Commercial Service Based On NotMac Challenge Solution

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
As some of you may be aware, the notMac Challenge is going on right now to create a "free" replacement to some of .Mac's services. I'm currently working on a response to the notMac Challenge, and I expect to arrive at a solution that fits the challenge requirements in about a month's time. Working on the challenge has made it very obvious that deploying a fully functional notMac server is going to be beyond the skills of most users. With the need for valid SSL certificates, custom WebDAV properties to support Sync Services and iDisk and many other details, configuring and running a notMac server is not a trivial task. So, I have been investigating the possibility of setting up a paid service that will be based on my notMac solution for people that do not want to pay the full price of .Mac and do not want to go through the process of installing their own server, but would still like to enjoy some of its benefits.



The service would initially provide the functionality required by the notMac challenge (mainly iDisk, Sync and Publishing), and may be extended if there is sufficient interest. I have already scoped out the cost of acquiring Xserves, an Xserve RAID, SAN equipment and high-bandwidth internet connectivity to get an idea of the startup and operational costs. Now, I'm trying to get a sense of the potential number of subscribers and what an acceptable price would be. I'd appreciate any feedback about this idea!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    Thanks for the (few) votes so far! In case it's not clear from the challenge website, here's the services that would be covered.
    • Publishing with iWeb

    • iDisk

    • Sync

    • Photocasting

    • Backup

    • Mail

    What won't be covered at the outset, but could be developed based on demand.
    • Groups

    • Browser based iDisk viewer

    • Webmail

    • Viewing Bookmarks and Address Book online

    A summary of .Mac's features can be found here.
  • Reply 2 of 6
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by King Chung Huang View Post


    Thanks for the (few) votes so far! In case it's not clear from the challenge website, here's the services that would be covered.
    • Publishing with iWeb

    • iDisk

    • Sync

    • Photocasting

    • Backup

    • Mail

    What won't be covered at the outset, but could be developed based on demand.

    [LIST][*]Groups[*]Browser based iDisk viewer[*]Webmail[*]Viewing Bookmarks and Address Book online



    A summary of .Mac's features can be found here.



    With .Mac being at least $70/yr. (usually $99 or more) I think the major question will be about disk space. I don't want to pay monthly for web-hosting, so I am considering purchasing .Mac for the convenience it offers, so in terms of being competitive, an alternative service would probably need to match or exceed .Mac's space limits.



    I'll go ahead and mention that I voted for $30 or more, since I see anything up to about half of what Apple charges as feasible, as long as the service is reliable, secure, equivalent in terms of convenience, and as easy to set up and use.
  • Reply 3 of 6
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by CoolHandPete View Post


    With .Mac being at least $70/yr. (usually $99 or more) I think the major question will be about disk space. I don't want to pay monthly for web-hosting, so I am considering purchasing .Mac for the convenience it offers, so in terms of being competitive, an alternative service would probably need to match or exceed .Mac's space limits.



    Good point. .Mac's 1 GB of email + disk space does pale in comparison to Google and other services today. It'd be hard to compete with the gobs of disk space that companies like Dreamhost offers though. What would be an acceptable amount of space? 2 GB? 5 GB? More?
  • Reply 4 of 6
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by King Chung Huang View Post


    Good point. .Mac's 1 GB of email + disk space does pale in comparison to Google and other services today. It'd be hard to compete with the gobs of disk space that companies like Dreamhost offers though. What would be an acceptable amount of space? 2 GB? 5 GB? More?



    Quite frankly, I think what would be acceptable would be what the market could bear. We're talking about a commercial service here. As a consumer, I want fair market value - nothing more, nothing less. This is what capitalism is based upon - an agreement between two parties by which there is mutual benefit.



    That's a long way of saying that I have no clue what server space costs and what hosts are currently selling it for. In order to stay afloat in the ever-changing internet market, I would expect one of two things to be maleable: (a) the price point, or (b) the amount of space. If, today, I pay $XX.xx for XX GB of space, and tomorrow, the same amount of space is selling elsewhere for ($XX.xx - $X.xx), I'll likely switch unless there's a compelling reason for me to stay - namely, either a price decrease or a space increase.



    The problem with big companies is that their price points typically stay the same (a smart choice, in my opinion, since you can never really RAISE a price point once your target market has locked onto it), and the other variables take too long to adjust. Of course, bigger companies can bear the ebbs and flows of the customer in- and out-flows as a result of changes that react slowly to the market, but smaller companies go bust unless they stay on their toes.



    I guess what would be nice to see in a .Mac competitor would be that they beat Apple to the punch when it comes to improvements in features. Neither .Mac or .NotMac need to change their prices so long as they remain competitive in terms of what the customers require.



    This is an interesting thought experiment. I'll be glad to see what turns out of this project of yours. Best of luck with it -
  • Reply 5 of 6
    there's definitely something to do with Amazon S3 cheap storage
  • Reply 6 of 6
    Very interested here. If only to make Apple wake up and realise customers want a solution with fewer tools which work well, rather than all the add-ons they're not interested in. So I guess a modular pricing would be pretty nice for me anyway. My main wants:
    • IMAP Mail (essential) with a decent address name (ie not [email protected])

    • WebDAV which will actually work on both Mac and PC, or even better, SVN

    • Synchronisation of Address Book and Calendar which can be edited online and also cross-platform (like Plaxo)

    • Bookmark synchronisation which actually works (like Foxmarks on Firefox)

    As for publishing web pages and photo sharing etc, please leave that to .Mac to carry on p!ssing about with. It's only of interest to home hobbyists. There are much better more professional tools on the market and I'd rather not waste any of my subscription fee on a service which allows Billy Moron to upload his holiday snaps...
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