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Businesses Software Linux

E-Postage for Linux? 35

Posted by Cliff from the penguins-and-mailmen dept.
tyen asks: "While it's not dead yet (shades of Monty Python), Internet postage on Linux appears to be missing. The biggest player's software is Windows-only, and the other players mimic this requirement. You would be amazed how many businesses will dedicate a computer to printing off postage and shipping labels, why pay an annoying Microsoft tax for such an appliance application? Besides, these Windows-based solutions are heavily GUI-centric, and any integration into Linux-based automated processes would be unacceptably brittle. Has anyone successfully set up their business to print off e-postage from Linux or any other Open Source platform?"
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E-Postage for Linux? More

E-Postage for Linux?

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  • Thoughts... (Score:2, Informative)

    by asdfx ( 446164 )
    I don't believe the UPS or FedEx software comes in a *n?x variant, so the answer is basically, "No."

    Even if they did, good luck finding *n?x drivers for an Eltron thermal printer (prints out stickers for packages). Not that I've looked... but I doubt you will find them.

    • Re:Thoughts... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 25, 2003 @08:43PM (#6789815)
      I don't believe the UPS or FedEx software comes in a *n?x variant, so the answer is basically, "No."

      The FedEx server runs on Windows, but they give that machine to you with all necessary software installed.

      Communication with the server is done over a TCP socket, using an open protocol (the protocol is weird, but documented). You could definitely submit jobs into the system in an automated way - we have a system at work that does this.

      I'm not sure if printer drivers would be a problem on Unix. FedEx gave us a Zebra printer and said to use the standard / text-only printer driver in Windows. It needs to be shared using SMB, but Samba should be able to handle that. If this doesn't work, you could probably hook the printer up to the machine FedEx gives you.
      • FedEx recently "upgraded" our powership station to Windows XP. Since then we had major trouble all the time, we got some reps in and met with them, and they said we can install whatever we want on the computer. 2000 is definitely going on there.

        I want to know who the hell though WinXP would be a good idea on an appliance type system like that.

        They did talk to us about integrating the system into our ecommerce app though, don't know what that would cost us in terms of "licenses" for whatever to uncripple

    • Re:Thoughts... (Score:4, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 25, 2003 @08:43PM (#6789818)
      I do believe both UPS and FedEx, as well as quite possibly USPS support HTTP/XML -based interfaces to their software. You just have to search through their site hard enough, or probably much easier - call their tech divisions.

    • Re:Thoughts... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by tzanger ( 1575 ) on Monday August 25, 2003 @09:20PM (#6790107) Homepage

      All the thermal printers I've used with shipping computers have used pretty much standard Epson or HP-GL graphics modes. Set up a generic Epson printer with weird-ass margins and you're set.

    • Re:Thoughts... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Dan Ost ( 415913 ) on Tuesday August 26, 2003 @07:36AM (#6792458)
      You don't need a driver to print via an Eltron (or any Zebra) printer.
      You can send print strings straight over a serial cable or, if your
      printer is networked, simply open a socket to it. We generate FedEx
      labels on both Linux and Solaris (for Intel). It's custom code, but
      creating print strings is essentially no different than creating
      valid XML or HTML. It's just another mark up language.

  • Oh neat! (Score:4, Funny)

    by karmavore ( 618727 ) on Monday August 25, 2003 @08:25PM (#6789677)

    Up here in The Great White North we send everything by dog sled.

  • Emulation... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by jpsowin ( 325530 ) on Monday August 25, 2003 @08:34PM (#6789746) Homepage
    I doubt there is one available at this point. However, you may very well be able to emulate the software under WINE or (probably easier) Crossover Office. Yes, before someone jumps on me, they are built on the same code but I have noticed that apps run better (and faster) on Crossover.

    • Re:Emulation... (Score:1, Redundant)

      by DA-MAN ( 17442 )
      Repeat after me, Wine Is Not an Emulator!
      • I swear that Alexandre Julliard, project leader and master developer of Wine was on TechTV earlier this year and there was an exchange that went something like this:

        Laport: Well if Wine is not an emulator, then what is it. (laughs) Julliard: Well, an emulator! This is a paraphrase from memory but I found it very funny that they spent 2 minutes describing Wine and how it's not an emulator and then Julliard says it basically is an emulator.

  • Cold day in hell (Score:5, Informative)

    by Deagol ( 323173 ) on Monday August 25, 2003 @08:58PM (#6789941) Homepage
    I was a stamps.com customer for a couple of years. Since then, I've become a 99% Linux convert, running only a couple of apps under VMWare when needed. The system really was very nice, worth the small monthly fee (plus the postage looks pretty cool). Last time I checked, Stamps.com had a Windows and Mac client. I emailed them (maybe 2-to-3 years go) about a Linux version, to which they (of course) politely replied that it wasn't in the forseeable future.

    From a (somewhat ignorant) corporate standpoint, I can understand why. Digital postage is pretty close to digital money. And while I don't know the cryptogtaphy involved, I assume it's a proven system (after all, this is the USPS), as least on paper, if not in implementation. However, the thought of "evil hackers" having low-level access to the system calls, snooping at the system would probably keep the CEOs up at night. I just can't see this happening solely due to a mistrust of the underlying OS. Granted, a skilled Windows "hacker" can do the same thing with debuggers under Windows, but everyone "trusts" Windows' security/obscurity.

    I guess it wouldn't hurt to inquire again, just to let them know that a former customer would return if they had a native Linux version.

    • Colder and colder (Score:4, Interesting)

      by fm6 ( 162816 ) on Tuesday August 26, 2003 @03:19AM (#6791826) Homepage Journal
      However, the thought of "evil hackers" having low-level access to the system calls, snooping at the system would probably keep the CEOs up at night.
      Windows doesn't do a particularly good job of hiding system calls. Anyway, a well-written cryptography application doesn't care who intercepts the data it sends, or how. There's a school of thought that says that opening up an encryption application on all levels actually enhances security, because it makes it easier for third parties to verify the vendors claims.

      This is about support, nothing more. I'm suprised how many Slashdotters don't understand the costs of adding support for a platform to a product. I've worked on major projects where it was a big deal that we supported three platforms, and the choice of the third platform was a matter of major infighting. And this was in big companies with a lot of cash to throw around. I'm suprised that stamps.com has the resources to support two platforms.

      • It's a matter of economy and return on investment. If there's a large enough customer base to generate enough revenue (and profit!) to justify the extra cost of developping/testing/maintaining for an extra platform, then the project will go ahead.

        The fact that there are two platforms already means that a decision-maker somewhere thought there was enough money to be made to support the second platform.

        So the key is to convince the decision-maker(s) that *nix has enough of a monetary base to rationalize th

    • Re:Cold day in hell (Score:4, Informative)

      by mfarver ( 43681 ) * on Tuesday August 26, 2003 @04:29PM (#6798183) Journal
      Digital postage is pretty close to digital money.

      Not really... in the case of stamps, each stamp is serial numbered, the bar code reader on the sorting line just checks if that serial number has already been used and rejects envelopes. New serial numbers are only activited when they are issued. Its actually easier to detect fraud then with the current stamps or postal meters.

      Mark
    • And while I don't know the cryptogtaphy involved, I assume it's a proven system (after all, this is the USPS), as least on paper, if not in implementation.

      If the cryptography doesn't hold up to running on Linux, it's hopeless. In fact, their best bet would be to make the core library open source and let other people write GUIs for it. The security should only be in the cryptographic keys, not the software.

      Reverse engineering software is much more common on Windows because it has to be; on Linux, people

  • GUI does not imply !(batchable||scriptable) (Score:4, Insightful)

    by borgboy ( 218060 ) on Monday August 25, 2003 @11:17PM (#6790872)
    ...or otherwise unusable through automation. Many widely used, widely emulated GUI applications are usable through a command line or script interface.

  • Kinda related... (Score:3, Informative)

    by quinkin ( 601839 ) on Tuesday August 26, 2003 @12:40AM (#6791219)
    My old business used a web based XML data passing demon to generate, store, and print PDF files (using libpdf I believe - but which ever) that were then sent to a high volume printer.

    This was only for the envelope and invoice/receipt/statement (no estamps), but I did integrate a barcode->image->embedded in PDF functionality that allowed us to semi-automate return mail.

    Worked like a dream - took me about a week to write.

    Q.

  • In another story on Slashdot....

    Has anyone successfully used Linux to wash enterprise underwear!

    Sheesh... This thing is getting worse every day.

    Nandz.

  • ClickStampOnline [pb.com] is an internet-based postage system. The page says Windows required but maybe it will work under Mac/*NIX. Maybe it's a browser thing, or maybe it's more complex than that.

    GUI? The DM500 [pb.com] we have doesn't use much of a GUI at all on it's low-resolution LCD screen. It's more in the printing. You just pick a zip code, shipping method, then there's a scale that weighs your letters...
  • For postage, I use good 'ol fashioned stamps for letter-size first class mail, and the FREE web-based postage system on the USPS web site [usps.gov] to print postage for my package-size mailings.

    I've used this under Mozilla on windows. Sadly, I haven't had a chance to get my desktop machine completely converted to KDE on FreeBSD yet, so I can't say whether this works on non-Microsoft OS'es.

    • Re:USPS Web Site (Score:2, Informative)

      by sphariss ( 579002 )
      I use the USPS system for Priority Mailings under Linux and Windows with Mozilla 1.5 with no problems.

      A few days ago they added some functionality and part of what they did was check browsers. 1.5 is not recognized and I get a warning box telling me I must use the lastest version of IE, Mozilla, and Opra. Perhaps one other browser.

      I have not tried it with Linux since the change, but I would guess that it would still work if they are just checking browser versions.

      My main complaint with the USPS App is t

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