I think that this is A Good Thing (tm)! Hasn't anybody here ever wanted to be able to look up e-mail addresses in the phone book, just like an address? Say, if you really wanted to talk to that high school friend again?
This is a privacy violation! If you want to be anonymous online, you use a different e-mail. That's simply done.
Spammers could get your real address from this It has not been addressed yet what the form of this address would take, so I am not sure that this is an issue, but anyway... This cannot be a method for businesses to get your address, for the very simple reason that they already have it. You've noticed that junk in your mail everyday? It's easy to get you address, easier than finding an email address, and trying to guess an email address from that.
It will be expensive The Post Office is not charging anything, hence the word free. They are charging for a)actually hosting that account (instead of just forwarding) and b)a print out at the post office, if you don't have computer. b) is a very, very good thing. A lot more people than you might think are out of the loop right now b/c they cannot afford a computer. Think! The convenience of e-mail, w/o the hassle of a computer. (which is not ALWAYS a blessing, regardless of all of our leanings here:) ).
They'll force you to use it They can't force anyone to do that, for the simple reason that not everyone will know how to use it for a long, long time. What is conceivable is for government e-mails (tax forms, etc.) to be disallowed on any other channels, but I imagine that will only happen if they really do get good security (which might not happen.)
This is providing a uniform method of contact for all people. No more dicrimination, ie,*Oh, my God, you've got a HOTMAIL account*, because everyone will have a post office account. S-Mail is slowly becoming a forum only for the old fashioned or poor, and that is not enough to keep the USPS going. So give 'em a chance at doing what they've been good at for a while; keeping America connected. -Rainbowfyre
Here is an article on salon that you might be interesting in: It is Courtney Love's take on the real culprit in music piracy - the RIAA . Hope this helps, Rainbowfyre
Hear! Hear! The majority of discrimination against girls in tech occurs in high school. Some girls here are talking about getting lots of respect in college... well that's too late for most of us. I go to a private boarding school in MA. Girls are taught to conform a lot more than guys. If a guy is different, he's an individual. If a girl is different, she's a freak. Most geeks hated high school, but the guys were not being re-educated. THAT's the difference between guy and girl geeks. It takes a girl a lot to get through that. -rainbowfyre
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Mo'Slo is what you're thinking of, I think.
Mo'Slo
There's also Turbo, (which I have never used).
Turbo
rainbowfyre
This is providing a uniform method of contact for all people. No more dicrimination, ie,*Oh, my God, you've got a HOTMAIL account*, because everyone will have a post office account. S-Mail is slowly becoming a forum only for the old fashioned or poor, and that is not enough to keep the USPS going. So give 'em a chance at doing what they've been good at for a while; keeping America connected.
-Rainbowfyre
Here is an article on salon that you might be interesting in: It is Courtney Love's take on the real culprit in music piracy - the RIAA .
Hope this helps,
Rainbowfyre
Hear! Hear! The majority of discrimination against girls in tech occurs in high school. Some girls here are talking about getting lots of respect in college... well that's too late for most of us. I go to a private boarding school in MA. Girls are taught to conform a lot more than guys. If a guy is different, he's an individual. If a girl is different, she's a freak. Most geeks hated high school, but the guys were not being re-educated. THAT's the difference between guy and girl geeks. It takes a girl a lot to get through that. -rainbowfyre