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Do you spend your days desperately awaiting credit card bills, coupons
to Pizza Hut, and reminders from your dentist's office that it's time
for another cleaning? We've pared down our dependence on USPS, but for
those who still get physical communications of note, Make has
developed an Arduino-based mailbox mod that sends push notifications
when the post is in. Back in 2005, we saw a clunky device called
POSTIN that did much the same thing. Thankfully, this system doesn't
require an extra gadget, instead it sends messages straight to your
iPhone. The postal alert system uses a snap-action switch, connected
to an Arduino sensor, to signal when your mailbox is opened. A piece
of code waits for the signal and then requests a URL from a PHP-
enabled server, pushing an alert to your cellphone using the Prowl
iPhone app. Die-hard USPS fans can check out the instructional video
after the jump.
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