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Apple to Unveil .Mac Today
Steve Mason writes "Apple has put up a .Mac FAQ up here proving that .Mac will indeed be introduced at Mac World New York. .Mac will cost $100 a year as previous rumors had reported." Yes, this means that if you don't pay Apple, your mac.com URL and email address will stop working. Some have suggested that the "switch" in Apple's new ad campaign stands for the unfortunate part of a "bait and switch." Someone should mirror that URL, it might be taken down any second now.
Time for all the Apple apologists to roll out and explain why this isn't a big deal and that they're just doing it because of increased costs of doing business. They should at least offer free e-mail forwarding for current people with mac.com addresses though since I notice a lot of people started using their @mac.com e-mail addresses since that would be more "stable" than they could shift ISPs without changing their e-mail address. I'm just waiting for hotmail.com to announce they're going pay for service. People will be royally screwed then. :-)
One of the major reasons i'm a 'mac zealot' is in part due to the coolness of getting thinks like free iDisk storage and e-mail access. I don't use anything close to the 20mb limit, I think I have like maybe ~100k of stuff on there, but it's nice to have a place to store stuff i'd like to keep for later.. ditto for my mac.com email, i've got maybe ~300k of the 5mb limit. Sure, these features are nice, but they are sure as hell not worth 100USD to me, and I doubt i'm the only one who feels this way.
I bought a five thousand dollar powerbook, partly because of Apple's good relationship with their customers, but now they're stamping out the so-called 'grassroots' sites, charging their users for iDisk and e-mail use, what used to be nice perks is turning bitter. The thing I don't understand is why they think these services are worth 100USD, i'd pay 20 to keep my nifty e-mail address around, but i'm not paying 80 just so that my 100k/10mb of idisk usages turns to 100k/100mb.. that's asinine.
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Insert Witty Sig Here
This is really bad news, Apple is trying to get existing win users to switch to Macs. But this is counte-productive. This is what's going to happen at the local computer store:
1. Customer walks in store and asks the salesman about these great Macs they've heard about on TV so much.
2. Customer is told about why a Mac is so much better, and that iTools is really cool.
3. Customer is convinced, buys a new iMac, takes it home and turns it on.
4. Customer is persuaded via the Macs initial setup to use iTools. (.Mac, whatever)
5. Customer discovers that in addition to their computer costing much more than a Win Box, they're expected to pay an extra $100 a year just to use one of the Macs best features (iTools).
6. Customer returns iMac to store, gets a Compaq or something.
7. Retailers get pissed and stop selling Macs.
8. Apple loses
What a shame
I'm criticized for being on the hopeful side sometimes, and this would otherwise be the same case, but I've grown wiser and hold Apple to lower expectation.
....silly, yes, but for the last couple of years, some mac zealots have pondered what would happen this MacWorld - 5 years after the infamous SOS deal with M$ - the contract for being friendly lasts 5 years!
.Mac is /too/ .Net like? Since when does Apple want to play the tail of the lion?
BUT - what if this was a joke? They've had plenty experience being embarrased by Steve's big announcement being leaked, etc. What if they leaked this? And Steve goes on with the show like this is what they're doing, and the punchline is "Wait a minute, we're not Microsoft!"
Did it occur to anyone that
Yes, of course - wishful thinking - that Apple would turn on M$ - but if it happens, I said it.
and they think I know what I'm doing....
Oh, they've got great advertising, not even annoying for most people. Now advertising quantity is a different story.
http://mac.com/[my silly username]/ as a url. So I could get "slashdot@mac.com", put up http://mac.com/slashdot/ and claim to be an apple sanctioned version of slashdot? I don't think so.
c'mon Apple. Say it with me. Market share is what's *necessary* to survive in the PC market. They need the economies of scale to keep their products reasonable affordable. This is *not* how you gain market share. Of course, if Apple is just going for the very high end consumer and graphics market, great. But I thought that they were going for the general market with their newer, cheaper Imacs. Oh well, typical Apple shit.
Right. I get pretty much all this from Illuminati Online Here's the current deal:
Our SSH Internet Unix Shell Access package with one e-mail address, 50 MB of storage, anonymous FTP access, your own majordomo e-mail list server messaging group, and 24/7 support.
Having your own web page is a part of shell access, it seems (I have one). All this: 14 bucks a month. 14 bucks. What magic lets them offer most of what .mac will offer for a mere 14 bucks? Simple. They're not ripping you off.
Disclosure: I have no association with io.com except having been a customer for years.
Maybe the state's highest function is to grind out insoluble problems. (Zelazny, Hall of Mirrors)
Someone signed up for an account with the name 1 and posted a hoax story? Big deal. Surprising that 1 was still available, but it obviously is what happened. I mean come on, the page did not look professional nor apple-like, and why would it have the /1/ subdir in there huh, or did no one notice it is in a place where a common account could post?
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
it's a dumb move because in this crazy world we call computing, people like free stuff. and if they have to pay for something that's been free for a significant period of time, they'll be even more pissed off. and if apple pisses off their (small) user/fan base, some of them might just switch, thereby depriving them of their almighty dollars. i personally know a lot of people, mostly independent musicians, who depend on their mac.com homepages because they can't afford or don't want to deal with the hassle of "proper" web hosting, myself included. if apple starts charging me $100/year, i don't think i'll be able to keep up my site (unless, of course, they do something to sweeten the deal, like give me a bunch of extra storage). and people wonder why i hate capitalism; i'm moving to fucking cuba.
Here's my letter to apple
.Mac (what a silly name) service.
Hello
I have to say I am extremely disappointed by the annoncement that the free iTools service will become the expensive
I was under the impression, given to me by Apple, that iTools - anc specifically the mac.com email address, was free for life - this feels like a bait and then charge scam, something I had believed Apple was incapable of stooping to.
I resent being made to pay 100 dollars a year for a free email service (as that's what I use) and I guess I will have to resign myself to tell everyone I know (those same people I have been evangelising Apple and iTools to for years) that my email address is chainging AGAIN. They will all laugh and say things like "I told you so".
I like my computer, but it is becoming harder and harder to justify the hardware expense of a Mac. Slowly but surely you are forcing me to pay for those features (individually) that make a mac "insanely great". I can't afford 100 dollars here and there. I already pay for many other software packages. I can get the functionality that iTools and the other apple specific software elsewhere - often free or shareware. Sure I lose that ease of use, but I am not sure I want to own something from a manufacturer who dangles a carrot in my face - even lets me lick it, and then chanrges me to eat it, when I can go and pick carrots (maybe not such nice ones) from my garden.
This could severely backfire and I suspect will cause a LOT of negative press - I can see now why you were so hasty to chuck out the "rumour" sites. I, for one, will be making damn sure that as many publications as possible report this disgusting move on your part and I will no longer be recommending Apple Macs to my friends and family (I have personally, up to now, converted a large number of people). Whilst I still believe you have a superior product, I cannot condone your actions and I am afraid this will be the last straw.
I need an new computer anyway. It was going to be a mac. It still mightm if you reconsider this rash decision. If not, it's off to Penguin-Land for me.
Yours, with tears in my eyes.
John Savage
PS This will be the end of an era. I have stood by Apple and their "interesting" decisions for well over a decade, until recently the only Mac user in a army of PC clones. I regret that I persuaded all my family and most of my friends into converting to the cause. I guess my (and their) few thousand dollars a year in hardware and software sales isn't worth keeping?
Troc's dubious podcast and blog: http://www.trocnet.net
"Anti-virus: $50 Once - not yearly"
You still have to get updates for new viruses
perhaps $20/year
"Backup: $40 online backup - does anyone do this?"
Yes, it's much better than going through tons
of cdr's, this is painless.
"100MB of online storage: $60 there are free hosting companies all over the net."
Most stink and none offer 100MB, for free.
"15MB of email storage, forwarding and POP/IMAP access: $40+ Free with my ISPBR"
No it's not free, you are paying for it. In
fact my ISP(ATTbi) sucks so bad when it comes
to email, I have another host my email acounts
(one for me and one for my wife). So I'm
paying $6/month. So $72/year, I get web/imap
pop and shell access.
"Home page creation and hosting: $60 Arent there template-style HomeSite(Builder) sites w/ free hosting on the net..? Again, free"
Yes, but are there any without their
advertising, annoyingly popping up on your
own page? I doubt it
$100/year = $8.33/month not a bad deal.
Especially the introductory $50/year = $4.17/month. That's cheaper than proper email hosting.
It has been statistically shown that helmets increase the risk of head injury.