Modern forms of Communication – Fax, Email and Videoconferencing

Modern forms of Communication – Fax, Email and Videoconferencing

The technological advances of the past few decades have made it possible to transmit printed messages, pictures and even live performances to all comers of the world with speed.

With a single touch, you can send communications to a number of destinations. Not only large business houses but even medium and small ones use them in their day-to-day working. Among such means are fax, internet/email and videoconferencing.

Fax:

Just as the conventional telephone carries voice, a fax or facsimile machine carries printed messages (words and pictures in photocopy form) from the sender instrument to the receiver instrument.

The sender of a fax message prepares the copy on a sheet (generally no larger than A4 size) which can be fed into the fax machine. He dials the destination number, gets the fax tone and feeds the message into the machine.

The printed message is converted into electronic signals as the paper rolls through the fax machine. This message is received in the same form at the other end on the paper roll that is attached to the machine.

Advantages of Fax in Communication

§  Universal Method of Communication: The fax machine has made it possible to send copies of important documents including certificates, testimonials, degrees, agreements, contracts etc. from one place to another at the speed of a telephone call. For this reason, it is universally used method of communication.

§  Sending Message Directly by Computer: If a document is generated on computer, it can be sent directly using a fax modem, bypassing the need to print the document first.

§  Advantage over Telex: Charts, graphs and other visuals cannot be sent through telex but they can be easily sent thorough fax.

§  Quickest Means of Communication: Fax is one of the quickest means of transmitting information. In fax, the finally prepared document is inserted in the machine and almost instantly copy of the document comes out at the receiving end.

Disadvantages:

(a) It is expensive compared to email and post.

(b) Sometimes the reception is blurred due to channel defects or mechanical failure at either end.

 (d) At the receiving end, the message is printed at the receiver’s cost. In case unwanted messages pour in, the receiver has to bear the cost.

Internet and e-mail:

Internet is an international computer network that links computers from sectors such as government agencies, business houses, educational institutions and individuals. It receives information, stores it and allows it to be read on satisfying certain conditions.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) allow one to create the e-mail ID free, hoping to recover the cost through the ads to which the user is exposed during the use of email. A typical email address reads abcdef@xyz.com. Some other ISPs are bsnl, yahoo, hotmail, and Gmail.

Note the use of only lower case (small) alphabets email in IDs.

Every time the user wants to send messages or check the incoming mail, he can reach his ID by typing a password which makes the mail account private. However, once you have submitted to the mechanism of email you do not know who might read this “private” information far away. As such email does not guarantee 100% secrecy.

Advantages of emails

·         Emails are easy to use. You can organize your daily correspondence, send and receive electronic messages and save them on computers.

·         Emails are fast. They are delivered at once around the world. No other form of written communication is as fast as an email.

·         The language used in emails is simple and informal.

·         When you reply to an email you can attach the original message so that when you answer the recipient knows what you are talking about. This is important if you get hundreds of emails a day.

·         It is possible to send automated emails with a certain text. In such a way it is possible to tell the sender that you are on vacation. These emails are called auto responders.

·         Emails do not use paper. They are environment friendly and save a lot of trees from being cut down.

·         Emails can also have pictures in them. You can send birthday cards or newsletters as emails.

 

Disadvantages of emails

·         Emails may carry viruses. These are small programs that harm your computer system. They can read out your email address book and send themselves to a number of people around the world.

·         Many people send unwanted emails to others. These are called spam mails. It takes a lot of time to filter out the unwanted emails from those that are really important.

·         Emails cannot really be used for official business documents. They may be lost and you cannot sign them.

·         Your mailbox may get flooded with emails after a certain time so you have to empty it from time to time.

Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing, however, is the closest it gets to seeing and hearing one another without being present together. The technologies used in a videoconference are: monitor screen, camera, microphone, codec (compressor-decompress or), equipment control pad at each location, and internet connectivity. With the passage of time, this is becoming more popular and easier to use. You often see it in TV interviews.

You often see it in TV interviews. For a videoconference, the participants get into a special room at their respective locations, equipped with the gadgetry. They can see, hear, speak to others and show exhibits without physical presence together.

Advantages of video conferencing

1. No time constraint: Video conferencing can be conducted at any time of the day. Time differences between countries do not matter when people use this method of communication because they do not actually need to travel to attend meetings.

2. Dramatic travel saving: Not only is video conferencing a direct replacement for many in-person business trip, but also there is virtually no cost for people to be involved in a virtual meeting, you can easily bring the right them together.

3. Easy communication: People can use video conferencing to communicate with anyone with HD video and other collaboration tools such as whiteboard, text exchange, file sharing, media sharing, screen sharing, remote control, electronic voting, conference recording etc.

4. Increased productivity: By eliminating time and district barriers, meetings can be hold anytime, anywhere with anyone. In this way, meetings are shorter and more effective. And also with the rich collaboration tools, decisions can be made faster.

Disadvantages of video conferencing

1. Lack of personal interaction: Some meetings require a personal touch to be successful. Video conferencing can be less personal than meeting face to face, and it can be possible to miss out on vital body language when you’re struggling with a pixelated image or stuttering video.

2.Technical problems: The major disadvantages are the technical difficulties associated with smooth transmissions that could result from software, hardware or network failure. Remote connections are sometimes known to be hampered by environmental changes. On some occasions, the absence of technical support personnel creates difficulty for participants who are unfamiliar with the videoconferencing technological concepts.

3. International time zones: One of the very real disadvantages of using video conferencing is that if you communicate regularly with people in other countries you will be available at different times to them. Unfortunately without the skills of a time lord there’s not really a practical way to overcome this.

4. High cost of setup: Setting up video conferencing in an office can be a bit expensive for small-sized companies. Simple features can fit into the budget, but if advanced features are required, then a substantial amount of expenditure must be done.