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USPS solar eclipse stamps use body heat to reveal the moon
The United States Postal Service is no stranger to letting its nerd flag fly with special edition stamps. The latest in its space series is a little different, though. Rather than just showing off celestial bodies or NASA spacecraft, the new stamps are a tribute to the upcoming total solar eclipse that should occur August 21st. Press your finger to the stamp and your body heat will transform its black circle centerpiece into an image of our moon. Once the heat dies down, the stamp image goes back to black. While it's not as elaborate as you might think, this is something that's sure to make philatelics smile.
The Future IRL: Deliveries via robot
Your online delivery habit is facing a growing problem: the rising number of packages needing delivery, combined with a projected deficit in truck drivers (PDF). But that's the issue a company like Starship Technologies is trying to solve. It just started testing a delivery robot in US cities (though the company has been overseas for a few years, already) and is hoping both its design and cost win over any skeptics worried about a robot that knows where they live and what kind of food they like. Don't miss the next episode of Future IRL on March 7th, when we'll be looking at the future of virtual reality.
USPS made an ornament that displays package tracking updates (updated)
Shipping presents to loved ones during the busy holiday months can be a stressful endeavor, but the US Postal Service is testing something new this year that puts a seasonal spin on the task. Officially called "The Most Wonderful Ornament," the Christmas decoration changes color as the the status of your package is updated. When your package is out for delivery, the ornament lights up blue. Red means the box has been dropped off and green will glow when the recipient has opened it.
USPS debuts stamps with New Horizons' view of Pluto
To honor NASA's discoveries, the USPS is debuting new stamps today with images from outer space. The "Views of Our Planets" series will get new images of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the iconic "blue marble" view of Earth. Thanks to the New Horizons mission to Pluto, there's a special set of two stamps with a snapshot from July's flyby and the spacecraft itself. The eight new planet stamps are available at post offices and online, but the Pluto stamps will be sold only on the web. If you're looking to add a few to your collection, the entire set is available starting today.
USPS' 2016 stamps celebrate Pluto's exploration
The US Postal Service now has an answer to its 1991 "Not Yet Explored" Pluto stamp, the same one the New Horizons team affixed to their probe before it started its journey to the dwarf planet. These new stamps for 2016 feature an artist render of the history-making spacecraft, as well as the most popular image it took of Pluto. The composite photo, which clearly shows Pluto's heart-shaped region, was captured by the probe's Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) during its closest approach.
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.
Four weeks with Jet (aka 'My month without Amazon')
I placed my very first order on Amazon.com for two very popular albums back on June 20th, 2000. I'd later go on to place about 230 orders, including everything from a mattress (no wait, make that two mattresses; don't ask) and soap -- lots and lots of soap. I loved Amazon so much that at one point I remember saying it was the kind of brand that could do no wrong. But, soon after that second mattress order, my romance with the company began to fall apart, thanks to shoddy logistics and problems with Amazon's renowned two-day Prime shipping.
Truck firm wants to deploy delivery drones on the move
Amazon's drone-delivery service may be a little fanciful, but it looks as if another company is working to make something similar to it a reality. Workhorse has applied to the FAA for special permission to begin testing drone deliveries made from the back of one of the firm's electric cargo vans. The idea is simple enough: as the truck makes its rounds, the roof-mounted HorseFly UAV selects, transports and drops off a parcel right outside the recipient's front door. The neat trick to all of this would be that the system is autonomous, with the human operator only keeping an eye on the landing to ensure there's no accidents.
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.
Engadget Daily: US Postal Service hacked, Obama on net neutrality and more!
If it wasn't already apparent, the battle for net neutrality is far from over. Today, President Obama released a YouTube video promoting a free internet and the reception was, well, mixed. That's not all we have on deck though -- read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours, including the US Postal Service's data breach, a sandbox that make music, and a rocket-powered bike that puts a Ferrari to shame.
China suspected in US Postal Service hack that exposed data on 800,000 workers
The United States Postal Service's computer networks were breached, the USPS announced this morning. The breach was discovered back in September -- it's not clear when the actual attack(s) took place -- and the Washington Post is reporting that Chinese government is responsible. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading investigations into the breach; FBI officials aren't saying who they believe is responsible. The entire USPS staff of over 800,000 employees is affected by the breach: "names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of employment and other information" were all taken, according to USPS officials. The breach reportedly doesn't affect USPS customers, both in-store and online via USPS.com, though some customer information (names, email addresses and phone numbers) was also taken -- if you "contacted the Postal Service Customer Care Center via phone or email between January 1st and August 16th." Officials are saying no other customer info was taken. "At this time, we do not believe that potentially affected customers need to take any action as a result of this incident," a statement from the USPS says. All USPS employees are being offered one free year of credit monitoring in wake of the information breach, though we're guessing that a few of those approximately 800,000 people are seeking employment elsewhere after today's news.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for February 21, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
US Postal Service plans a Steve Jobs commemorative stamp in 2015
Soon you'll be able to celebrate the life of tech icon Steve Jobs in a new analog way: by sending snail mail. The U.S. Postal Service has approved a commemorative stamp honoring the Apple co-founder to be printed as part of a collectible series next year. Stamp subjects are traditionally kept a secret until just before printing to raise public demand, however, The Washington Post outed a list of upcoming mailbox-honorees Thursday. Other influencers set to be commemorated on your utility bills include Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, "Favorite Desserts," and Barrack Obama (potentially part of an artistic misspelled presidents series?). If you can't handle waiting to see what will show up in your mailbox, hit the source link for three years of salacious details. [Engadget Composite. Image Source: Wikimedia / Matthew Yohe]
Amazon begins deliveries to US and UK customers on a Sunday
If you can't wait for the working week to begin again in order to receive your latest delivery, Amazon has some good news for you. The company says it has teamed up with the US Postal Service (USPS) to deliver packages to all customers on Sundays, starting this week in New York and Los Angeles. Amazon's so excited that "now every day is an Amazon delivery day" it'll expand its service to include customers in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Phoenix and other US cities within the next year. There's no word on whether the company intends to bring extended weekend deliveries to other countries, so for now, people living in Amazon's first two test cities will be the only customers seeing the new Sunday delivery promise when they go to checkout. Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that Londoners will get Sunday deliveries too. Amazon is set to use its own vehicles to deliver packages "later this month." We've also updated the article to show that, contrary to wording in Amazon's press release, Sunday deliveries will be available to everyone -- not just Prime members.
Outbox seeks to bring postal mail to your iPad, iPhone and desktop
Starting today, people living in San Francisco have an opportunity to never handle another piece of "real" mail again. Outbox is an Austin, Texas-based company that has figured out a way to digitize all of that snail mail and present it to you in a virtual mailbox on your computer, iPad, or iPhone (free app). The service, which is provided for US$4.99 per month (first month is free), collects your physical mail three times a week, then scans it in a secured warehouse. You're notified that you have new mail in your mailbox, at which time you use the app or website to go through those new items. If it's junk mail, you can simply tap a "toss" icon to have the item recycled. Want to read it online? Just tap a read icon and scroll through it with a click or swipe. You can put your snail mail into folders, assign the letters to a "to-do list", email it to someone, or even request that it be physically delivered to you. The company started off with 500 alpha customers, and is now launching the service in San Francisco based on zip code. Depending on how the service scales, the company has ambitious expansion plans. I, for one, would gladly pay $4.99 a month if I didn't have to slog through snow in the winter to gather junk mail from our common neighborhood mailbox and could instead just check it out on my iPad. How about you? Let's see your comments.
Court rules Netflix receives unfair advantage in GameFly postal dispute
The US Court of Appeals ruled today that Netflix does receive an unfair advantage from the U.S. Postal Service in how it handles DVDs shipped through the system. Reuters reports the court is leaving it up to the Postal Regulatory Commission to create an equitable solution.Netflix receives preferential treatment and specially designated containers due to the volume of mail it sends through the system. Judge David Sentelle noted, "Rather obviously, this is not without cost to the postal service. Nonetheless, the service provides it to Netflix free of charge."The latest ruling is a continuation of the multi-year dispute by GameFly, which claims it's had to make adjustments that cost millions because the postal service won't give the game rental service the same treatment.Update: GameFly has sent us an official statement regarding today's ruling. Posted in full after break.
USPS goes postal on lithium ion batteries, refuses to ship smartphones overseas
The USPS has announced that it'll refuse to ship any gear containing lithium ion batteries overseas. The postal service believes combusting power packs have caused two fatal cargo plane crashes since 2006 -- hence the ban, which takes effect from May 16th. Anyone wishing to ship the latest tech to those living or serving overseas will have to use another shipping company -- although the ban might be relaxed in 2013, once safety testing has been carried out.
GameFly wins in United States Postal Service dispute
GameFly's two-year dispute with the United States Postal Service concluded with the Postal Regulatory Commission agreeing that preferential treatment was given to by-mail movie services like Netflix and Blockbuster. Gamespot reports that the PRC plans to remedy the issue by having the USPS establish two parallel rate categories for roundtrip DVD mail. This should prevent GameFly from incurring a fee for avoiding automated sorting machines -- which have a higher probability of breaking the contents being shipped. Contacted for comment, GameFly told Joystiq: "Overall, we are pleased that the PRC found that the basis of our complaint was legitimate. We need to read through and consider the entire document before we would be in a position to elaborate." [Thanks, Steven]
iPhone receives push notifications from real-world mailbox
Sure, push notification is nothing new for iPhone users. But when was the last time that you received notification that real-live mail -- the kind made of atoms, not bits -- has shown up in your mailbox? One of the new evil geniuses at Make Magazine online, Matt Richardson, decided he'd like to get notification when the flesh-and-blood mailman delivers something to his mailbox. Using a standard USPS-approved mailbox, he installed a snap-action switch that signals when the mailbox door has been opened. That switch is connected via wire (yeah, I was also surprised that it wasn't wireless) to an Arduino. Some simple code watches for the mailbox door to be opened and closed, and then grabs a piece of PHP code from a web server that also has to be running. The PHP and web server are necessary since Matt is using the Prowl: Growl Client app (US$2.99) to get the push notifications. Prowl requires an SSL connection, which that Arduino can't make. As Matt notes, the end product is something that can send push notifications to your iPhone whenever some physical state changes -- when the garage door is left open, when home power usage exceeds a certain level, etc... Any switch or sensor connected to the Arduino can send a push alert. There's video of the construction and use of the setup on page 2. [Tip of the hat to Boing Boing and Gizmodo]
Over 2000 GameFly games stolen by USPS worker
It's no secret that there's some bad blood between GameFly and the US Postal Service but this ... this is personal. Philly.com reports that Reginald Johnson, a former Philadelphia mail handler, has admitted to a federal court that he stole 2200 GameFly games -- totalling $86,000 in value -- before they could be delivered to local subscribers. Johnson was caught as the result of an investigation into missing GameFly mailings in the Philadelphia area, conducted by the USPS inspector general. The culprit was spotted during a 2008 test mailing under government surveillance, after which Johnson escaped in his SUV, crashed it, and then fled on foot with a duffel bag, which was later recovered. Between the bag and the SUV, authorities uncovered 160 games and a load of Wii Fit units, controllers, a Playstation and GameStop receipts. It would appear that Johnson had been trading the games at GameStop for store credit. He now faces up to 18 months in prison. When contacted by Joystiq for comment, a GameFly representative stated that the company appreciates "the diligent efforts by the Office of Inspector General agents" to apprehend Mr. Johnson. Do you hear that? It's the sound of healing. [Via GamePolitics]
