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The changes might justify the cost of the membership. Apple should at least give a free year with new purchases. The 60 day trial is just too limited.

May 09, 08 - 10:25 am Comment from: John Gee

iPod touch... $20 upgrade again?

May 09, 08 - 10:27 am Comment from: THE.MAC.GOD

Exactly what I've beens aying SHOULD happen since launch. Thank you.

May 09, 08 - 10:30 am Comment from: Connor MacBook

Cloud Computing® is go! Mobile Me, anyone?

May 09, 08 - 10:32 am Comment from: Connor MacBook

P.S. Does this mean anything for Yahoo! push e-mail?

This rocks!!! On a comical note this is just what Bill Gates said in his keynote in January ("Cloud computing", "everything we do will be over the internet" , "online storage" etc.). It's hilarious that Apple will be the first company to make it come true! How long will he let Ballmer run the show?

Disclaimer: I don't follow Bill Gates keynotes at all, this is the part I picked up in a short article so I could be wrong.

This story is all over the place the last couple of days and I just want to point out how dumb it is.

The header is always "Major re-vamp of .Mac services" and then all that is mentioned is over the air syncing for iPhone. Those two things are incompatible.

I have .Mac already and the mail already syncs so frequently that it's virtually indistinguishable from push email anyway. If you have .Mac, all your computers are already synced (contacts, bookmarks, email, and much more), and your iPhone or iPod touch syncs with one of those computers, so it already is in constant sync with everything anyway.

Sure it would be nice to have over the air syncing for portables, but this just doesn't equate to "a major revamp."

Also, all those people whining about the "expensive" 100 bucks a year fee are idiots IMO. It works out to 8 or 9 bucks a month for cripes sake! How is it that people are perfectly okay paying 600 bucks for a phone and 100 bucks a month to the phone company for the privilege of using it, but the price of a couple of cups of coffee is too much to pay for an online portal?

May 09, 08 - 10:46 am Comment from: TowerTone

"Revamp"? When was it vamped?

I guess I don't understand what .Mac push email will do, since my iPhone gets my email as soon as my computer. Corporate emails servers and such? Mine is already forwarded to my .Mac, but I guess this way you can keep them separate, rather than combined?

May 09, 08 - 10:47 am Comment from: Jay-Z

@ Johnsson:

Who DOES follow a Gates keynote any more? The man is so out of touch.

These would be very welcome changes to .Mac. I do find WWDC a curious place to introduce them, considering that it's a developers' conference and Apple usually gears product announcements to that. Maybe the iPhone developer kit is enough justification, or they just plain don't care.

I've had .Mac since it was iTools (free), and I love it. Effortless website creation, Photocasting with my scattered family, Sync from my MacBook to my iMac to my work Mac Pro, iDisk (use Transmit to access files, it is 1000 times faster than Finder) and my name @mac.com

It just doesn't get any sweeter!

May 09, 08 - 10:54 am Comment from: iDon't

Will it be free?

I've so far not been interested in a .Mac account. The price, storage and features aren't all that compelling to me, yet.

I think Apple should take some of that big pile of cash they're sitting on and set up a .Mac network with a meaningful amount of storage AT NO COST to customers who have purchased both Macs and iPhones/Touch.

It would provide a great incentive to those of us who have invested in the technology. Maybe everyone would get free .Mac with something like 5 GB of storage, and then those who need more storage than that can buy it at something like $10 per month for each additional 10 gigs.

Even my wife's crappy hotmail account gets her 5 gigs of space for no cost (other than some mildly annoying ads).

Apple should at least set aside enough free storage for iCal information to be stored. That alone would be compelling and would sell some systems.

I want to be able to use my iDisk on my iPhone. I want it to work like Box.net kinda sorta.

Question: "iPod touch... $20 upgrade again?" - John Gee
Answer: Yes!

Question: "Does this mean anything for Yahoo! push e-mail?" - Connor MacBook

Answer: Yes, and even more!

Question: "Will it be free?" - iDon't
Answer: No, never from Apple!

"I think Apple should take some of that big pile of cash they're sitting on and set up a .Mac network with a meaningful amount of storage AT NO COST to customers who have purchased both Macs and iPhones/Touch."

Great idea but will it be sustainable on the long run? I have my doubts... won't the costs eat all their so called big pile of cash?

@Midwest Mac
It WAS free. It was called iTools.

May 09, 08 - 11:11 am Comment from: HMCIV

More storage? Faster file transfers?

The best way to revamp .Mac and to make anyone really use it and take it seriously would be to offer it for free with a registered Mac, iPhone, or iPod purchase. Truth is, I used EWorld more than I have my trials of .Mac. iDisk made a turtle look like a Ferrari.
Super pump it up, then make it free, and it could make the other social networks look like Hillary in a thong in comparison.

May 09, 08 - 11:18 am Comment from: DogGone

Sounds like .Mac will be more integrated with web browsers. Calenders can't be accessed via a web browser which can be a pain when you don't have your mac with you.

Apple needs to have /Mac work with PCs if they want to be used in businesses. Licencing exchange means that they can now connect ot those servers. It's the thin edge of the wedge. M$ did it to Apple in the 80's and 90's and now it's pay back time.

May 09, 08 - 11:18 am Comment from: Zune Tang®

I've been rocking the .Windows service since its inception. It has great tools for updating Excel charts remotely, topping off Zune points and viewing ad-supported faxes through the Outlook interface when I'm on the road. My e-mail address is an @windows.com address!

I am especially excited about the prospects for a ZunePhone tie-in in the near future. I'm looking forward to further leaks about that soon.

Your potential. Our passion.™

May 09, 08 - 11:22 am Comment from: DLMeyer

I'm another of those "used .Mac since it was iTools" guys. And I've been happy with it, mostly. A little grumpy about the latest "bargain" ... $30 off iLife '08? I bought a Family Pack months ago! The package seems to be continuously a step behind the other "cloud" packages, relying on "elegance" and the fact that the others offer either overkill or ads. I was just about to reconsider just before the last revamp. Another revamp is due. The mentioned upgrades, though, are less than compelling.
And, yes ... I agree with those who feel that six months or a year of 'free' .Mac service ought to go along with a Mac purchase. Or, perhaps, a cost reduction based on the cost of the product you bought.

May 09, 08 - 11:39 am Comment from: ChrissyOne

I've been in since iTools as well. The Sync feature alone makes the price worth it, since I have machines all over at work and home and elsewhere. Happiness is never having to figure out where your bookmarks are.
But there is a lot I just plain don't use. I don't really use my email account much. I have my own web server so the only thing they're hosting is some old photo albums.
100 bucks is still a bit steep.

@Mac+

I honestly don't know what it would cost Apple to host a bunch of servers for people to use in the long term. But, for most people, even 1 gig would be enough space to utilize most of the features of .Mac — especially syncing e-mail and iCal stuff.

I'm just saying that it adds value to the devices that Apple sells, and guys like me don't feel like paying $100 or so a year to take advantage of some nifty built-in features — no matter how nifty they are.

That, or give people a YEAR free instead of 60 days. For me, two months isn't enough time to really use something enough to never be able to live without it ever again . . .

May 09, 08 - 11:54 am Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ MidWest Mac

True. I can't remember how long iTools was free, but it was enough to get me hooked.

Over-the-air syncing.... that is exactly what I have been wanting with the iPhone. I am PSYCHED!

@Jeremy
8 bucks is alot considering lately we're all adding more than 8 bucks PER tankfull.
Syncing is just about the only real cool differentiation of .Mac. Now if Apple would redefine social networking and the interaction thereof with their entire product line, then the world could get changed yet again. Google and yes, hotmail took off because they were yes, FREE! You've got to get volumes of people there FIRST before you can get the opportunity to nickel and dime them with your slick interactive GUI.
Home on iPhone/iPod/iMac...all for free!!

@Jeremy
Dude. You hit the nail on the head.

May 09, 08 - 11:59 am Comment from: John Gee

I am an iTools user. (formerly)

.mac takes the thought out of syncing, makes it easy, and is actually handy in another way: any browser on any computer opens up a .mac interface panel where you can access addresses, mail, bookmarks, as if you were on your Mac, or close to it.

Buy your .Mac on Amazon for $30 cheaper.

May 09, 08 - 12:02 pm Comment from: MrScrith

"Hillary in a Thong"

dammit man! now I need a therapist...

May 09, 08 - 12:09 pm Comment from: rahrens

Midwest Mac;

You have more than 10 gigs of iCal information?

To be compelling to the general public, .mac needs to be free. I don't think .mac has sold very well at all, and probably a large percentage of those sales are to people who didn't know any better and were pushed into buying it with their new Mac. With some creative reshaping, .mac could be turned into a loss leader, similar to the way Apple looks at iTunes. It would be really cool for Apple to be able to provide with every iPhone, a free .mac push email address, calendar/contact syncing, and a place to directly upload/store/view photos you took on your iPhone. They could even integrate blogging features directly to your iWeb webpage.

May 09, 08 - 12:19 pm Comment from: Cubert

I just hope Apple doesn't continue to go the way of requiring .Mac for certain features or functions to work on their products. (example - back to my Mac)

@midwest mac:
It's a matter of taste; I don't mindpaying to avoid ads, the cost really isn't that great. IMHO ads are the biggest headache on the internet rght now. I hate them and never click on them.
just my 2 cents...

May 09, 08 - 12:33 pm Comment from: maclife

I'm looking forward to the change to .mac as yahoo mail is NOT reliable and I usually have to manually force mail to poll to my phone. If .mac adds even more value added features to make the price of entry worth it - all the better. M|L

Hey Blue Dream:

Not $8 - ZERO added per 'tankful'.

No tank.

May 09, 08 - 02:53 pm Comment from: Jim - TIV

I'm with those of you who got in when it was iTools. There was a little knows folder burried on the idisk called "freeplay" that held 2.6 gigs of free music loops in 10, 15, 20, 30 45, and 1.5 min segments. Complete mixes of tunes totally royalty free. Took me about 2 months on a slow connection to download it all.

Now it sells for about a grand online at freeplay.com

Wonder what happened, did the guy work for apple and then leave?

May 09, 08 - 02:55 pm Comment from: Jim - TIV

should have read "little KNOWN folder"

If .Mac added over-the-air calendar sync for the iPhone, I just might spring for it. It would be so nice to not have to remember to stick the phone in the cradle every day or two to make sure that both calendars have all my events on them. (I usually just plug the iPhone into the wall charger in a different room when the battery is low)

May 09, 08 - 05:12 pm Comment from: Ferf Muckmeyer

WOW.

This is a big step that will get the attention of the enterprise market. Wonder if Ballmer is still wagging his tongue now?

May 09, 08 - 09:37 pm Comment from: Scott in Japan

I hope that with this upgrade they add the ability to designate one Mac as the 'master'. More than once I've had my address book and calendar muffed up for some mysterious reason.

for those who don't know, .Mac gives you 10GB of space now.

Mobile Me is a suck-egg name, though... surely they can come up with something better