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Netflix mails its final DVDs to subscribers
Netflix is shipping its final DVD rentals, marking the end of an era that helped make the company the streaming behemoth it is today.
Yahoo Mail app update makes it easier to manage receipts and track deliveries
Yahoo has launched its Mail app with a number of updates designed to help users track receipts, gift cards and "free trial" subscriptions
UK's Royal Mail aims to open up to 50 drone routes for rural deliveries
The postal service started testing autonomous deliveries last year.
The USPS is doubling its order of next-gen electric mail trucks
After initially ordering just 5,000 all-electric models of its next-gen postal truck, the USPS has now doubled that number to just over 10,000 vehicles.
USPS won't be buying more electric mail trucks, despite EPA pleas
The USPS is moving forward with plans to spend $11.3 billion on a fleet of next-generation mail trucks that mostly run on gas, despite requests from the EPA and Biden administration to electrify its new vehicles instead.
EPA objects to US Postal Service plan to buy a new gas-powered delivery fleet
The EPA is urging the US Postal Service to halt a plan to buy tens of thousands of gas-powered mail delivery trucks.
UK postal service tests autonomous drone deliveries to remote islands
The Royal Mail will deliver parcels using drones to the Scilly Isles as part of a government-backed trial.
USPS will stop removing mail-sorting machines until after the election
There are no plans to reinstate machines that have already been taken offline.
USPS appears to be retiring vital machines ahead of mail-in ballot surge
The United States Postal Service is reportedly retiring mail sorting machines. According to Postmaster general Louis DeJoy, the agency is in a “dire” financial situation, citing significant falls in mail volume, “a broken business model” and an inadequate management strategy as reasons for the “impending liquidity crisis.” Dejoy has been implementing changes since assuming the role in June, including organizational restructuring and a management hiring freeze, saying they’re meant to “strengthen the Postal Service.”
How the internet got me into snail mail
Social media is a great way to get into sending snail mail.
Apple says Mail app vulnerabilities don't pose an 'immediate risk' to users
Apple has downplayed the danger of a Mail bug disclosed recently by a security firm, according to a tweet from analyst Rene Ritchie.
Apple Mail for iPhone may be vulnerable to malware attacks (updated)
Security researchers say they've found a flaw in iOS' Mail app that lets attackers deliver malware without user input, although evidence is scarce.
Waymo's self-driving vans will carry UPS packages in Phoenix
Waymo is expanding its foray into self-driving delivery vehicles. The Alphabet brand is teaming with UPS on a pilot that will have autonomous Chrysler Pacifica vans carry packages in the metro Phoenix area. They'll be shuttling cargo from UPS Stores to the courier's Tempe processing hub, not directly to customers, but they will drive on their own. A human will stay aboard to keep watch over operations.
Apple's latest iOS 13 update fixes Mail, background download glitches
Less than two weeks after the last iOS 13 update, Apple is back with another minor tweak, this time raising the version number to iOS 13.2.3. iOS 13.2 was the most recent major update, when it added support for Deep Fusion photography and the AirPods Pro last month. This one gives iPads and iPhones fixes meant to address issues with the built-in Mail, Files and Notes apps, as well as a problem that could stop apps from downloading information in the background -- Apple didn't mention any fixes for security issues. iOS 13.2.3 includes bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone. This update: Fixes an issue where system search and search within Mail, Files, and Notes might not work Addresses an issue where photos, links, and other attachments might not display in the Messages details view Fixes an issue that could prevent apps from downloading content in the background Resolves issues that may prevent Mail from fetching new messages, and fail to include and quote original message content in Exchange accounts None appear to be as pressing as the last update that solved some major multitasking headaches, but you may want to install it sooner rather than later to avoid missing any messages.
Apple will fix macOS flaw exposing portions of encrypted emails
Apple is touting its claimed privacy advantage more than ever, but that's not entirely true for Mac users at the moment. The company tells Engadget it will fix a macOS flaw that leaves portions of encrypted Mail messages unprotected. Bob Gentler has discovered that a database file used by Siri (snippets.db) was storing text from emails that were otherwise supposed to be protected -- even if you remove the private key that prevents you from reading the app in Mail. While it's not the full message, it could still pose problems if a hacker has access to your system and is trawling for sensitive info.
iOS 13 may include system-wide dark mode and undo gesture
With Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference less than two months away, more details about what iOS 13 might have in store are emerging. It could add a system-wide dark mode, deeper multitasking options, an undo gesture and updates for the likes of Safari and Mail, according to 9to5 Mac.
The rise and fall of rocket mail
As you read this, countless cards, letters and packages are en route to delivery destinations across the globe. We rarely think about the logistics involved in international mail crossing land and sea, country borders and continents, because we don't have to. We simply take our item to the nearest postal service branch, pay an acceptable conveyance fee, and within a week or sooner, that item can end up on the other side of the world. But some two hundred years ago, eccentric minds were devising ways of cutting international delivery times to hours or even minutes. Their method? Rockets.
Gmail's 'Confidential Mode' arrives on mobile devices
Google's big Gmail redesign was revealed this past April (with G Suite customers getting the first look). It became default for everyone starting in July. One of the key features, Confidential Mode, is now available for mobile devices, though not everyone is as confident in its ability to keep your data private.
Chinese 'hackers' try to attack state governments by mailing CDs
How do you infiltrate US government computers when security experts are increasingly aware of your hacking campaigns? Send old-fashioned mail, apparently. The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center has warned officials of a China-based campaign that mails CDs loaded with malware. State institutions have received China-postmarked envelopes containing both discs with virus-laden Word documents as well as nonsensical letters. While it's not clear what the exact intent was, it looks as if the 'hackers' hoped to make their campaign seem more plausible by sending something physical.
$20,000 mail drone takes flight -- and hits a wall
Want to know why mail drones aren't ready for prime time? Russia can tell you. The Siberian town of Ulan-Ude was expecting to beam with pride as organizer Rudron/Expeditor 3M tested a postal drone in the area for the first time, but they left red-faced after the inaugural flight went spectacularly wrong. The hexacopter courier went haywire moments after takeoff, smacking into the side of a building at high speed -- as you can see in the video below, it went from technological triumph to an embarrassing pile of scrap metal in a matter of seconds.

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