Apple Betas Web-based Email Service for iTools

cpk0 writes "As more and more 'free' web-based email services fall, and stop offering all their services for free (e.g. Yahoo! won't offer pop-forwarding for free anymore), Apple once again proves its cool-factor by beta-testing a webmail page for use with their iTools e-mail account members. You will find a beta login page, with a link to a feedback page. Now's the time to tell Apple what you guys want to see in this new feature."

Comments

Passwords for sale

[ptbrown]

Web mail is great as an alternative. I won't use it as the only option, but it's nice when I'm on the road to be able to quickly check my messages without mucking about in someone else's client configuration.

But is it too much to ask for email providers -- not just web-based but POP3 and IMAP as well -- to use secure connections? All those passwords being sent in the clear are a packet sniffers dream.

bouncing

[geethree]

For a beta project, I'd say that the mac.com webmail product is pretty darn good.

One thing I'd like to see is the ability to 'bounce' a message the way I can do from mail.app

Bouncing is a great way to fight back on the occasional spam that gets thru.

--geethree

Re:Cool Factor?

[Niherlas]

Let's consider that quickly-slammed cool factor. Apple's Webmail has the following features (available without paying an additional fee):

• 5MB of data storage (vs 2MB for Hotmail)
  
• No frigging ads
  
• Can be accessed via any IMAP/POP client
  
• No frigging ads
  
• Can set a "vacation" autorepy message
  
• No frigging ads
  
• Will allow you to forward your email elsewhere
  
• Did I mention no frigging ads?
  

Granted, Apple's hand may have been "forced" by websites such as imapple.net that were using IMP and SquirrelMail to provide access to mac.com email accounts, but Apple's implementation is fast, clean, and imposes minimally on the users.

Although you have to use a Mac with at least OS9 to sign up for iTools, you can access the mac.com email via web or POP/IMAP client from any platform, and the iTools disk space and HomePage storage (20MB) is acessible via any platform that supports WebDAV.

That's much better support of open standards and ease-of-access than Hotmail, Yahoo!, GeoCities, you name it.

WebObjects

[Space Coyote]

Looking at the URL for this thing, I see that this was done with WebObjects. I bet I'm not the only one who'd love to see the code for this thing, considering WO's reputation for being an effecient tool for rapid development in much the same way as Cocoa is for desktop apps.

Nice to see Apple eating their own dogfood once again, especially when there are so many off-the-shelf systems they could have used instead.