Practically all desktop and internal modems on sale today are not only capable of fax and data communications, but have voice messaging features too. If you are prepared to leave the host PC switched on 24 hours a day, you can do away with slow, unreliable and inflexible conventional answering machines.

The key to making your PC into a sophisticated voice and fax messaging centre is the right software. Here, we examine two solutions; HotFax MessageCenter 3.0 and TalkWorks Pro 2.0. Both provide multiple mailbox voice and fax messaging, plus a plethora of other features. TalkWorks Pro is more than twice as expensive as HotFax MessageCenter, so which one offers the best value? Click the 'NEXT' link below to find out more.