In what appears to be a sign of the times, Linn's Stamp News has announced that they are going to have an online edition - You can check out the website yourself for a demo at:

I checked it out, and I was quite impressed with it. I like it a lot better than some of the pdf versions I have seen. Unlike Krause (They have had their content available online for months) it appears that Linn's is planning to sell separate subscriptions to the online edition. If I have a choice (and I am sure that for many years I will) I will choose the print edition. I spend enough time in front of the computer, I like reading my magazines away from the computer! However, If they offer this with the regular subscription (at no or very little extra charge) it might be worth it, as if I am traveling I can read Linn's, or better yet I could have access to their archive. I get too many periodicals to save them. If I want to go back, I do have a great stamp library (Oregon Stamp Society) nearby, but it is not as convenient as my computer.

In another sign of the times, this is not compatible with Netscape - these days, fewer things are.

USPS Approval of Stamps.com's NetStamps(TM) Ushers in New Era of PC Postage

Print Now, Use Later Convenience Broadens Appeal And Delivers Cost Efficiencies for the Postal Service

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stamps.com (NASDAQ: STMP) announced today that it has received commercial approval from the U.S. Postal Service for NetStamps(TM), a new form of PC Postage(R) that can be used just like regular stamps. Stamps.com is the first and only PC Postage vendor to receive approval by the Postal Service to offer this new form of postage. Approval for NetStamps follows years of development effort, including a six-month beta field test.

Available immediately as a feature of the Stamps.com service, NetStamps gives customers the flexibility to print sheets of postage in any denomination and for any mail class. In addition, NetStamps postage is not tied to either a destination address or a mail date, allowing the postage to be printed now and saved for later use.

"Stamps.com continues to lead innovation in the PC Postage category with the approval of NetStamps," said Ken McBride, chief executive officer of Stamps.com. "This feature promises to dramatically increase the convenience and hence the value proposition of the Stamps.com service. The approval of NetStamps represents the first milestone in our 2002 focus on making our product simpler and more compelling for our customers."

NetStamps' flexibility lends itself to broad postage applications and is an ideal solution for both low-volume and high-volume postage users. The advantages offered include the following:

* NetStamps provides more convenience when using windowed, pre-printed or handwritten envelopes for invoices, bills or personal letters since the feature eliminates the need to type the address into the software;

* NetStamps eliminates the need to connect to the Internet every time a need for postage arises since the user can print sheets of NetStamps and store them for future use;

* NetStamps can be printed in any amount and can be used for an expanded range of mail classes, including international mail.

"NetStamps provides cost-effective postage distribution and increased access and value for our customers which are key strategies of the recent U.S. Postal Service Transformation Plan's goal to streamline our operations while maintaining universal service," said Wayne Wilkerson, manager of Postage Technology Management for the U.S. Postal Service. "In addition, NetStamps retains the key security elements of Stamps.com's original Internet Postage solution which allows us to offer this form of postage."

The approval of the NetStamps feature is a critical step in Stamps.com's plans to transform its product offering to include a completely Web-based version of its service, expected later this year. The new Web-based service promises to dramatically reduce the time and effort required to become a Stamps.com customer and also promises to simplify and enhance the customer experience.

Commentary about this

Until now, when a meter was used, it had to have the date on it, and it had to be mailed on that date. With these new labels, you can easily pre-print postage, and use it at you convenience. One of the reasons I did not like using meters was because it was just easier to use stamps. What I can see this being useful for is preprinting out 1 cent labels, and using the rest with real stamps. This would save me time when I mail out packages. If they are over a pound, I need to go to the post office. With a meter, that limit is raised to five pounds. Even if 1 cent is metered, it still is okay to ship up to five pounds without going to the counter. I may have to look into this, it definitely could be interesting postal history to have mixed frankings of stamps and these preprinted meters.

Artist Andy Warhol to be commemorated on new postage stamp

WASHINGTON - Pop artist Andy Warhol will be remembered on a U.S. postage stamp next month.

Famed for his portraits of Marilyn Monroe and paintings of Campbell's soup cans, Warhol's career also included ventures in design, photography, film, television, writing and publishing.

The commemorative stamp will be issued at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh on Aug. 9. .

Warhol, who died Feb. 22, 1987, in New York City, has remained famous far longer than the 15 minutes he once predicted for everyone.

The 37-cent stamp features his 1964 self-portrait, which is now in the collection of the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, where he was born.

Thanks for reading, see you next week.

Alan Cohen