Germany may be known for its precision technology, but the government and many businesses still rely on that ’90s favorite: the fax machine! However, those happy, squeaky tones may give way to modern technology this summer. What is at stake is the bureaucracy that, according to some, is harming the German economy. Sign up for State of the World+ to listen without sponsors and support the work of NPR journalists. Visit plus.npr.org.
At the CeBit technology fair in Hannover, central Germany, on March 24, 1990, a portable fax machine that weighs 3 kilos and can be connected to any telephone using acoustic couplers is shown.
Holger Hollemann/DPA/AFP via Getty Images
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Holger Hollemann/DPA/AFP via Getty Images
At the CeBit technology fair in Hannover, central Germany, on March 24, 1990, a portable fax machine that weighs 3 kilos and can be connected to any telephone using acoustic couplers is shown.
Holger Hollemann/DPA/AFP via Getty Images