How can it be that there is no program to allow me to use Mac as speakerphone?

Since most people no longer use modems, it isn't a functionality that everyone is looking for. But I can see where you may want it. Right, modems haven't been standard in PC's in a decade, most are addons these days. Not a problem, you obviously found a USB one. Now software. Again, it isn't standard software on a PC either, but I did find this one for the mac.

Amego -- Looks like it should do what you want it to do.
Hold-On -- Old and discontinued.
iValet -- Third choice, looks nicest out of all.

Good luck.

radman2020 said:

Again, it is arrogant of Apple to take away these functionalities when they deem them obsolete.

Click to expand...

No, it's not arrogant. Apple has no obligation to support any technology, especially if they deem it's a technology that has diminishing demand. Apple makes what they want to make to satisfy what they anticipate will be the demands of most users. Their continued selling success indicates their methodology is working. It's up to the user to research and determine if a computer meets the user's needs before they buy.

Modems? They still make modems? I thought they went the way of the DOS 3.1?

radman2020 said:

no obligation... well.... not supporting technology that people still use is not an obligation.. it is just bad business practice.

look at their stock and you'll see how well they are responding to the marketplace.

Click to expand...

Any informed investor knows their stock price is influenced by many factors that have nothing to do with how successful they are selling Macs, which continues at the rate of around a million Macs per month.

radman2020 said:

And yes...fax modems are still widely used. What isn't used are dial up modems for internet use.

Click to expand...

Still, like VHS and even DVDs and CDs, it's a technology that doesn't have a growing future.

radman2020 said:

It is much preferable to have the computer act as fax rather than a stand alone device.

Click to expand...

There are many fax services online that will take incoming faxes and convert them to emails.

radman2020 said:

Apple can absolutely do what it wants.. but taking the dvd burner out to make a thinner imac when thinner has no practical benefit (as opposed to the dvd burner) was arrogant and definitely alienated users.

Click to expand...

Again, it has nothing to do with arrogance. It's purely a matter of anticipating demand and building products to meet that demand. Some users opposed removing optical drives, but obviously not enough to make a dent in Mac sales.

radman2020 said:

Alienate too many and guess what.... your stock price falls!

Click to expand...

Again, if you understood the factors that contribute to the stock price, you'd know it has nothing to do with alienating any buyers.

radman2020 said:

again, I am not sure where you get your info. Many people use modems for faxes.

Click to expand...

I run a business and we gave up our fax machine over four years ago and aside from the occasional gripe in the beginning, none of our clients/customers have a problem with it. The fax is nearly dead for the vast majority of people, and most people don't even use the fax capability of their all-in-one printers. We've setup many all-in-one devices and people usually do not use that capability, or if they enable ad connect it, find out that it's not used nearly as much (if at all) than they wanted. But there are still people that use fax machines and need that capability, and even wish to use their computers as answering systems.

Get an external modem and software. I dare you to find a computer that comes with a modem as a factory installed device. Since broadband and home networking has become so predominant, even finding modems in your local store has been nearly impossible...

Try to find floppy disks... They are just about dead too, and good riddance... Oh, and 'small' capacity hard drives! Looked for an 80g hard drive recently?

So don't get a chip because time has marched on and things have passed you by. That's the industry...

If I misunderstood your comments, I apologize...

I think that a fax modem is something that almost nobody would ever use. Yes, there are exceptions, and some people would use it. But it is nowhere near the amount to even consider it it. It would add needless complication. Just because you might have a need for an old, obscure technology doesn't mean the rest of the world does.

PinkyMacGodess said:

Try to find floppy disks... They are just about dead too, and good riddance... Oh, and 'small' capacity hard drives! Looked for an 80g hard drive recently?

Click to expand...

I agree with your post, but as luck has it, today while stealing a garlic crusher in a Best Buy equivalent store in Berlin, I saw those 3.5" floppy disks (which aren't as floppy as those 5.25" ones though, coloured ones being sold in a box of ten. I haven't looked at the price though, as I was more interested to find some kind of hint on when they were produced on that box.

But then again, the garlic press does work quite good, even though it is not one of those fancy ones that remove the stem or peel it while cutting the noodles.

Btw, while the company I work for has a fax and it gets used sometimes, most of the time emails are used for correspondence or verification of orders or similar issues. But they still use those damn tree killing letters to send information and requests to other people.

And to that research some young blood mentioned, why do that (not the mentioning, the actual act of research), when it is more fulfilling to fret about it afterwards?

simsaladimbamba said:

I agree with your post, but as luck has it, today while stealing a garlic crusher in a Best Buy equivalent store in Berlin, I saw those 3.5" floppy disks (which aren't as floppy as those 5.25" ones though, coloured ones being sold in a box of ten. I haven't looked at the price though, as I was more interested to find some kind of hint on when they were produced on that box.

But then again, the garlic press does work quite good, even though it is not one of those fancy ones that remove the stem or peel it while cutting the noodles.

Click to expand...

See, crime does not pay...unless you know what you're doing!

radman2020 said:

you sound like a fanboy.

Click to expand...

I'm neither a fan nor a boy. I buy what meets my needs at a price I think is fair. If Apple's products meet that criteria, I buy them. If they don't, I buy something else. I don't depend on Apple to satisfy every need I have. They have to compete for my business, like any other company offering a product or service I may want or need.

radman2020 said:

Yes, in the future they won't need dvd drives and faxes.

Click to expand...

For many users, they don't need those things now. Like many others, I haven't needed fax capabilities for more than 5 years.

radman2020 said:

People are using them.

Click to expand...

Then those people should buy something that meets their needs.

radman2020 said:

Taking them out for the future is a disservice.

Click to expand...

A disservice to whom? For the masses buying Apple computers today, it's obviously not dissuading them from buying.

radman2020 said:

yes the stock is dependent on lots of things.. Like the iphone that is selling lots.. but lots less than anticipated because they have their head in the sand over the screen size.

Click to expand...

Again, there's a lot more to stock prices than screen size, fax capabilities and optical drives.

radman2020 said:

Fax services are complicated and expensive.

Click to expand...

Apparently, you haven't searched much: free fax receive service online - Google Search

radman2020 said:

Why do you try to justify their decisions?

Click to expand...

Why do you try to blame Apple for the fact that you bought a computer without knowing if it did everything you need it to do? You are responsible for your buying decisions, not Apple.

Shrink said:

See, crime does not pay...unless you know what you're doing!

Click to expand...

Yeah, but the did not have one of those fancy ones anyway, thus what was I to do? Go to another more fancy store? Na, the press is fine and replaces a very, very old one that has fulfilled its usefulness and can now be recycled as part for some second world motor concoction.
But enough about the morality of garlic presses, I have not enough milk for all of you to not stink. On a similar note, my roommate was pleasantly surprised when I brought home some goat milk by not tasting at all like "goat milk". It was fresh, has recently been stolen (or as the goat sees it, given freely away while being sung to in French) just a mere hours ago and traveled 100 miles by train in my backpack.
It was not much, only 500 ml, but getting that on a daily basis is quite astonishing.

And if any of you think, the above is farbot like many of my other posts, think the frell again. Or get back to faxes and their usefulness in modern day society.

simsaladimbamba said:

I agree with your post, but as luck has it, today while stealing a garlic crusher in a Best Buy equivalent store in Berlin, I saw those 3.5" floppy disks (which aren't as floppy as those 5.25" ones though, coloured ones being sold in a box of ten. I haven't looked at the price though, as I was more interested to find some kind of hint on when they were produced on that box.

Click to expand...

I saw those too and am going to buy some but I think I'll wait for them to go on sale first. They gotta be on sale sometime soon, right?

jaminphx said:

I saw those too and am going to buy some but I think I'll wait for them to go on sale first. They gotta be on sale sometime soon, right?

Click to expand...

I do not know, but the USB 3.5" floppy disk drive was still expensive at 15 €. For 25 € more I could get an external and slim DVD writer from Samsung or some other less known company, and they can store about 464 to 3,263 to 5,902 times more information on a slightly larger, but less protected medium.

And my current computer case (Fractal R4) does not even have a slot for an internal 3.5" floppy drive. Bastards, they only gave me two, still unused, though probably populated by a card reader or HDD or two in the future, empty 5.25" slots for those pesky optical disks.

radman2020 said:

all those free fax services aren't really free. It is always time limited or the like.

Click to expand...

Some are indeed free. You have to shop around.

radman2020 said:

To those that say that fax machines aren't used, your head is in the sand.

Click to expand...

I haven't said they aren't being used at all. For those who need such capabilities, do your homework before buying and make sure the computer you intend to buy meets that need.

radman2020 said:

I know, you all don't use phones anymore... just your cell. There are still a few landlines in use.. but I guess we shouldn't talk about them because they are on the way out too... so we'll ignore all the users.

Click to expand...

No one is claiming that no one uses faxes or landlines or DVDs or CDs... or even floppy disks. The fact that such things are still being sold confirms that they're still in use. What is inappropriate is to buy a DVR and blame the manufacturer that it doesn't play VHS tapes. It wasn't designed for that. If you want to play VHS tapes, buy the right equipment for that. If you require capabilities that a Mac doesn't provide, you shouldn't buy a Mac. It's that simple.

I don't go to a Chinese restaurant and complain that they don't sell pizza. If I want pizza, I go to a restaurant that serves pizza.

radman2020 said:

Apple dropping it early definitely inconveniences users.

Click to expand...

They dropped those modem connections quite a while ago, I remember having one on my 2004 iBook, but haven't seen one on their models since 2006 and the introduction of x86 based Macs using chips from Intel. That has been seven years ago, surely it has been missed by many, but they coped in a way or other, either by getting an external compatible modem or using an online service or actually abandoning faxes.

Since you have figured this out now, all you have left to do now, is finding a working replacement for it, since prior research has not brought it up before the purchase or was not as thorough as you needed.

There is no gain in damning Apple for not doing something you need. They do not cater to the individuals, they cater to the masses, and for most Apple product buyers it is enough.

I have had my problems with the direction Apple is going too, but I found replacements and it is still working (for me it was Exposé and Spaces, which is lacking in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, but I got a good replacement for it (TotalSpaces) and it is working quite well on modern architecture).

GGJstudios said:

Any informed investor knows their stock price is influenced by many factors that have nothing to do with how successful they are selling Macs, which continues at the rate of around a million Macs per month.

Still, like VHS and even DVDs and CDs, it's a technology that doesn't have a growing future.

There are many fax services online that will take incoming faxes and convert them to emails.

Again, it has nothing to do with arrogance. It's purely a matter of anticipating demand and building products to meet that demand. Some users opposed removing optical drives, but obviously not enough to make a dent in Mac sales.

Again, if you understood the factors that contribute to the stock price, you'd know it has nothing to do with alienating any buyers.

Click to expand...

GGJstudios I normally agree with you close to 95% of the time. In this case however I have to disagree with you. I understand why they removed the ODD from the rMBP but removing it from the iMac gave us absolutely no benefit. They removed it for bragging rights, to say that they now have the thinnest AIO on the market. As far as I know there are still many (thousands?) of retailers that sell DVD’s and CD's. there are still plenty of software titles that are still available on DVD's.

Recovery software still relies on creating and booting to a CD to work properly. The point is, there are still many uses for an ODD.
I had saved up money to buy a top of the line iMac and when I saw what they introduced I sadly decided I was never going to buy one. I upgraded my PC for my Windows use and bought an rMBP. But as far as iMacs, sorry to say I'll probably never own. It's a shame really.

I'm going to go out of my way and find arcane things to complain about.

My MacBook Pro doesn't have a LPT1 port- how the hell am I going to connect my LaserJet 1000?!

My iPhone doesn't have Push to Talk iDEN support? What the hell, Apple?

My car doesn't have an 8 track player? How dare you snub the paying customer, Volvo?!

My alarm clock doesn't have an FM radio? How on earth am I going to listen to music?

I have to buy a digital converter box to watch Fox with rabbit ears on my HDTV? That's the last straw, I'm becoming a hermit.

Light hearted fun aside, try Google Voice and the phone plug in for Gmail. I use my computer as a speakerphone quite regularly. Even has its own phone number, and it's free. People seem to have made enough suggestions about the faxing side of the issue.

rocknblogger said:

Recovery software still relies on creating and booting to a CD to work properly.

Click to expand...

Actually, you can use the Recovery Partition to restore without ever needing an optical drive.

rocknblogger said:

The point is, there are still many uses for an ODD.

Click to expand...

That's quite true, and for those that require an ODD, they can make an informed decision to buy a computer equipped with one, or buy an external ODD.

rocknblogger said:

I had saved up money to buy a top of the line iMac and when I saw what they introduced I sadly decided I was never going to buy one.

Click to expand...

You prove my point exactly. As a responsible buyer, you knew what your requirements were and looked at the specs available and made an informed decision not to buy.

GGJstudios said:

Actually, you can use the Recovery Partition to restore without ever needing an optical drive.

Click to expand...

Yes for certain things you can. But I'm talking about recovering a dead hard drive and other tasks you would need a CD for.

GGJstudios said:

That's quite true, and for those that require an ODD, they can make an informed decision to buy a computer equipped with one, or buy an external ODD.

Click to expand...

Yes true again, but the point of an AIO is to have ALL IN ONE. I don't want another cable and box sitting on my desk if I don't have to.

GGJstudios said:

You prove my point exactly. As a responsible buyer, you knew what your requirements were and looked at the specs available and made an informed decision not to buy.

Click to expand...

Not really. I want an iMac. I want it for OSX, the build, the material and style. I think you'll agree we look at out computers straight on and the only time we see the side is when we move it or walk into the room.

I'm not saying that they should have kept it all forever. I just think it's about 1 to 2 years to early. But beyond even that, there is NO benefit to making it that much thinner. There just isn't. They could have left all the features alone, added USB 3.), Thunderbolt, they could have made it a bit thinner, they could have improved the base to lower or raise it, they could have made the chin a lot smaller and they would have sold as many if not more than this new design. This is one case that Apple went with form over function.

And if you notice they released the rMBP without all the features of the older and current cMBP but yet they kept the cMBP for those folks who still need those features. With the iMac it was a big "screw you" if you don't like it don't buy it. They didn't even give us a choice. To be honest I felt like I was being talked down to when Schiller said something to the effect "Too bad for those that want to live in the past". I'm paraphrasing of course, but I think that it was insulting. It showed a lot less class that what Apple used to exude.

radman2020 said:

It is all degree folks. Using floppy disks or 80 mb hard drives as examples is ridiculous! We are talking about technology that is on its way out..but not nearly gone. Apple dropping it early definitely inconveniences users. If you have moved on already, that's great but don't speak for others.

Click to expand...

Pot, kettle. You're assuming that your specific needs are shared with the majority. That's clearly not the case. As has been stated before in this thread, it's your responsibility to ensure that your niche needs are met. Apple has a track record of dropping legacy stuff early on whether it's floppy drives, legacy ports, optical drives, etc. Not sure why you're expecting anything different today.

Regardless of what Apple does it's still every shopper's responsibility to ensure that his/her needs are met before buying. Same goes for any product out there.

radman2020 said:

Again, it is arrogant of Apple to take away these functionalities when they deem them obsolete.

Click to expand...

...and it's not arrogant for you to assume that you should be the one that dictates what is or isn't obsolete? If you're claiming that there is a critical mass of people that require fax services then how many are there out there? What percentage of the Mac user market do they comprise? Where are the numbers that show the massive drop in sales when Apple dropped support for this? It sounds like you're just extrapolating based on your specific needs. That, by definition, is arrogant.

radman2020 said:

you sound like a fanboy.

Click to expand...

radman2020 said:

I find it strange when people justify things for Apple... it is plain cultish.

Click to expand...

radman2020 said:

you all are so apologetic for Apple that you are overdoing it for them!

Click to expand...

You're confusing realistic with "Apple apologist/fanboy/cultist/whatever". The same reasoning would apply regardless of the product or manufacturer. If one has a niche need not met by a mass produced product then it's up to that person to find solutions to meet that need. Faxing isn't something demanded by the masses.

You can lash out and and call people that don't agree with you names all you want but I'm not an Apple apologist/fanboy/cultist just for disagreeing with you. I'd say the same thing for any mass produced product if you have a niche need that isn't met by the product.

I could gripe about the "arrogance" of car manufacturers that don't make performance-oriented, manual transmission cars but it's fairly pointless IMO. I find it more productive to shop for what I need and want.

Huh?

radman2020 said:

you sound like a fanboy.

Yes, in the future they won't need dvd drives and faxes. But it is the present. People are using them. Taking them out for the future is a disservice.

yes the stock is dependent on lots of things.. Like the iphone that is selling lots.. but lots less than anticipated because they have their head in the sand over the screen size.

Fax services are complicated and expensive. Why pay for a service when I have a supercomputer at home that can handle it. I paid 3000 dollars for this computer and I don't want to pay for a fax service when the computer can easily handle it. A 100 dollar computer could do it! Why do you try to justify their decisions? Clearly there is a need for this. It costs them nothing to do some of this...that is why it is arrogant.

Whatever. I just find that a company needs to balance the present with the future. It isn't like they are trying to shave the price down and need to get rid of some of these things. The price is double an equivalent PC, accounting for way more than the increased cost of some of the better components.

I find it strange when people justify things for Apple... it is plain cultish.

Click to expand...

Plenty of online services that can replace faxes. I've been using one for years. It can send to faxes and receive them from one. Not sure I get your beef.

But seriously, just return your ****ing iMac. If you'd like us to help you troubleshoot stuff, fine, but don't buy a Mac and then spend your time on a Mac help site bitching about it.