BEST OF THE WEB: The death of the fax machine…and the email?

Today’s best of the web is all about the death of technology – at least, certain types of technology.

We’ve been using the fax machine for decades now, and even though technology has improved over the last 10 years, making the device less useful than it ever has been, it’s still sticking around. Many businesses advertise their fax number and even now many businesses allow users to transmit faxes for forms and other sensitive documents.

But a new piece on The Atlantic examines why the fax machine may soon be reaching its end. It highlights a start-up called EchoSign that allows you to read and sign documents while online.

“EchoSign made money by charging monthly subscription fees for advanced levels of its four-tier membership program, but most people never paid to use the service; for five or fewer signatures every month, EchoSign was free.”

The crucial piece of information about this company is that Adobe has now acquired EchoSign, and wants to integrate its technology across existing products.

There are other companies like EchoSign as well looking to get rid of the fax. With people now able to sign documents on iPads and smartphones, how long can the fax machine expect to last?

Living without email

When the now defunct Google Wave was first released its developers said it would be the natural evolution of email, and eventually office workers would instead be talking over instant messaging conversations.

While Google Wave died, the idea of abandoning email has gained some traction from time to time. Various commentators have hinted that eventually email could be done away with, with instant messaging and Skype taking over.

Over at TechCrunch MG Seigler has actually gone without email for a month to see just how much we depend on the technology and if he could actually do without it. His findings are quite revealing: “Here’s the key takeaway that became very clear in the past month: the vast majority of emails are unnecessary.”

“Even if you think they’re important at the time you get them, they’re usually not. Our brains are just hard-wired to respond to emails because society has taught us it’s rude not to. We think of them as letters — even the icons for apps like Gmail and Mac Mail make us think of them this way. It’s rude not to respond to a letter.”

It’s an interesting take on a technology that many now considered out-dated, but the question remains whether emails will be around in another decade.

The end of the optical drive

Just over 10 years ago consumers first started burning discs in a mainstream way. Computers came standard with CD/DVD drives to replace the useless floppy disks, despite initial protests from consumers who were hesitant to make the switch.

It now appears that switch is happening again. A new piece from Engadget points out that the latest shift to the MacBook line – the MacBook Air replacing the entry-level model – means the cheapest laptops no longer come with DVD drives.

Not only does this underline Apple’s shift into the cloud, but also reinforces that this is the way the industry is heading – digital distribution. Physical discs are no longer needed with digital backups.

“The optical drive, so far as Apple is concerned, is dead. And if I had to guess, I’d say it’s just a matter of time before it figures out a way to deplete its remaining inventory while crafting ever-thinner machines that make it nigh impossible to question the rationale.”

While Darren Murph questions whether this is the right move, it’s clear that optical drives are going the way of the Dodo.

The battle over search

The search market is a monopoly. Google’s control over both search and advertising is almost total and so far no major player has been able to even make a dint in its market share – but that doesn’t mean some aren’t trying.

A new piece on the New York Times investigates the team behind Microsoft’s Bing search engine, and profiles how they’re going about their job description – attempting to dethrone Google from its search throne.

Some analysts have sat up and taken notice as Bing has grown its market share from its launch a few years ago. And the story points out that it could be gaining a little bit of momentum.

“Advertisers have noticed Bing’s progress. Laura Desmond, CEO of Starcom MediaVest, an ad strategy and placement agency, says Microsoft’s share of its corporate clients’ click volume from search ads has grown to 24%, from 14% in the last nine months or so.”

“”Bing is clearly behind Google, but now it’s a scale player as well,” Desmond says.

Bing has a long way to go, but it may not need to completely eliminate Google. The piece points out that if users go to Microsoft’s services for specific research on products and services, it may just be good enough to give them an edge.