04/20/19 HOW YOUR PC COULD SUDDENLY GO POSTAL

HOW YOUR PC COULD SUDDENLY GO POSTAL

THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE isn't promising an end to snail mail just yet, but it is making it easier to buy postage. On Mar. 31, Postmaster General Marvin T. Runyon gave E-Stamp Corp. of Palo Alto, Calif., the go-ahead for a novel product that lets people download stamps from the Internet. While other companies are working on the concept, E-Stamp is the first to get government approval and expects to have its kits in office-supply stores by fall. The product is currently being tested in Washington and will soon be available in San Francisco and Tampa. Prices for the kits haven't been set, but they're expected to cost less than the typical $40-a-month fee a small business pays for a postage meter.
You won't have to be too technically inclined to use the product, either. Here's how it works: Install the software as you would any program. Plug a dime-shaped device into your printer port, which will act like a debit card, keeping track each time you print an electronic stamp. Once you've got these essentials, you'll go to E-Stamp's Web site (www. estamp.com) and purchase stamps with a credit card before downloading them to your computer.
Warning: They won't look like the sticky-backed flower prints you may be used to. They'll resemble metered-mail labels. But it beats the line at the post office.
By Mary Beth Regan
EDITED BY IRA SAGER