcasters that have closed down, I re-tune them to whatever local stations I can find. (These recently included Amnesty International who ran a short-lived pirate broadcast.) In almost every case the name of the station appears on the screen a few seconds after its frequency is selected, suggesting that there is a slow data connection, perhaps on a subcarrier? The article Station_identification does not mention what kind of coding or subcarrier frequency these stations use to identify themselves. Can someone please tell me or provide a reference? SdrawkcaB99 (talk) 23:57, 25 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, exactly. This text is probably delivered through the Radio Data System, which is a low-speed subcarrier in the FM signal. Really anything can be written here, but it will often contain the radio station's identification or the current song/artist. Freedomlinux (talk) 04:31, 26 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, here in Southern California the experience with FM radio is identical, including the delay in the RDS data showing up. As well, the RDS data gets garbled occasionally, presumably due to the error correction being overwhelmed by reception problems. --47.157.122.192 (talk) 07:23, 27 December 2017 (UTC)