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Text Messages To Replace Stamps In Sweden
99luftballon writes "Sweden and Denmark are running tests on replacing stamps with text messages. The writer sends a text message to a central server, which bills for the stamp and returns a code to be written on the letter. It's an interesting system but it better have very good security. Could this be the end of stamp collections and philately?"
Kinda makes me wonder if I should read more newspapers here in Sweden.
So these written codes...they will be verified automatically?
Thinking of the varying penmanships of the world, the swedes must be outpacing captcha makers by leaps and bounds.
The code has to be a certain length in order to be unique, it has to be complex enough to take a while to crack, but write down one digit wrong (or slighly unreadable) and the code is invalid.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
is what it is. There are a few US organizations that are doing good work for the country but that I'd rather not be entangled with in terms of tracking databases (I'm not particularly thinking of wikileaks, but that general idea). So I'm not going to respond to their requests to donate to them by paypal or send them a check. Instead I occasionally put a carefully wrapped ten dollar bill in an envelope, stick on a postage stamp, and send it to them with no return address. That's what Sweden (which is still trying to extradite Assange on very dubious charges) is trying to eliminate. It creeps me out.
Just wait until a postman copies the code to a package of his own, and just destroys the original package.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Poststamps are anonymous, sms certainly is not. I believe that, doing it like this is expensive and traceble. Then again i have not send any snailmail in a long, long time. So i should not be the one to cry about it. Zokahn
Philately will get you nowhere.
Could this be the end of stamp collections and philately?
Not really.
Btw I'm selling the following RARE swedish stamp:
67XX5768XX34XX4233 (digits hidden for security reasons).
Anyone interested?
Great way to track peoples communication, you order the stamp with your mobil phone, so unless its a prepaid they can now check who you send snailmails to easy.
..here in the Netherlands (and presumably other places). Basically it's just a barcode - works pretty well
Anybody else play poker with dollar bill serial numbers?
One Asked For.
Do you think this is anything other than a way for the company contracted for this project to make their living?
Yeah, this is neato, but what was wrong with stamps?
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
According to what I have read, for example here http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2151&artikel=4387324 the OP is not really correct. 1. Germany has had this system running since 2009. 2. Denmark will start using it from April 2011. 3. Sweden is just looking at having this kind of a solution. And for all three, it is / will be only complimentary to regular stamps.
Could this be the end of stamp collections and philately?"
I always like these simple yes/no questions. In this case, the answer is "no".
You go to into a shop and buy some stamps and stick one on your letter. In a most cases it's a lot easier than texting a number and writing it on the package. This is a convenience for some people but not a replacement.
Now you also get to pay the price of a text message on top of the cost of postage.
The article says that "risk of forged codes is no greater than it is with traditional stamps".
If this system is implemented correctly and the text message contains a unique id that can be easily associated to the destination address, the sender address and the transaction, then forged codes or reused codes can be easily detected and efficiency of the all snailmail system could be improved.
An other step to simplify address recognition would be to use QR code.
The end of little pieces of paper that we stick to other pieces of paper to move them around the world.
Oh no!
Could this be the end of stamp collections and philately?"
No. It's the beginning of the rise in value of my stamp collection. :)
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Philately/Philatelism/Philatelic is your vocabulary word for the day.
Especially if you live in or around San Francisco.
http://stampsfromelsewhere.com/
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
* Powertools will get your stone axe sharper, quicker! * Put your horse and carriage on a freight-train for greater speed! * Sending my telegrams would be so much quicker if I could just order them from my iPhone!
sudo ergo sum
We already have various barcode formats for comerical postage. So the OCR is now being leveraged to let you write the code on the letter without the special software and printer.
Any issues involved would also be involved today with existing systems - a scanner could copy such codes and a printer could place them on your post... but we've not heard about that being a problem... is it rare or did they address such issues already over a decade ago?
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
or some other such time as our intentions have been met. there's ongoing sentiment that many are overlooking the acts, & the unavoidable consequences associated with wholesale murder & mayhem, choosing to trust in....??? nothing new, just more important now?
Danish post will start the same concept. The codes will be read by handwriting-capable OCR and will only be valid 8 days.
Interesting experiment...
10 ?"Hello World" life was simple then
"Interesting times to you..." (One of the most feared black magic curses.)
(though I've never seen anyone actually use it)
See http://www.deutschepost.de/mlm.nf/dpag/images/flashapps/handyporto_bin/index.htm and http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handyporto (both in German)
We have a similar system in use here since several years in germany called HandyPorto. It consists of 3 block of 4 numbers each which produce a 12 digit numberal code. And Philately is still going strong, esp. with special edition stamps. The only thing is that the SMS stamp costs you actually more than a regular stamp *rolleyes*
In Macedonia a similar system like that is already active for almost a year now. You send a text message instead of an administrative stamp.
But I don't like it very much.
.... Inefficiency? I think it would be quicker to lick 20 stamps and place them on 20 envelopes than to send 20 text messages and read the responses carefully and write them on the envelope.
This would make sending thank-you cards more painful than it already is.
What a great way for your government to keep tabs on your communications.
I think I can one-up you in that department. I got it from a Craig Ferguson monologue a couple of days ago. "Wait, we're doing what?"
Belief is the currency of delusion.
Shortcodes for premium text messages are assigned nationally, so foreign tourists will not be able to use this system. That seems like a big oversight, because how many local consumers really still use snail mail? There's birthdays and Christmas, but other than that I'd expect the majority of purchasers to be tourists sending postcards?
Many totally tech capable people (raises hand to indicate self) may be technically adept, building their own 'puters, posting to /., etc. etc., yet don't own a cell 'phone, much less one capable of text messaging because they hate them. Every 'phone I own has a cord to the wall. Does that mean I'm no longer allowed to send mail?
We already have this system in the UK - we have had it for many years.
You email the Royal Mail server, and it sends back a bar-code image which you print off and stick onto your letter or parcel. It works very well, and does senders/recipients address at the same time. All the security and other practical problems have been solved ages ago. Here's the portal page for printing: http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?catId=400046&mediaId=106700775
Come on everyone, this is just pre-paid franking. Nearly all european mail services (I have no idea about the rest of the world, sorry) offer this in various guises, usually only requiring an account with the company. Royal Mail in the UK offer their "SmartStamp" service allowing you to purchase your postage online. You don't have to be a company, and you use your home printer to print out the codes/franks on the letter. You can see it here: https://www.royalmail.com/portal/sme/content1?catId=62300709&mediaId=99400762
Pimping my Karma Whore since 1847.
Dip them in your sink.
So what happens if you use the same code for 2 letters? Do both get sent?
I haven't lived in Sweden the last 4 years but before i left the postal service always delivered the letters even without stamp. Before the postal service sent a letter to the recipient and asked them to come down to office and pay the 50 cent that the sender didn't pay. This is system was much more expensive than just delivering the letter even if it wasn't paid for. Most people pay the 50 cent to not look like cheap bastards.
Can't you just txt in the house number and post code you're sending it to and from and you get a uniquely generated key which is recorded. That way it's only good for being sent to the one address. Then the postal service just has to decide how quickly it needs to block further mail once the code has been used to not be defrauded.
In Germany Deutsche Post started this more than two years ago http://www.deutschepost.de/mlm.nf/dpag/images/flashapps/handyporto_bin/index.htm For reasons unknown until today I never recieved a letter with the so called "Handyporto". Maybe this is because they are charging text message porto customers 72% more per letter (0.95 € Handyporto VS 0.55 € regular stamps). But this is just a wild guess...
1266953+17
"To determine how much postage you need, please use iWeight, now available in the app store with the free iWash, which does your laundry for you."
Separating your digital life from your analog life will bring you respect and admiration, not to mention you'll gain a bit more privacy.
That is all.
I've been wondering how long it would take before they could track every letter that I send.*
Maybe in a few years we can have electronic locks on our houses so that we can just call up a central office and open the door via voice recognition.
Question: What about those of use who don't have mobile phones?
* Then again, they miss out on my DNA if I can't lick the stamp, at least until they mandate that all letters must be licked regardless. Now I need to go smelt some tin to make a hat that I can trust.
3LYWhat if the server goes down. 004It would halt the countries' whole postal system.V2
How about replacing the letter with text message?
I've been using that for over a year - it's a service by the deutsche post AG in germany;
fast & reliable, albeit a little more expensive than traditional paper stamps (porto + sms cost).
If the destination is associated with the code, it would be pretty secure. I'm assuming that at least eventually the address won't even be needed on the envelope any more, just the code.
But replace? You have to have text messaging to be able to send a letter? Really?
We've had the ability to "print our own stamps" for about 10 years now here in the US (as datamatrixes). I haven't heard of too many schemes to try and abuse this plan. The people who actually write letters these days aren't likely to try and take advantage of the system. Automating handwriting codes onto letters? What a huge waste of time. Any bulk mailing company in Sweden is already registered with the national post office; they aren't likely to risk their legitimate bulk mail discounts over paying immigrants to handwrite bogus codes.
Personally I'd love this sort of service here in the US. I can't recall how many bills I've phoned in with a debit card simply because I couldn't be bothered to buy more stamps and envelopes.
moox. for a new generation.
Man, have you seen the photo gallery on the original post site? http://www.thelocal.se/gallery/nightlife/ You gotta love Sweden.
In Soviet Sweden a letter will be linked to a mobile phone
You can buy subway, train, and bus tickets via SMS here, and it works pretty well. I don't see how applying the same concept to mail could go wrong.
It wouldn't work in the United States, where for people without texting plans, the carrier charges as much for a round-trip text message as first-class letter postage itself. The 20 cents to send and 20 cents to receive would be far less than the price of a monthly subway, train, or bus pass.
Disneyland 85012
I didn't know Disney was putting up a theme park in Phoenix, Arizona.
what fees will the carriers tack on to this?
$0.99 per txt + standard rate (up to $0.25 each way)
I'm moving to Sweden! Here in the US, I need a girlfriend or hooker to get that (wife went on strike.)
This has been a reality in Germany since 2009 where it's called Handyporto (mobile postage).
http://www.deutschepost.de/mlm.nf/dpag/images/flashapps/handyporto_bin/index.htm
Sorry, being cheeky ;-) My dad and my nieces love postcards from interesting places when I go on holiday / work abroad. My girlfriend thinks it's much more romantic when I send her a letter than when I send her a txt msg. My friends love getting birthday cards through the post and sometimes I'll find a great book and send it as an unexpected present to a good friend. It's really nice to get some personal mail through the door as well as bills and junk mail.
Probably I am old fashioned. Also in the UK the postal system, while it has its faults, still works pretty well. Cheaper to post parcels through the mail than by a courier and they'll still get there (recently I sandblasted some door locks for my brother and posted them to him, no problem, couple of quid to do so including recorded delivery, no idea how much a courier would cost).
By humans or OCR? I would have thought uppercase was more readable because they don't tend not to run together like lowercase (i.e. a "nn" or "rn" that reads as "m"). BTW, lowercase also has easily confused pairs, especially 1 & l which are difficult to distinguish even when not handwritten.
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Guys,
A similar system is set for launch in Denmark on April 1st..
Seriously, no bells going off?
I just head the last stamp block got assigned and that the Sweden postal service is not yet ready to switch to STAMPv6!
Snail mail is practically dead. Just let it rest in peace.
Hang the security issue. What about the "what's in it for me?" issue? Guaranteed guvmint approved Spam in my inbox? The U.S. Postal Service already treats my name and address as a commodity, and that's just snail mail.
``Tension, apprehension & dissension have begun!'' - Duffy Wyg&, in Alfred Bester's _The Demolished Man_
Stamp collecting will not stop.
Putting a little ink on paper and selling it for 50 cents is too easy.
There are many stamps sold which are never used. Just like those special quarters
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
This is so cool, didn't that ever happened to you? you want to send something thru the mail and its late night and there is nowhere to buy the post stamp? In my life thats something that happens on regular bases, I never have time to actually put all the checks in the envelopes and pay my bills so i do it in the middle of the night since the busy schedule dont let me take care of it during the day. Hopefully it will travel to USA http://www.bbcleaningservice.com/
http://bbcleaningservice.com/
you just need cell phones with lasers to micro etch the pattern into an envelope....no need to write it down on the letter yourself.
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
simple...after you write down the coded, you validate it with your cell's camera. If there are mistakes or (machine) unreadable characters...it highlights them in the image.
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
The majority of people who use mail for personal correspondence etc on a daily basis are old people who don't know how to use computers and cell phones etc. This system is going to be a big pain for them, and the people who this system may not be as much of a pain for wouldn't care to send letters anyway.