The proposed system has been designed with the following key philosophies in mind:
Allow the user flexibility to change his mind freely
Provide a simple sequence of steps from intended goal to realization
The TURBOMail system consists of the following components:
Display screen: Some sort of display screen where the user will receive
instructions, data, and feedback from the system. It may be text-based or graphical
in nature. The initial system will use a graphical display for greater flexibility
in conveying information to the user.
Audio speaker: The speaker may be used to provide error and feedback tones to the
user. It may provide instructions audibly as they are displayed on the screen to aid
blind users, but, excepting this case, the interface will not depend solely on audial cues.
Button array: The means by which the user communicates with the system. A standard
keypad (calculator-style) layout provides numeric entry, while a second set of buttons
is located near the screen.
Weighing pan: A small compartment with either a pivoting or sliding door with a
weighing apparatus inside is provided to determine the cost of postage.
Stamp dispenser: The dispenser dispenses a roll of stamps of varying denominations.
An alternate substitute is a small label dispenser and a printer which would print a
label with the exact amount of postage.
Bill acceptor/coin slot: Standard devices on vending machines to accept money in
both bill and coin form. Since stamps are not strictly sold in five-cent increments,
a coin acceptor that accepts pennies would be necessary.
Money dispenser: Devices to return change in the form of bills and/or coins.
Credit card acceptor: A card reader which intakes/ejects a magnetically encoded
card, similar to those currently found on ATM machines.
Phone line: Used to communicate remotely. This is required for credit card checks,
but may also be used for other data, such as obtaining current postage rates from a
central post office database, or to transmit data, such as usage statistics or sales
receipts.
The control panel for the TURBOMail system tentatively resembles the following:
