Answering Capabilities (was Answering Machines)

[Z! Reinhardt]

Dear List!

Thank you all so much for your input on this subject!!  I have heard
advertisements for some of the products (and should I say, procedures) but
it was great hearing *live* stories about what works best for each of you.

I still have some other questions .....

Computer Modem Users -- Is computer security an issue for you?  I mean, how
real are the threats of computer hackers *sweet-talking* to your computer
and lifting off any personal or financial information it may contain?

How about threats of lightning?  I've heard some wild stories about what
lightning is capable of when it comes to destroying computer equipment. 
I've also heard reports about how useless the commonly available surge
protectors are in the event of a good *hit*.  (For a detailed discussion of
this I would be happy to forward a lengthy e-message on the subject written
by my dad, an electrical engineer whose specialty is high-voltage pulse
power.)  Best advice -- unplug the computer (and your message collecting
capability while you're at it).

Uh, I think I would rather risk losing a little answering machine than the
entire computer set-up when you consider the frequency of thunderstorms in
this area ... just my opinion.

Digital Users (including phone company services) -- Do you ever run into
message storage or portability problems?  One of the things that bothered
me about the digital machine I had was that there was no tape I could pluck
out of the machine when there was a] a message I wanted to keep for
posterity, or b] when I got home late and was too tired to do anything
about what was on the machine and was faced with an early day next morning.
 In those cases, I simply took the tape and a portable tape recorder with
me and listened to them when I had the time.  (Of course I put a fresh tape
in the answering machine before I left.)  Yes, the answering machine did
have remote capabilities, but I simply found it easier to take the tape
with me and deal with it inch by inch whenever time allowed.  The remote
capability came in handy when I didn't get home every night ....

Call-Forwarding Users -- do you have a problem with junk (solicitation)
calls?  Personal calls?  I can certainly appreciate the convenience of
receiving calls in *real time* but I'm a stubborn old bitch when it comes
to manners.  I have always felt that the piano before me gets my undivided
attention unless there is an all-out drop-everything emergency, and the
people most likely to have to call under those circumstances already have
the cell-phone number.

So far, I think the most intriguing idea involves messages being forwarded
to a pager.  Does this system have some form of Caller ID or some way of
identifying calls individually so I can decide for myself what calls to
investigate then-and-there and what ones can wait until later?

I didn't mean for my questions to sound like devil's advocate material, but
I'm just curious about the possible shortfalls, that's all.  Whatever
system works for you is great for you, but it might not be so great for
someone else, only because we are all so different from one another.  I
really appreciated hearing so many different points of view.

Thanks again ...
Z! Reinhardt RPT
Ann Arbor  MI
diskladame@provide.net