.mac is actually a very good value, anyway you look at it. For those of you who just want free email, go to yahoo and look at the ads all day, that's how they get paid. .mac doesn't have ads. For those who want srongly integrated web services, use .mac, its a steal.
For those who haven't noticed, web space is actually increasing in price.
My host charges $9.99 a month (more than .mac) I get a few emails and 500 mgs of space. Now that's more than .mac gives, but it costs more too. I don't get tight integration and automatic uploads from the desktop. I use fetch, which is funtional, but nothing like .mac's integration. You can buy doman names and forward them to .mac accounts.
Now, .mac is 99$ a yar for full price. I see hosting ads now that offer 50 megs of space, restricted bandwidth, and no doman registration for $8.95 a month ($107.40 a year) plus a $40 set up fee (one time.)
Face it, .mac is a good deal for the services you get. There is no more free email anywhere. even free services make you see ads which are apying for it.