My parents keep a landline phone in addition to cell phones and VOIP service for one simple reason: it works when the power fails. That said, in all but the mo

My parents keep a landline phone in addition to cell phones and VOIP service for one simple reason: it works when the power fails. That said, in all but the most dire situations it is a wart on the wall wasting money. Fax machines are likely to stick around because they have beautifully simple usability: load a document, enter a number, and hit send. Done.