Wilco Ltd, a London-based DEC systems house last week launched a DEC VAX-compatible facsimile system. Called Autofax, it enables users to send and receive faxes from any workstation connected to a VAX machine, and the system is approved for use on British Telecom and Mercury telephone lines. The system features include text editing; automatic re-dialling – but these things never seem to start redialling as soon as the user would like; personalised directories, and accounting and cost control. Autofax can send to and receive documents from Group III and A4 facsimile machines, and costs UKP2,200 with software and licensing. Wilco also manufactures a sister machine which sends telex messages automatically, which goes under the novel name of Autotelex. The Cranfield Institute of Technology is the first user of Autofax, which is one of the applications it runs over its broadband network.
