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Facebook will send postcards to verify US election ad buyers
Facebook has a new yet very old solution to fighting Russian manipulation attempts during future US elections: conventional mail. Global policy program director Katie Harbath has revealed that the social network will send postcards to verify the identities and locations of anyone hoping to buy ads related to federal-level candidates. Recipients will have to enter a code on the postcard to prove that they are, in fact, living in the US. The requirement won't apply to state-level candidates or ads based around issues.
Flying courier drone can drive up to your door
Delivery drones have more than a few challenges, not the least of which is dropping off the package in a convenient place. Do you really want to head out to your yard to collect a box? You might not have to. Advanced Tactics has successfully tested delivery with a drone, the Panther sUAS Air/Ground Robot, that can both fly and drive up to your door. When it's too dangerous or costly to travel by air, the machine just has to touch down and wheel its way to its destination. It promises more considerate (not to mention less theft-prone) shipping to homes and offices, and it could also lead to faster deliveries in areas where no one transportation method is particularly speedy.
Windows 10's Mail and Calendar app finally gets a Focused Inbox
Taking a cue from Outlook on iOS and Android, the Windows 10 Mail & Calendar app is getting a few new features that might actually make desktop email manageable again. The latest version now includes an intelligent Focused Inbox, plus a new mentions system to help users find what's really important in those long email chains.
France is the first to use drones for its national mail service
It's no longer surprising to see postal services experimenting with delivering mail using drones. However, France is kicking things up a notch: its national mail service will be the first to deliver packages by drone on a regular route. DPDgroup, the express courier subsidiary of the mail service, is running a test program where a hexacopter drone (not shown here) will carry packages up to 6.6 pounds along a 9.3-mile route in France's southern Provence region.
Yahoo revived email forwarding so you can finally leave
After Yahoo disabled automatic mail forwarding earlier this week, the internet company has flipped the feature back on for all users. The company told Engadget that the move was part of "previously planned maintenance to improve its functionality between a user's various accounts" when it was turned off on Monday. In a blog post announcing the feature had returned, Yahoo apologized for the interruption users experienced over the last few days.
Australia tests mail delivery drones
If you needed any further proof that drones can be mail couriers, you just got it. Australia Post has successfully field-tested a drone system that would deliver small packages, particularly time-sensitive goods like medication. It was only a closed test this time around, but the move clears a path for trial deliveries to real customers later in the year -- this isn't just a preview of long-term plans, like you've seen with other services.
Outlook arrives for Android Wear devices
Microsoft is putting Outlook on the wrists of Google fans. The email app now has support for the Android Wear platform. With it, you can check any notifications that pop, pore over messages, and use pre-set responses or voice dictation to bang out a quick reply. Android Central notes that the app is rolling out to users, so not everyone might have access to the wrist-bound productivity app just yet. This is a welcome addition to the version of Android tailored to wearables to be sure, but a little bit late - - Outlook's had an Apple Watch app since last August.
Some iOS 9.3 users can't visit web links
As important an update as iOS 9.3 may be, it's clear that Apple still has to work out a few kinks. Some users are reporting that they can't open web links after the upgrade, whether it's in official apps (such as Mail, Messages and Safari) or, in some cases, third-party apps like Chrome. If you're affected, tapping a link either does nothing or triggers nasty crashes and freezes. Some users report having success by using other apps, toggling JavaScript off and on or uninstalling apps that use Safari extensions, but there don't appear any surefire fixes.
Yahoo Mail app lets you customize your inbox swipes
Yahoo debuted a new Mail app back in the fall, and today the mobile software is getting a few new features. First, both the Android and iOS versions will allow you to customize your swipes. This means that when you're looking at your inbox, you can opt to swipe right to archive or swipe left to mark as spam. Other actions include starring a message and marking it as read. When using a long press to select multiple messages, you can now star a group of emails or mark them as spam from the so-called multi-select toolbar in the app.
USPS will email you images of what's in your mailbox
We've all done it. Take a few minutes to walk to the mailbox only to discover it's either empty or filled with junk that immediately goes in the trash. The US Postal Service is testing a new tool that will save you a trip if there's nothing interesting to be found. The feature is called Informed Delivery and it sends up to 10 images a day of what's in your physical mailbox to your email inbox.
Singapore Post trials island-hopping delivery-by-drone program
You thought the USPS had it tough with all that rain, sleet, snow and hail they have to deal with? Try delivering mail throughout the Malay archipelago, the world's largest island chain. However, the Singapore Post thinks it may have a solution: Fly parcels between islands on the backs of UAVs. To that end, the mail service recently trialled the concept by successfully shipping two items from mainland Singapore to neighboring Pulau Ubin.
Easily plug your last tweet into Yahoo email signatures
Yahoo has unveiled a new feature for its email app that allows users to include their most recent tweet as part of their outgoing signature. To enable it, go to Settings -> Accounts -> Primary Yahoo and select "Include your latest Tweet from Twitter". Users can also manually delete any included tweet if it's not appropriate. Or, more likely, accidentally include it on a Reply All to the entire company.
Yahoo Mail helps you track packages and remember events
A couple of new, useful features are coming to Yahoo's web email client. For starters, the company has announced that Mail will now send notifications when packages are due to be delivered -- you can also track them from there. The same goes for event reminders, which is going to make it easier for you to access information like an address, or get directions to a place. Yahoo says it'll be rolling this out to users in the US over the next few days, adding that it plans to bring more of these type of notifications to Mail later on. And yes, while Gmail's had similar features for years, it's still great news for people who use Yahoo Mail on the regular.
Yahoo takes the ax to Maps, Pipes and a few Mail features
Yahoo has published its second quarter progress report for 2015, and its theme's pretty clear: killing features and antiquated products. Starting on June 15th, Yahoo Mail will no longer be able to sync with Apple's stock Mail app on iOS 4 and older, so you'll have to find alternatives if you're still clinging to ancient iPhones and iPod Touch players. At the same time, Macs running OS X 10.7 Lion and earlier won't be able to sync with Yahoo Contacts anymore. Yahoo is also sunsetting the maps.yahoo.com website, though it won't completely kill its maps product, since Flickr, Search and its other properties still need it.
You could receive and pay bills in your Gmail by year's end
Google will remind you of some upcoming bills (if you're down with the contextual beauty that is Google Now at least), but that's not all the search giant is doing with that knowledge. According to a document obtained by Re/code, Google's working on a way for you to receive bills from your service providers in your Gmail account, and pay for them without having to leave the confines of your inbox. The service, currently code-named "Pony Express," is apparently being prepped for a launch in late (think fourth quarter) 2015.
Hardware, not hackers, behind US Postal Service's computer woes
The United States Postal Service had a little trouble installing some hardware yesterday, and now it's feeling the burn - the service's email system remains on the fritz while "some services offered at retail offices" have been affected to boot. Here's what you need to know: The USPS has battled snow and rain and heat and gloom of night, and a systems outage like this hasn't really slowed it down any. Mail deliveries are continuing as usual, as are mail scanning and processing procedures so your letters are currently flowing through their tubes same as always.
OS X Spotlight Search glitch can expose your IP address and other details to spammers
If you use Spotlight Search and the OS X Mail application, you should take a moment to look at your settings. A recently uncovered glitch in Spotlight Search for OS X may leak private information, such as your IP address, to email spammers. The glitch causes Spotlight's preview functionality to ignore Mail's remote content settings, meaning it can unintentionally transmit data to some email senders. The glitch has been tested and confirmed by IDG News Service. When an email is shown in the preview window of Spotlight Search it also loads images shown in the email, even if Mail's "load remote content in messages" setting is turned off. Some email spammers include tracking pixels in their messages, which send information back to the spammer when they're loaded. At the moment the only way to fix the glitch is to turn off "Mail & Messages" in your Spotlight settings. You can find these settings in the System Preferences of your Mac.
Airmail updates a popular Apple Mail alternative
While Apple Mail for OS X is in widespread use and generally popular, it hasn't stopped developers from coming out with competing products that add to or extend the Apple Mail feature set. Postbox and Mail Pilot are a couple of good options, and Airmail, which I'm looking at today, has had good reviews as well. Airmail just released a big update to version 2.0 (US $9.99 in the Mac app store) that has added some very Yosemite-friendly features like iCloud Account sync, iCloud attachment, upload and link sharing, extensions to send mail from other apps and the ability to reply to messages from a notification banner. The app supports many mail protocols including Exchange, iCloud, Gmail, IMAP, POP3, Google Apps, Yahoo!, AOL, Outlook.com, and Live.com. I was especially happy to see POP3 legacy support, as many third-party mail apps are dropping it. I gave the app a try, and it quickly imported my Apple mail account. The design of the app is very clean, and I liked the integration with Apple's Calendar, Reminders, and other apps like Evernote, 2Do and Omnifocus. The app also supports a variety of plug-ins, and has a menubar icon. Apple, are you listening? Attachments can link to Google Drive, Dropbox, CloudApp, Droplr and FTP. As I used the app, I wished for the ability to customize the buttons in the app. While Airmail's UI sports a very clean design, I'd like to eliminate some buttons that I don't use, and add some I think are essential. For example, a print button is totally absent from the toolbar. Of course you can print from the file menu, but an app with this number of features could really benefit from user customization. The app worked properly with an old POP3 account. Search is very fast, and returned results are accurate. While I don't use Gmail, some users have reported issues with accessing Gmail with Airmail. The app imported my folders from Apple Mail, but none of my Smart Folders. The developers say that feature is forthcoming. There is an extensive rules feature in Airmail, but I didn't want to re-create my Apple Mail rules from scratch. Messages can be marked as spam, and the app provides a unified inbox if you want one. Airmail also supports Apple's Time Machine, and has features almost too numerous to detail. A look at the app's web page will give you more insight into what Airmail can do, including offering extensive foreign language support. There is a lot to like about Airmail. A few tweaks and I could be convinced to replace my Apple Mail client. As it stands now, Airmail is very good, extremely fast, and has many features Apple Mail doesn't have, but lacks a few critical features Apple does provide in the default mail app. Airmail requires OS X 10.8 or later and a 64-bit processor.
Royal Mail wants you to 3D print gifts right before you ship them
Let's say you're in a real hurry to mail gifts this holiday -- so much so that you forgot to buy those gifts before you reached the post office. Are you stuck? Not if the UK's Royal Mail has something to say about it. The organization is teaming with iMakr on a trial program that lets you 3D print goods and promptly ship them afterward. You can bring in your own creations or, if you're in a real pinch, choose from ready-made designs ranging from the stamp magnet above (£5) to a wine cooler (£45).
Have you received a gift in the mail from Blizzard?
There's been scattered reports on places like Reddit and Twitter of players getting random gifts in the mail from "The WoW Dev Team." @Skarn_ on Twitter reported getting a Flawless Aquatic Battle-Stone along with instructions on how to use it. The poster on Reddit received 4 Warforged Seals. I've checked the mail of my max level characters and found no gifts waiting for me. There's been some speculation on what the criteria is for getting a gift. The person who received the Warforged Seals identifies themselves as a PvP player who has only used Warforged Seals a couple of times in the past. One recipient of the Battle-Stone claims they've barely done any pet battles, another says they've been active in the past but not as of late. Perhaps it's something to entice inactive players back into the game? Or try an element of the game they otherwise would have not? Or maybe it's just random. Have you received any unexpected gifts in the mail lately?