Stand alone fax machines are becoming like dinosaurs and we need to move away from them. Thermal paper is expensive and not recyclable so getting an online service like the ones listed below.
If all you need to do is send an occasional fax using a service like faxzero is a great option. http://faxzero.com/. This service is free for the occasional user that only needs to send a few pages. It does add an ad to the cover page but it is small. This does not allow you to receive faxes.
To send and receive faxes you may need to sign up for eFax here. http://www.efax.com/, for about 13.99 to 16.99 a month you can send and or receive 200 pages a month. They also have a free service that limits you to about 20 pages a month, fine for most folks. The free account also gives you a free number to give out as your fax number. These faxes are sent and received right in your email.
If you do not want to or cannot give up your dedicated phone line for faxes then switch from the old standalone to a Multi-Function Machine. These will allow you to scan documents and pictures to your computer, use them for printing documents and also to send and receive faxes. In the small business 1 to 5 users I would suggest looking at a 200.00 unit. If you have more than 5 people I would look at the units in the 299.00 and above price range. The more expensive units are faster and hold more faxes in memory all good news when you have several people trying to use them at once.
Viewer Question. Should I include MySpace in my social media campaign? Wendy says maybe??? MySpace has relaunched as a music space. This is its intended use. When MySpace was first launched it was a place for musicians to connect with fans. Then people started jumping on it because it could not only connect you to your favorite band but to your friends as well. Justin Timberlake is now trying to re-invent MySpace as a music discovery spot.
Know your audience. Wendy says that if you are a musician or record producer you should absolutely be on MySpace, if you are not one of these thing then yes go visit and connect to new music or your favorite band but do not create a MySpace page if you are a plumber.