In the past 20 years, more than 200,000 post boxes have been removed due to lack of use (less than 25 pieces sent per day), leaving only around 175,000 nationwide. That's just the most obvious sign that the Postal Service isn't doing too hot, but financially they're really suffering, with a projected $6 billion shortfall this year. That's bad news for the USPS, which has been considering actions like ending Saturday delivery to make up. But that may not be enough.

Unfortunately, it's our fault that the USPS is dying. Us early technological adopters have hastened the death of all kinds of physical media: We pay bills online, we communicate online, we send invitations online. Hell, the only thing I use USPS for is Netflix, and even they're pushing streaming video to replace mail-service DVDs.

As anybody who's experienced the horrors of Canadapost knows, USPS is a fantastic service: It's cheap, fast, reliable, safe and they still deliver on Saturdays. But the only way to save it is to send more mail, and I just don't see that happening. Sorry, USPS, on behalf of all nerds who killed you. [Washington Post]

On May 4, 1536, Francesco Lapi—a Florentine merchant who at the time was in Seville, Spain—used the symbol @ in a letter, the first ever known instance of a document containing it. It didn't had a domain name after it, however. Back then, he was referring to the number of "amphoras" that were shipped in three vessels which departed Spain on their way to Rome, Italy. An "amphora" was a commercial volume measure of those times. The document you can see above says:

There, an amphora of wine, which is one thirtieth of a barrel, is worth 70 or 80 ducats.

In Spanish, the word for that measure was called "arroba," which is the name the @ symbol still receives today in that language. Later, the symbol was conserved in typewriters' keyboards: People kept using the at sign through the centuries, and it was common in commercial accounting where it meant "at the price of."

It was in 1971 when Ray Tomlinson saw the symbol and thought it could be good to append the mail server host to the name of the person receiving an email:

I chose to append an at sign and the host name to the user's (login) name. I am frequently asked why I chose the at sign, but the at sign just makes sense. The purpose of the at sign (in English) was to indicate a unit price (for example, 10 items @ $1.95). I used the at sign to indicate that the user was "at" some other host rather than being local.

And the rest, as they say, it's history. I don't know about you, but from now on I would be saying jesus amphora gizmodo dot com every time I have to tell my mail address. It just sounds so much better. Or better yet, jesus monkey gizmodo dot com. Yes. Definitely this one. [NYT Blog]

Backstory first. A package supposedly was left on my doorstep on a Friday, or at least its delivery status claimed. Nothing was there. The next week goes by. Nothing shows up. Monday rolls around, my doorbell rings, and a guy's standing there with my package.

Some anonymous Fedex employee scanned the entirety of his truck and claimed he left those items on people's doorsteps, reported another Fedex driver who had to eventually come and clean up his mess. "He doesn't work for us anymore," said the man, subconsciously hoping to convince me not to go with UPS in the future.

I can see regular mailmen doing it, since very few people will miss another credit card offer or a Pennysaver or a 20% off coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond. But Fedex? Like there aren't tracking numbers on most of those packages?

Image credit Washington Times

… Your application duplicates the functionality of the built-in iPhone application Mail without providing sufficient differentiation or added functionality, which will lead to user confusion. …

Macworld points out that "user confusion" isn't an issue when one examines the endless faceless Sudoku applications that are available in the iTunes store, but it's a huge problem when such alleged confusion steps on the toes of an Apple application.

But from Apple's perspective, it sure would take the wind out of Jobs' next keynote if he were to announce that the iPhone was supporting a series of features already implemented by third parties. Maybe it would be more fair for Apple to simply restrict categories of applications from the iTunes store to begin with and not waste developers' time. [Macworld]

Our own account looks fine—we were shipped something on Monday and Tuesday of this week—but that's just anecdotal. Our own call to Blockbuster communications to check on the situation went unanswered. How does yours look? Keep in mind that you not getting something shipped in a timely manner could also mean they're throttling your account, which is especially true if you've been shipping stuff in and out really fast lately. [Thanks Michael!]

Apparently the outage affects 1/3 of their customers, to whom Netflix is trying to figure out the best way to refund some cash. They're still not sure what the root of the problems are, so in essence, they have no idea how to fix it. Be prepared for a few more days of outages, unless it turns out that it's a super easy fix that's much harder to diagnose than to repair. Your Bernie Mac marathon will have to wait. :( [CNBC via Valleywag - Image Credit]

As David discovered, it turns out that you can't register any name with the word "tib" on them, not just Tibet. Microsoft gave him an explanation for this: they wanted to protect customers of the TIB Bank in Florida, so they can't receive a message from "tib-support@hotmail.com" asking for their bank account passwords. As he was able to test, if you try to use any other bank name in the address, it won't work. Mystery solved! [NYT]

I know, everyone's mad at Apple for charging $20 for an upgrade that only brings the iPod touch up to speed with the original iPhone (minus the phone, of course), but it seems to me, anyone who paid $399 for a first-gen 16GB touch especially can spring for the extra Jackson. Besides, I think Apple learned a thing or two about overcharging and then regretting it with the iPhone—because of that, the chances are slim that the company will change its mind and turn this into a free download. It would cause additional outrage that Apple doesn't want.

The good news is that the upgrade works great. We added two accounts to Mail within minutes, sending e-mails with a cute little "Sent from iPod" sig file. The Maps program uses Wi-Fi triangulation to identify the general vicinity and it works within a minute, and completely indoors (obviously). I'm not thrilled with the directions app, and a reliance on Wi-Fi for the map makes it hard to envision using as a real guide in the car, but it's a good start. Stocks, Weather, Notes and the web clip option in Safari are all what they are, but all in all it's a welcome improvement over the paltry Calendar, Contacts, Clock and Calculator that were there initially. (Didn't Apple once rip on PCs for bragging about a Calculator?)

Some things to keep in mind: When you upgrade, remember that it's two separate iPod touch updates. First, after you've upgraded your iTunes to 7.6, connect the touch and click "Check for Updates." You'll get 1.1.3, but things won't look any different than they did before. You then need to go to iTunes, click on the "January Software Upgrade" offer and buy it.

Once purchased, you go to your iPod Summary page and click Sync. If things don't work out just right, don't panic (like we did). Instead, uncheck "Manually manage music and videos"—you might get an error message saying it can't sync all 1 billion of your MP3s, but still, it will sync the new apps and they'll be visible in seconds. [Apple]

—Video by Benny Goldman

HELIO LAUNCHES MAIL FOR MICROSOFT EXCHANGE

Wirelessly Sync Ocean with Microsoft® Office Outlook® Email, Calendar and Contacts

LOS ANGELES, CA - July 25, 2007 - Helio Ocean's expansive messaging capabilities just got more versatile with the launch of Mail for Microsoft Exchange. Adding to Ocean's already comprehensive messaging line-up including a single hub for all text messages, picture messages, Instant Messages and emails from the major portals and ISPs, Helio members can now mix business with pleasure through Mail for Microsoft Exchange. This new application lets users wirelessly synchronize Microsoft® Office Outlook® email, calendar and contacts from their companies' Microsoft® Exchange Server so they can use Ocean to keep in touch with friends and family, as well as staying on top of business.
"Ocean has already made staying in touch with friends easier than ever with the ultimate messaging dashboard for all email, IM, picture and text messages, something nobody has ever done before," said Doug Britt, Sr. Director of Content and Messaging Services at Helio. "Now we're bringing the business user into the fold with the addition of corporate email, calendar and contacts, all from the same great messaging interface. Combined, this solidifies Ocean as an ideal device for keeping in touch with friends, family and business associates."

Business + Pleasure
Mail for Microsoft Exchange is Helio's new downloadable client that uses the Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® protocol to let users remotely synchronize and access business email, contacts and calendar data from their corporate Exchange Server. Ocean users can wirelessly download Mail for Microsoft Exchange to their device and after a brief set up, send and receive email, create and send calendar appointments and access corporate contact lists. Once Mail for Microsoft Exchange is downloaded, it is also easily accessible through Ocean's messaging home screen aside the full suite of Ocean's messaging capabilities.

Helio will also soon launch Helio File Viewer in conjunction with Mail for Microsoft Exchange. When available, Helio File Viewer will allow users to view documents including .doc, .ppt, .xls, and .pdf files.

The upgrade starts in May, and Yahoo will actively warn and suspend email accounts that are "abusing" their unlimited status. That means no using it as disk storage or backup (unless you do it sneakily).

Technically the iPhone's storage won't be "unlimited" even using IMAP to only download headers, but at the rate you fill up the 8GB of flash storage, it's essentially unlimited anyway. – Jason Chen

Yahoo! Mail goes to infinity and beyond [Yahoo via Tech Crunch]

After viewing your site for years it appears that those with webtv can't view it anymore because SOMEONE re-formatted it........never had a problem until this week..........will this force me to join the 21st century and buy a real computer? Nope. Goodbye Gizmodo! I'll miss ya!

Sorry to see you leave, Fritz. While I have no idea what happened to our WebTV compatibility, everyone at Gizmodo hates losing a loyal reader. But what if...and we're just spitballing here...we stopped publishing stories about heretical electronic innovation? Would you possibly reconsider your decision?

On a side note, my grandmother had WebTV until a year ago when she made the transition to a PC with flying colors.

-Mark Wilson

Why would anyone who refuses to buy a computer read Gizmodo, anyway? Because we're certain that it isn't the writing.

10:20: Emails can also be viewed in split view: emails on top, body on bottom.

10:20: Standard Inbox, Drafts, etc.

10:20: Email creation uses that virtual keyboard you use for SMS creation.

10:23: Free.