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What's the likely future of .Mac?

r-sparks

r-sparks

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 1, 2006
255
0
England
I've signed up for the trial of .Mac. The only feature I want is the offsite backup, which can be done via iDisk and the Backup program. If my Mac gets stolen then I have some protection.

A quick search of the web shows that lots of people are dissatisfied with .Mac. Most of the gripes centre around the services being available for free elsewhere, and the high price. In the UK where I am it's £70 -- around $140! That said, it's still cheaper than paying a monthly fee for offsite backup. Additionally, some of the offsite backup services look pretty disreputable.

But what will the future of .Mac be? I've got until mid-April to pay-up. Bearing in mind that Leopard might be launched before then, complete with its own backup software, is it likely that .Mac will be radically altered in some way, or that it will have a price drop?
 
I'm also in the UK, but i thought £70 a year was a bit much compared to what the US is paying, so i use my lacie for backup, and send a dual-layer or three every month to a friends house as offsite. When you say 'Leopard's own backup service', are you referring to Time Machine?
 
I signed up for the .Mac trial and let it lapse at the end. I liked the features but not for £70!
 
Personally I'd like to see the price come down. I think more people would be willing to stay on as regular .Mac users, if only for the backup services and maybe .mac email accounts if it was more like $49/year. I know Macs are priced at a slight premium, but I don't think they can really afford to price their online service at a premium.

The other option (no flaming please) would be a partnership with Google (with whom Apple has close business ties). .mac mail accounts could retain that domain, but be run as Gmail accounts. iCal could automatically sync with Google calendar (without a 3rd party solution). iWeb could link with Blogger ... etc ... etc. For free with ads, ad-free for a small fee. Backup services as a separate add-on.

I know ... heretical talk, but think how much more people would use this stuff if it were done that way?
 
If you could translate £50/year and throw in the services you've listed i'd pay ....................................................NOW :D :D :D :D
 
I really like dotMac - be lost without that sync between my Macs. I also use Yojimbo which syncs all my on-going miscellaneous saved notes, particular bookmarks and web/pdf archives etc which is excellent!

It is too expensive! I'm hoping that the price might slim before my renewal date in May?

The other issue is back-up. With BT offering their file 20GB Digital Vault for £4.99/month plus auto back-up manager (PC only for now) - dotMac needs to offer more for less!

http://www.btdigitalvault.bt.com/
 
I've had .Mac twice when it's been on offer - bought the second one a few weeks ago during the Black Friday sale. In between I kept my email account going through a friend. It's a pity that can only be done through a full .Mac member. I'd like to know I can keep my email account going, even if it costs a bit more doing it alone than doing it through someone else.

Yes, it is too expensive. I like it but won't pay £70 for it, and yes, I think £49 is about right. Wouldn't complain if it was a less though!
 
nawlej said:
Personally I'd like to see the price come down. I think more people would be willing to stay on as regular .Mac users, if only for the backup services and maybe .mac email accounts if it was more like $49/year. I know Macs are priced at a slight premium, but I don't think they can really afford to price their online service at a premium.

The other option (no flaming please) would be a partnership with Google (with whom Apple has close business ties). .mac mail accounts could retain that domain, but be run as Gmail accounts. iCal could automatically sync with Google calendar (without a 3rd party solution). iWeb could link with Blogger ... etc ... etc. For free with ads, ad-free for a small fee. Backup services as a separate add-on.

I know ... heretical talk, but think how much more people would use this stuff if it were done that way?
Click to expand...

I think this is a great idea. I mean a lot of people have already begun to "roll their own" dotmac using Google services anyway. When free services can do all of the same things as your $100 service, it is time to make some changes. Having said all that, I actually do own a dotmac membership. Not sure if I will renew it, though. I just wanted the backup software, and with Leopard that won't be as necessary (Time Machine).
 
£70 is a bit steep. I've paid twice now and both times were less than retail. Once off ebay and second at London Apple Store in the sales for £48. Look around or ask one of our American friends to help out as all you need is the reg. number. There is bugger all in the box!

My brother in Canada got his for about £30 in best buy.

Just to clarify. .Mac is ALWAYS on sale - you have just gotta look.

And yes I think the services on offer are quite good as there is a lot of variety. I sync my macs, have a website, email, backup and file share using it.
 
Had iMac for a couple weeks, never opened the box, returned it. Felt for my needs, too high of a cost. External harddrive, plus gmail, etc. all fit my desires, for now.
 
r-sparks said:
I've signed up for the trial of .Mac. The only feature I want is the offsite backup, which can be done via iDisk and the Backup program. If my Mac gets stolen then I have some protection.
Click to expand...

If you only want the offsite backup, I've been looking at http://www.crashplan.com

The reviews so far seem pretty good.. backing up to them is $5 for 50GB, but the best part is that you can install it on multiple PCs/Macs (and eventually Linux supposedly), and backup to each other without the monthly charge
 
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