network fax

I was pretty surprised last Saturday when my mom suddenly asked me to help her move some office equipment from her home office. Usually, Saturdays start off with me rushing out the door to try to enjoy the nice weather outside before being stopped by my mom to help her with a quick household chore, like vacuuming up the mess created by my little sister in the living room and stairs. But this time, I found myself unplugging her phone and network fax machine and placing them in boxes. She told me later that she was switching all her communication lines to VoIP (voice over internet protocol), which I had only heard about from friends before. Basically, she would use our internet connection to send other data too, like from her phone and from her fax machine. She had me install several new SIP phones, which utilized VoIP to make calls. Also, she configured her network fax, which she called her Microsoft fax, to use VoIP. I didn't know she was so technologically savvy, but I learned a lot that day before I rushed out the door. She essentially swapped all her normal phones and fax machine with SIP phones and a Microsoft fax, which used a more efficient (and may I say cooler) way to transfer data over internet lines. She often makes calls to some distributors in Alberta, Canada, so making calls through VoIP made a lot of sense for her. Also, since we already had an internet connection, we didn't need to have a technician come over and install any new hardware or drill through walls or anything like that. Plus, if we needed a technician, I probably would have been the one that had to wait anyways, so I'm glad that our VoIP didn't require more installation. After setting up her new phone, I tried it out and couldn't tell any difference from a normal phone line. I would have never guessed that it was using the same internet line that I use for AIM and Facebook! After all the chores were finished, I still rushed out the door to meet some friends. I mean, VoIP is cool, but I still have to enjoy the weather!