St. Joseph News-Press from St. Joseph, Missouri • 7

on consumers St. Joseph 7A, (Mo.) Nev Tuesday, October 1, 1991 Fax machines get the facts across faster Staff photo by TIMOTHY J. JONES Marsha and Dick Rosenthal send out menus and receive food orders by fax at The Deli. Of course, simply not knowing about fax machines won't quite have the same devastating effects here on the homefront. But, by the same token, it could probably be just as beneficial to you if you needed to get a message to someone in a hurry.

Machine's technology isn't as new as it seems Although the fax machine seems to have burst on the scene rather recently, the technology is actually quite old. According to Discover magazine, a Scottish clockmaker named Alexander Bain created the first protofax in 1843. His machine couldn't read a piece of paper, but it could scan a document set in raised metal type. The scanner was a clock pendulum, to which Bain added an electrically sensitive stylus. The type was inserted in a vertical frame, called a message block, and the pendulum would sweep across the letters.

As it did so, the stylus astride its tip would touch parts of the type and register an electric pulse. Each time the pendulum traveled its full arc, the message block would automatically lower a notch, and the pendulum would sweep back over it. The pulse traveled over telegraph wires to a second machine, where another pendulum, kept electrically in sync with the scanner, would swing across a piece of electrosensitive paper placed in the message block. Every pulse received was translated into a darkened spot on the paper. Modern fax machines incorporate fiber optics, digital technology and signal compression into the machines.

When you feed a page into a modern fax machine, it is read one scanline" usually spaced about a hundredth of an inch apart at a time. The string of white and dark blips is then digitized into a binary code, a long sequence of 1s and Os. Advice By ALONZO WESTON Staff Writer Even though facsimile commonly known as fax machines have been for over two years, many "people still don't know much about them. But what people don't know can sometimes hurt nthem. Like it hurt the Soviet when they tried to -take over Moscow a few months Pago.

did was shut down all communication lines. They sent nitroops to surround the capital's main telephone exchange, they occupied the radio and center and shut down all the independent newspapers. After all these precautions, the of their arrival still got out. How? They forgot to turn -off the electrical power, ard the resisters faxed the message. One of the very first things the In May 1989.

when the Chinese government declared law, it cut off television, radio, newspapers, even mail communication from its protesting citizens. But still needing to maintain international trade, the leaders left the phone lines open. That proved to be their undoing. Before they realized their mistake, fax machines in China were -suddenly swamped with articles from Western newspapers that brought the nation's news blackpout into the spotlight. "Nothing is faster," said Loy Costner, manager of the Mailoffice Centre.

"You've got overnight mail like UPS, where it will get there around 10:30 the next morning, but (a fax machine) is instantaneous. The minute it goes through the machine, they have it." "It's definitely a better way to communicate in the '90s," said Roger Merritt, owner of Merritt's Office Systems. "The fax industry has really taken off in the last year and a half." HE EXPLAINED THAT part of the reason for the booming success of fax machines has to do with how much money they can save. Where it costs anywhere from $10 to $15 to send an overnight letter, and the rates for a longdistance phone call can high, the price to send a fax is cheap in comparison. There are a few mailing and fax equipment dealers in town who charge a small fee for public use.

These fees run anywhere from $2 for the first page, $1 for the second page and 50 cents for each additional copy to $2 a page. "If you count the longdistance phone bills alone, just think how much money you'll save," Marriott said. Marriott added that some of the newer machines have an added feature called "delayed sending," which can save even more money. This feature allows you to program the machine to transmit long-distance Witnesses can become partners in crime Dear Abby: Nearly every day, we read or hear about a major crime (such as murder) that was committed in the presence of many witnesses, but nobody called the police until after it was too late to save the victim. Have we forgotten Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed in three separate attacks for more than half an hour in the courtyard of her New York apartment while 38 neighbors watched and did nothing? Only one person called the police and that was after Kitty was already dead! That happened in 1964, but it inspired the social paychologists to study the apathy of our "I-don'tsociety so prevalent in our nation today.

They concluded that when more than one person witnesses a crime, there is a "diffusion" of responsibility all the witnesses assume that "someone else" will call the police. So nobody calls. l'am not proud of the fact that I have been guilty of the above attitude. Please print this. Never Again in N.Y.C.

Dear Never Again: Thank you for writing to acknowledge your guilt. Perhaps your letter will cause others who witness a crime to call the police fast. Dear Abby: Please settle an arg ment I am having with a friend. She says it's tacky to state on an invitation to a bridal shower where the bride is registered. I say it is a proper way to let people know where they can buy a gift.

And it doesn't mean that everyone invited to the shower has to buy the gift at that store. A Bride Who Is Registered Dear Abby Abigail Van Buren Syndicated columnist Dear Bride: Stating where the bride is registered venience to those invited the option of buying a gift on the shower invitation is not tacky, it is a conto the shower. They have elsewhere if they choose. Dear Abby: A recent column contained a letter from "California Granny," who wrote on behalf of her daughter who had 7-month-old triplets. She asked you to ask your readers to refrain from stopping the parents of multiple birth children to ask questions, such as, "Did you take fertility drugs?" This reminds me of the story about a young woman with six children waiting on the street corner for a bus.

An elderly woman approached her and remarked that all the children so greatly resembled her but could they all be hers, since they appeared to range only several years in age? The young mother replied that they were three sets of twins, born a year apart, and all hers. "My," said the older lady, "Do you and your husband have twins every time?" "No," said the young woman, "Most of the time we don't have any!" A Morrisville, Reader Copyright 1991, Universal Press Syndicate FAIl you wags: Share your favorite stories about pets Pets provide companionship for their owners, readers to share their special pet tale with us. but those animals also provide laughter or tears, Please send your tale funny, sad or touching on occasion. to Cathy Woolridge, St. Joseph These memorable situations may be funny, Gazette, Box 29, St.

Joseph, Mo. 64502. If you touching or sad. All have their place in the fam- would like to send a photo for consideration with ily album. your story, please feel free to do so.

(Make sure The Focus staff is putting together a special your return address appears on back of photo.) "Animal Tales" feature and we would like our The deadline is Oct. 4. News you can use age Joe to have a fax," he said. "It's mainly business oriented." Costner agreed. "About 95 percent is business transmission right now," he said.

"It's mostly for people in business, but there are a few individuals. People haven't got used to using it." The cost to purchase a fax machine can be as low as $600 or as high as $3,000, depending on the added features, Marriott said. "But you have to watch what you're buying," he added. He said that people should analyze their fax needs before deciding on what type of machine to buy and how much to pay for it. ACCORDING TO A recent articie in Black Enterprise magazine on fax machines, a basic machine should have: 1.

Group 2 and 3 compatibility meaning it should be able to receive a much older and slower standard of facsimile as well as at a faster rate). 2. Automatically adjusted baud rates (meaning the speed at which it sends and receives transmissions). The article recommends that you should look for a model with a top speed of 9,600 baud, which is roughly 9,600 characters a second. 3.

Simple controls. 4. A copy function and a multipage document feeder. The article also added that every fax machine should be able to send and receive the CCIT for facsimile transmission. CCIT is an international group that sets worldwide standards for telecommunication devices.

"I haven't seen anything a fax can't take yet except colored backgrounds," Merritt said. "They can take photos. I've seen them, in hospitals, transmit EKGs right over the phone lines. The only thing they can't do is talk to Paper presents biggest concern A major concern with fax machines has nothing to do with price or adjusted baud rates. The issue is what kind of paper to use thermal or bond, according to Black Enterprise magazine.

The thermal paper that is used in most facsimile machines comes in an array of types and size, but there is, unfortunately, no real standard for fax paper. Because the paper comes in rolls, thermal paper can record documents up to 39 inches long, a handy feature for faxing spreadsheets, large drawings, architectural plans or other nonstandard documents. Bond paper offers two advantages. Documents on hond paper generally look better and resemble papers you work with every day. In addition, the paper costs less.

Most fax vendors recommend that you purchase fax paper directly from them or approved vendors to ensure that you get paper compatible with your machine. When you buy fax paper, be sure to get more than you think you need. Inevitably, you will run out of paper at the worst possible moment. Bulletin faxes when long-distance rates are lower, like in the middle of the night. Fax machines can be used in a number of ways: Doctors can use them to send medical reports, corporate raiders can use them to offer bids for takeovers, college students can use them to get term papers in before deadline.

You can order take out food from a restaurant, and, with some machines, you can even send legal documents. If you have one in your home, you can send your grocery list to a supermarket's delivery service. But according to Marriott, people use them most for business purposes. "It's not feasible for the aver- at Couple Mass, will special celebrate, William and Louise Weipert of St. Joseph will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary at a Mass at 8 a.m.

Sunday at St. Joseph's Cathedral. Friends and relatives are invited to the Mass. A family brunch will follow. A dinner for the family is planned for Saturday.

The Weiperts were married Oct. 9, 1941, at St. Joseph's Cathedral. Weipert has been co-owner of Wilson and Weipert Sheet Metal and Roofing Co. and former manager of the St.

Joseph airport. Their two children are Thomas R. Weipert of St. Joseph and Patricia L. Dutton of Peoria, Ill.

In addition, there are five grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren. Sears Retirees planning auction to help needy The St. Joseph Sears Retirees Inc. will hold a fourth annual auction at East Hills Shopping Center on Monday. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m.

in the former Gail's store location. Hundreds of items, donated by St. Joseph merchants, will be placed on the block by auctioneers Ron Patterson and Joel Kuhens. Lunch will be available. Frank Laderoute is serving as auction chairman, and James C.

Patee is president of the organization. Proceeds from the fund-raiser are contributed to Interfaith Community Service to help the needy. Air conditioner bolts chill out possible theft Batten down your air conditioners. Muggy days have turned air conditioners into hot items for thieves. Window units that are not bolted down are easy targets, says Shreveport, Folice Lt.

D.E. Stevens. Thieves "sell them just like they sell televisions and VCRs," Stevens says. Suburbia now moving to chemical-free smell You may notice a different smell in suburbia. Or, to be more precise, the absence of an old smell.

Fewer lawns are being drenched in pungent herbicides and pesticides, say environmental activists, dedicated gardeners, pest control experts and manufacturers of alternative lawn-care products. Signs of the times include a boom in sales for an old-line company that makes ardening products and establishment of a community dandelion dig in a Chicago suburb. 'Toner to donor' plan recycles laser cartridges Don't throw away empty laser printer toner cartridges. More than 20 million are discarded every year, adding to the strain on landfills, but some companies actually will pay you for these cartridges. Laser Technologies Services in West Chester, refills and sells refurbished cartridges, paying up to $10 for used ones, Business Week magazine reports.

And under a "toner to donor" program, the company donates a dollar to charities benefiting needy children for every cartridge returned. Piano professionals pick the very grandest What's the grandest grand piano? In a blind test of the Big Four Baldwin, Bosendorfer, Steinway and Yamaha 18 piano professionals said Baldwin had the best sound, according to the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, Ironically, the magazine reports, the test was ordered by an acoustics engineer who's writing a book on Steinway. Survey reveals hangups on phone responses How not to win friends and influence people: Asked to identify the most annoying telephone responses, nearly half of 590 business execs surveyed cited "Please hold" followed by an immediate click. Other telephone turn-offs, according to the Communications Briefings newsletter: "Not in the office right now," "Can you tell me what you're calling about" and "I'll connect you with voice mail." Compiled by Knight-Ridder Newspapers Family gathering to honor long-married pair Norman and Mary Jo (Pollard) Pettyjohn will mark the 50th anniversary of their marriage on Oct. 14.

They were married on that date in 1941 by her cousin, Elder William Pollard of Independence, Mo. Pettyjohn served in the Army for nearly five years during World War II, two years of which were spent in the South Pacific. He was a plumber for 43 years, retiring in 1979. She worked at Heartland Hospital West for seven years. The couple are parents of two sons David Pettyjohn of Kansas City and the late Roger Pettyjohn, who died on June 26.

There are two grand- Mary Jo and Norman Pettyjohn daughters. A family gathering will be held Sunday, and a trip to Hawaii is planned for January. Shepherd's guest to talk about Rotary activities The Shepherd's Center of Greater St. Joseph will meet Wednesday at Francis Street United Methodist Church. Registration and a business meeting will be at 9:15 a.m., followed by a program at 9:30 by Russell Peck of the Downtown Rotary Club.

He will be discussing the activities of that organization. The Rev. Ross McClellan, pastor of Faith United Church of Christ, will conduct the Bible Birthday Ella June (Campbell) Horton will be celebrating her 60th birthday during a picnic Satur- study on "Personal Encounters of Jesus" at 10:30. A documentary also will be shown at that time. Erma Carrion, past president of the Little United Nations Club, will speak at 11:30.

Lunch will be served at 12:30 for $3. Reservations must be made today by noon at 232-3016 or 233-5792. Shepherd's Center is an ecumenical organization for older adults. The monthly membership dues are $3. day afternoon at 2 in Hyde Park.

Family and friends are invited to participate. Those attending the event are asked to bring a covered dish..