Passage Summary: Phone companies claim that because voice mail is cheaper and easier to use than an answering machine, the old-school machines are going to disappear.

Conclusion: Physical answering machines will soon be replaced by voice mail services.

Reasoning: Voice mail is promoted as being more convenient, more flexible, and cheaper than traditional answering machines.

Analysis: The argument assumes that consumers prioritize cost and convenience above all other features. To weaken this, we should look for a distinct advantage of physical answering machines that voice mail cannot replicate. For instance, if people enjoy the ability to 'screen' calls by listening to a message as it is being recorded, they might keep their machines despite the higher cost. The companies are betting on efficiency, but human behavior is often driven by specific functionalities that aren't strictly about the bottom line.