Poll:Will you (or have you) be subscribing to Apple's new .Mac Service?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll:Will you (or have you) be subscribing to Apple's new .Mac Service? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=5&ref=forums.macrumors.com)

[Durandal7]

Wow, the poll craze even got to arn and blake. ;)

I like the idea, these will be more professional then some of the polls in Community Discussion.

[Mr. Anderson]

Ah, very cool. I'm liking the more 'official' approach as well. As for an answer to this question....

there will be no subscription in my future.

D

[G4scott]

I'll have a subscription, but mostly to keep my e-mail address. I've given it to so many people, it'd be a pain to tell everyone, and I'd probably miss an important e-mail...

[Macmaniac]

I won't be continuing my .mac service, I just can't justify spending money on something I don't use much. Only prob I'm out in the cold for posting movies:(
My parents won't let me anyway.

(Steals G4Scott's pants)

[vniow]

Don't plan to. If I could get a little more space on iDisk and a broadband connection maybe, but not now.

(Steals Macmaniac's pants which were origionally G4scott's and also takes his shoes for compensation)

[MacUser1]

I've signed up mainly for the e-mail and the future services (iCal and iSync). Others in my family also signed up, mainly for the HomePage features.

[firewire2001]

it doesnt look like im ever gonna get iTools.. unless tey have some email based thang or something...

im gonna get fastmail.. its really a bummer since all my friends know my .Mac address.. but its too bad what its turned into...

-f

[jaykk]

I think I am happy with $49 charge for the first year. i just upgraded and downloaded the Virex.
Apple is promising more for .mac users

[big]

>(Steals Macmaniac's pants which were origionally G4scott's and also takes his shoes for compensation)

why is pants stealing so BIG now? I just got mine taken away like 30 minutes ago....

[xelterran]

does the homepage part support any scripts like php/cgi/pearl etc..?? i would seriously concider subscribing if they had these features...

[MikeH]

I think there should be more options or packages rather than just a blanket $99 all or nothing fee.

How about a cheap option for people who just want to keep their xxxx@mac.com e-mail addresses and/or websites.

$99 is way to much if you are not going to use all the features.

[big]

>does the homepage part support any scripts like php/cgi/pearl etc..?? i would seriously concider subscribing if they had these features...

that would be KOO! think if they were already installed, all you had to do was edit them. nice thought!

[Timothy]

I think a lot of the criticism of the .mac service has been misplaced. I answered the poll saying that I will never subscribe to .mac, but not out of anger. I just don't fit the target audience for such services.

.Mac is primarily targeted to basic consumers. Many of us on this forum tend to be much more technical, more demanding when it comes to the services offered. So, I think it unfair to criticize .mac for not meeting our needs, when it meets the needs of other, more basic consumers, quite nicely.

For those of you who need to know that you will have the same email address from here to eternity, why not buy your own domain? It is not that expensive, and it is much more professional. Additionally, I'd not use the basic services offered on .mac because I want even great functionality, and will tend to develop those services on my own.

But, for those users around us, our parents, friends, and others who tend to be less technical, I think we'd do them and Apple a great service by steering them towards .mac, and not just bitching because it doesn't happen to fit our specific needs. It does provide a valuable service for those who would use it.

[bealss]

I am figuring I will get the $50 use out of the services. The inclusion of the Virex subscription was a selling point because I think it's likely that more Viruses will be written for OSX than previous OS's, partly because it's Unix which gives you a broader base of michief loving hackers, and partly becaause an expanding base of users gives them a bigger target to fire at.

But I fear the $100 price tag for continuing the service will mean a huge drop off next September. Perhaps they will have enough users by then to either hold the price down (or offer a hefty renewal discount) or add some worthwhile services.

[Backtothemac]

Well, I would have bought it just to keep my address. I don't have to because I got it free from the Learn and Earn program.

:)

[eyelikeart]

this is pretty damned cool....everyone's really coming together here at Macrumors... :D

no I won't be subscribing...doesn't seem worth it to me...I already have a few email addresses...wasn't getting anything spectacular from the mac.com one... ;)

[big]

subscribe? neither will EYE. the thing is, all your internet providers offer about the same thing, disk space, email etc etc.

[arn]

I think the results are interesting...

as of this writing

47% have said they have subscribed
53% are no or undecided.

Close to Macedition's 45% report...

arn

[bousozoku]

Considering that Virex subscriptions themselves were $75 at one point, .Mac doesn't seem such a bad deal. If you also consider that you can't buy a single copy of Virex for Mac OS X, it's one way to stay away from Norton Anti-Virus, without resorting to Intego Virus Barrier.

[firewire2001]

Originally posted by bousozoku
Considering that Virex subscriptions themselves were $75 at one point, .Mac doesn't seem such a bad deal. If you also consider that you can't buy a single copy of Virex for Mac OS X, it's one way to stay away from Norton Anti-Virus, without resorting to Intego Virus Barrier.

the thing is though...

1. how many ppl have virus protection for their macs anyways -- there are practically no viruses out there for mac anytways.. :knock on wood::..

2. most people dontant to pay for all the stuff it offers, when they can just get free email anyways.. which is what most ppl want.. anyways.. ill bet like only 20% of all the users on .mac have thei own homepage, anyways..

-f

[peterjhill]

I got it august 1st, and am happy that they extended my first year by two months. I am glad I did. I have a superfast connection at work (gige connected to 3 OC-3's) and idisk is wicked fast. @mac.com is my primary email. Can't complain

[Hambone]

I'm a an elementary art teacher. I received a grant last year to incorporate technology into the art classroom. The students and I have created 5 websites displaying their artwork and photographs using iTools. The easiest way to keep them running was for me to pay the $49.00 fee myself. The district wouldn't spring for it.

Soooooo, yeah I joined this year, to keep the district websites up, but probably won't next year when I have to pay $100. Can't afford that.

Hambone:(

Gotta do what you gotta do.

[Lz0]

"Positive Revenue Streams"

If you have a free product that a lot of people are using that you don't want to support anymore, what do you do???

1. Kill the product, piss a lot of your customer base off and cop a heap of negative press in the process.

2. Introduce a nominal fee just to cover your costs.

3. Charge a huge fee thus giving the company another "Positive Revenue Stream".

[dmmcintyre3]

You mean mobile me? I will probably not.

[dazz]

the old .Mac for a year, but I never really used it. too slow for me.

[iPhoneNYC]

I've been a .Mac subscriber for a couple of years and now I'm a Mobile Me subscriber. First, I hate the name Mobile Me. I went to .Mac because of iDisk which I think is great. The mail part isn't that great - the worst is it's search capacity which takes forever. GMail is a snap with this same function. .Mac often goes down. In fact, .Mac goes down so often I had to mirror everything to GMail. So between the two accounts I feel I have one complete service.

[speeddemon2]

You mean mobile me? I will probably not.

This thread was started in 2001, hence the reference to .Mac. :eek:

[alphaod]

You mean mobile me? I will probably not.

Are you drunk?