mailboxes

Do 747s make e-mail fun?

You might have noticed if, for some reason, you have followed my work over the last couple of years, that I have a thing for 747s.

I can't really explain why that is. I suppose it's just that the jumbo jets are sort of a physical manifestation of adventure for me: When I see them flying overhead, I know they're off to some faraway place where I'd probably like to be going.

So when I heard about 3D Mailbox, an e-mail client that uses visual images as representations for e-mail messages, and the fact that the … Read more

3D Mailbox: Extremely useless

When you first look at 3D Mailbox, it almost seems like a joke, or an article from The Onion. "The world's first 3D e-mail client!" the Web site proclaims. Well, there's a reason for that. Most of us struggle with too much e-mail these days. Taking the time to add 3D animations to each message seems ludicrous...and it is!

3D Mailbox delivers almost exactly what it promises. It creates a 3D world in which your e-mail messages can live...and walk, shower, swim, or even shuffle about aimlessly. When you receive mail in 3D Mailbox, a 3D character representing each message walks in the front gate and talks to the bouncer (who decides if he or she is spam).

By default, the gender of the new avatar is determined by the (supposed) gender of the sender (it thinks Vladimir is a woman's name), and any questionable senders default to female. If the bouncer lets him or her through, the 3D character for each message takes a disinfecting shower, then walks extremely slowly over to the pool, climbs the high-dive platform, jumps in the pool, and swims laps until you decide to read it.… Read more

May the Force be with the mailman

It's just a guess, but something tells us that the person who occupies this abode doesn't belong to the kind of neighborhood association that regulates the colors of one's house.

In fact, if we didn't know that she lived in a Manhattan apartment, we'd be willing to bet a margarita that this DIY X-wing starfighter mailbox belonged to fellow Craver Caroline McCarthy.

The tribute to Star Wars, which Uber-Review says was made from wood and PVC piping, boasts a wingspan that's a full 5 feet long. We hope only that the postal worker on … Read more

R2-D2 soon to be taking over neighborhoods, eating mail deliveries

I wish I could tell you this was a joke.

It isn't. I'm sorry.

Though it looks like it could be a great MIT prank, this is actually a project run by the U.S. Postal Service. They're commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: A New Hope by putting mailboxes decorated to look like R2-D2 into post offices, accompanied by the not-yet-functional Web address "uspsjedimaster.com". Dude, I think Star Wars is great and all, but I really hope none of my tax dollars went into this...endeavor.

$5 says we'… Read more

Presto! Easy e-mailing and photo sharing with the HP Printing Mailbox

Do you know someone who still doesn't have a laptop or a desktop computer? Do you find it hard to send them e-mails and pictures? With Presto, a phone line, and a $150 HP Printing Mailbox, you can drag these people kicking and screaming into the Internet era. Presto is a service that takes incoming e-mail and photos and formats them into a printable layout, which then gets printed out on the HP Printing Station. You don't even need a computer. How easy is that? Brilliant!