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The Post Office is shutting down its year-old mobile network
Competition among mobile providers in the UK is fierce, with four major carriers and many, many more mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) beneath them. On a battlefield that busy, casualties are inevitable, and already this year we've seen Mobile by Sainsbury's put out to pasture. And now we have another fatality, with the Post Office confirming the closure of its mobile service on August 8th. According to the online notice, the Post Office "decided to conclude the trial as the results did not give us sufficient confidence that mobile will contribute to our goal of commercial sustainability."
Forget stamps, the Post Office now offers pay-as-you-go SIMs
There's no shortage of mobile networks to choose from in the UK, but that hasn't stopped the Post Office from throwing its hat in the ring. The iconic mail service is launching a pay-as-you-go SIM that focuses specifically on cheap calls and texts. At 8 pence for almost any domestic landline or mobile, calls are significantly cheaper than the standard rates set by Vodafone, O2 and Virgin Mobile. The new "virtual" mobile network, which is powered by EE's infrastructure, is also competitive on the SMS front with a flat 10 pence rate. If you're interested in data, however, you'll probably need to look elsewhere. The Post Office charges 10 pence per MB and currently doesn't support 4G connectivity. Even if you're a light user, one of the company's 30 day bundles is almost certainly better value.
Daily iPad App: Owney: Tales from the Rails captures a piece of American history
Did you know that the US Postal Service has a mascot and you can visit him at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC? To learn more about this little-known piece of American history, you should install the Owney: Tales from the Rails app on your iPad. Developed by the Smithsonian, the Tales from the Rails app is an illustrated story about Owney, the post office dog that traveled around the world with the mail. It goes into great detail (69-pages long) about Owney and his many adventures that span almost ten years. The story is narrated by country music artist and actor Trace Adkins and is accompanied by a pleasant music track that draws you into the story. It's a family-friendly tale that's definitely geared for kids, but parents, who have never heard the story of Owney, will enjoy reading the digital book along with their children. Owney: Tales from the Rails is available for free from the iOS App Store.
July 12th, 1962: the day two continents smiled at each other
We'd probably all agree the Internet is the real revolution of the modern era, but today marks an older, parallel milestone that also brims with significance. On July 10th, 1962 -- back when JFK fretted over Russian missiles in Cuba and Bob Dylan sang In My Time of Dying -- NASA pelted the Telstar 1 satellite out into orbit, following a team effort by AT&T, Bell Labs and the British and French post offices. Two days later, the world's first transatlantic TV signal made its way from Maine to Brittany, via a quick stop-over in the heavens, and a new age of international communication was born. Kennedy forgot his troubles for a moment to tidy his hair and grin at France, who replied with a chirpy performance by Yves Montand. It didn't last long: Telstar 1 gave up its spherical ghost after just a few months and 400 transmissions, but by then, of course, the message had been delivered.
Chrysler aims to produce all-electric USPS pimpmobiles... er, minivans
Have a look at that sweet piece up above and just imagine your mail being carted around inside. Go ahead, we'll wait. If Chrysler has its druthers (and stays afloat long enough to make good on its good intentions), it'll soon be producing a fleet of all-electric Town and Country minivans for the United States Postal Service. The automaker has voiced its plans to apply for a federal grant in order to get things moving, though it will be looking to utility companies Duke Energy and ConEd to make it all come together. If all goes well, the vans produced will have a range of around 40 miles, though it's expected that they will have a gasoline-powered motor on board in case that last overnight package requires just a few more miles. 'Course, there's no guarantee that the application will result in a grant, but for all those who appreciate comedy, we can only hope it flies though in record time.
Postal Service to Netflix: redesign your mailers or face fees
You know those handy mailers that you've been sending back to Netflix for ages as you eagerly await the next few flicks in your queue? Apparently, those buggers have cost the US Postal Service a staggering $41.9 million in additional labor costs over the past two years due to their "nonmachinable nature," and if things aren't changed, it could cost 'em another $61.5 million over the next couple years. In a letter from the Inspector General's office, Netflix is being, um, asked to rework its mailers or face a $0.17 surcharge per envelope, and if such a fee was tacked on, it would reportedly decrease the outfit's monthly operating income per paying subscriber by a whopping 67-percent. Not surprisingly, it sounds as if Netflix will bite the bullet and redesign the problematic mailer if the USPS is serious about the charges, so feel free to keep an eye out for a design change in the not-too-distant future.[Via TechDirt, image courtesy of ABC]Read - Netflix may see mail surchargeRead - Inspector General's letter [PDF]
