usps

Outbox delivers your snail mail to your iPhone or iPad

Mail service as we know it just doesn't work anymore. Too much junk. Too much hassle sorting, scanning, and/or filing the stuff we need to keep. And, let's be honest, so much of what arrives in our mailboxes could -- some would say should -- arrive electronically.

Austin-based startup Outbox wants to make that happen by digitizing all of your physical mail and delivering it to you electronically on your iPhone or iPad, or your PC.

Interesting proposition, wouldn't you say? Think about it: no more daily trek to the mailbox followed by the daily armload … Read more

The 404 1,203: Where we do not pass Go (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Hasbro let the Internet choose the new Monopoly token and this is what they picked.

- Pebble watch gets growing pains.

- USPS to stop Saturday mail delivery.

- "Walkie Talkies" are shoes you can use as phones.

- Beyonce's publicist desperately wants these removed from the Internet.… Read more

USPS shows CES modernity with, um, Marilyn Monroe

LAS VEGAS -- If you want to be impressive, you have to make an impression.

Which is why I walked up to the United States Postal Service's booth at CES yesterday and felt involuntary tears well up in my eyes.

For here, in this vast cave of newness, was the USPS offering Marilyn Monroe.

Yes, I know it's Vegas, where everything fake is real and vice-versa. But when you already have an image of being slightly behind the times, it's a little odd to offer an image that is slightly before color TV.

I imagined that Monroe … Read more

Facebook's price too high for a 'fad'?

In today's show, the postman always scans twice, a new Kindle could let you read in the dark, and catch all the Pokémon hiding in your living room:

We're keeping a close eye on Facebook as it prepares to go public on the Nasdaq this week. Values for its initial public offering are in the $34 to $38 range. At the high end, it would make Facebook worth more than $100 billion. But we will find out Thursday what the actual initial stock price will be.

But will it keep that high value for long? A poll shows … Read more

Pay $2 to promote your Facebook status?

In today's show, we're buying status updates, finding a new route and building a new game addiction:

Would you pay $2 to get your Facebook status message seen by more people? It's something Facebook is testing in New Zealand. (And tell me your two-cents on the issue via Tout!)

The Foxconn factory for Apple products is preparing to build the much anticipated Apple television set. The chief at the Foxconn spilled the beans in a news conference.

According to 9to5Mac, the next version of iOS will not include Google Maps. Rather, it will have Apple's own mapping software. … Read more

USPS to ban overseas shipments on tablets, smartphones, more

If you know anyone living outside the U.S. who wants a tablet, laptop, camera, or smartphone from the States, it's best to send it to them before May 16.

As of next week, the United States Postal Service, or USPS, is banning all international shipments containing lithium ion batteries, which many electronics have (see the full list below).

The most likely reason for the ban is that if lithium ion batteries are fully charged or not correctly stored or packed, they can catch fire or combust -- something obviously best to avoid while shipping. … Read more

How to track your packages with Android

Are you afraid to leave your home because you're expecting a package? With mobile package-tracking apps, you can track your packages right from your Android phone so you can relax and go get lunch, run an errand, or take your kids to the park. When your package is delivered, you'll know when to come home.

All the major shipping companies have mobile apps. UPS, FedEx, DHL, and USPS have basic tracking components in their apps (DHL's app tracks freight only). Most of them also allow you to find local shipping locations as well. However, the carrier apps … Read more

The 404 917: Where we give the iPhone a high five (podcast)

Joey Kaminski joins the cast of The 404 today to talk about the next iPhone, Sprint's $20 billion deal with Apple, and whether or not the new video game Rage is worth the long wait.

The 404 Digest for Episode 917

Crave reviews Rage Sprint's 20 billion-dollar deal Bathroom break: Hamster vacuum!

Episode 917

Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 916: Where just cause we can doesn't mean we should (podcast)

The 404 welcomes back infamous guest Stoopid Andy to the show, to explain that one can never have enough RAM installed on a desktop machine--even if that supercomputer you're running is only used for occasionally checking e-mail.

As the calm before the iPhone 5 announcement storm hits, we'll discuss some of the headlines that are guaranteed to be forgotten 24 hours from now. They include a gaping security flaw that affects HTC Android devices, the Xbox 360's new leaked dashboard interface, and how Google Chrome is taking a sizable bite out of the browser market.

Finally, we ask "do you still use the United States Postal Service?" A couple of USPS commercials hit the Web today and we're having a tough refraining from picking them apart. They suggest doing business through snail mail is not only hackproof, but safer. We, along with dumpster divers across the world, politely disagree as you'll see in today's episode.

The 404 Digest for Episode 916

HTC security flaw New 360 dashboard looks all mobile-phoney Chrome could overtake Firefox browser share in 2012 Arrested Development return sounds very likely! USPS thinks human hands are safer than 256-bit encryption

Episode 916 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 897: Where you both owe me 14 bucks (podcast)

Remember the story we told you last week about the woman who spent $180 on what turned out to be a wooden Apple iPad? It happened again! In the same city! There's a lesson to be learned in all of this, and that lesson is to never trust anyone with more than four gold teeth.

Same rule goes for mustaches, and Google's celebrating Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday with a Web app that lets you add a mustache to every face on the Internet! We'll demo it today using someone else's face, however, since none of us are creepy enough to grow our own mustache.

We'll also talk about Amazon.com-branded delivery lockers popping up in select 7-Eleven stores, adding fuel to the fires already burning through the United States Postal Service, and introduce a new photo caption segment that Wilson cooked up over the weekend.

The 404 Digest for Episode 897