Online postage joins bookselling, auctions, bridal registry, and even pizza delivery on the list of basic services that are migrating online. The two California stamp startups hope to leapfrog the old technology the way CD-ROM encyclopedia buried the print sets. They're now selling Personal Post, a meter that refills itself in 30 seconds using a phone line. But online postage may have come too late to save the Postal Service from email and fax machines. More and more people send notes, invitations, and invoices via email.
Electronic billing is all the rage as companies try to cut high paper costs.
And for many, even overnight delivery is too long. The company already controls cable modem provider At Home and wants to take big bites out of America Online and other Internet services. Naturally, some want to throw antitrust arrows at this corporate giant, and FCC regulators are always around with a full quiver. The key word is convergence. Dunkin' Dissent David Felton walked into his local Dunkin' Donuts store, ordered some coffee, and discovered he couldn't get any skim milk.