Fax Modems

I defy anyone to tell me they've ever used a fax modem in their life. Back when desktop computers cost about $2000 and a 1200 baud rate was considered pretty good, the fax/modem was packaged as a strong selling point. Windows even made an iconic commercial where a little girl sends a fax around the world that simply says, "My First Fax." In the commercial, two Japanese businessmen receive the fax in the back of their limo. They read it and look up at each other in a poignant moment. The viewer is supposed to see it as a powerful image that the world is changing and technology is going to bring the masses power, but I'm sure that fax was a wrong number. They always were.