How many people are going to be turning those iTools email accounts into a Hotmail one. Charging for free e-mail, way to betray all 2.2 million iTools account members, Apple. Cause I'm betting free e-mail aint worth 100 smackers a year.
i'm still having problems getting the stream, but if that's what's happening, that's f*cking bullsh*t! they've definately got some balls.... first up the imac prices and now charge for a free service.... doesn't make much sense.
<strong>i understand that those services cost money. but i don't WANT them. i just want free email.</strong><hr></blockquote>Yeah, Same here. I too wish there could me subscription "tiers" so you could just get the e-mail. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
Likewise, I only ever use my mac.com e-mail account, nothing else. I am not paying $49 for that - it is going to be a hassle, but I am going to have to leave mac.com behind. Can't see why they can't offer just the e-mail for free.
I agree. More pay structures would be welcome. It's typical to charge a more proportionally for fewer services, since it takes about the same amount of overhead, but I think Apple could handle it. Mac.com e-mail at least would be a good thing to keep free, or be a good thing to subscribe to on its own. It complicates the out-of-box experience this way.
I thought there was going to be an option to purchase the additional services - for $99. To make everyone pay the premium whether they want to use them or not is a bit much.
Are they offering a dialup account too for the price? I have broadband so I never really noticed. If this is the case, than that price is good for those using modems and or for those that are new to the internet. Since I have RoadRunner, I may just going to configure Mail to use that account. That is, if I don't decide to upgrade (since it will only be $49 - try it out for a year). 100MB of storage is nice - but can it be used with any FTP program? Or is it exclusive to just .mac via OS X?
Also, why did he say that Hotmail was not free? Is MS charging for Hotmail now?
<strong>How many people are going to be turning those iTools email accounts into a Hotmail one.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Given that Hotmail is now charging $20/month [edit: $20/year - thanks groverat! I was wondering...] according to Steve's slide, not many.
So you're paying more for a Passport-linked, insecure spam magnet that (I just found out) thinks that Mozilla is "no longer supported" and that you should "upgrade" to IE 4 or Netscape 4.08.
Yahoo's charging too. Free POP mail is dying. It was supported by advertizing revenues, and then those fell through the floor. Given what you're getting, the .mac price is fair. Of course if it was free it would be nicer for us, but as it is it looks good relative to the competition.
Part of me is wondering whether one goal of this strategy is to pump some money into the ailing Earthlink. Apple lost a chunk of change on their Earthlink and Akamai investments last quarter, and they might be trying to buoy their partners up (among other things).
I'm really of two minds when it comes to this. On the one hand, it sucks to have to pay for something that was heretofore free. I really like all the services I get with iTools. They all were easy to use, free, etc. Now I've got to figure out what to do. For myself, it's an easy decision. For my family and significant other, who just used the email, it's a little tougher.
OTOH, as kickaha noted in another post, .mac is more than just email and web-space. The infrastructure is there for some amazing, amazing things. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Apple has to offer in leveraging this technology and I'll be willing to pony up the $50 for it. Now, about those email addresses... Can I divy them up between friends and family or not? I'll have to check it out.
Folks. Remember paying customers have a much stronger voice. Apple now has to "work" to keep your business. Just like Tipping brings better service at a restaraunt..you will be the beneficiary of "better" service.
Basic Hotmail and Yahoo! webmail is free but you have to suffer through advertisements and promotional emails. If you want expanded capacity and fewer advertisements you have to pay.
Apple, like Hotmail and Yahoo!, should offer a basic free webmail service and charge for anything else. But then again, I expect Apple not to just equal Hotmail, but to exceed it. So far that's not happening with Apples webmail.
I hate the fact that Apple is leading the way to a subscription based internet. Along with the rest of them. You can lead or follow in this world, and if you don't follow your leading. That is why Apple the guys from Real One on there first.
I only used the nice pop mail provided by Apple at mac.com, however that was all I used.
I really think this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Us Mac defenders have been using all the cool bundled software and services to justify the absurd hardware prices. Now Apple is charging for a .1 update ($129 too damn 10.1 to 10.2) and also charging for all the services on top of charging beyond top dollar for the hardware.
Comments
Remember, these services cost lots of money, especially for 2+ million subscribers.
*crickets chriping*
<strong>i understand that those services cost money. but i don't WANT them. i just want free email.</strong><hr></blockquote>Yeah, Same here. I too wish there could me subscription "tiers" so you could just get the e-mail. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
Are they offering a dialup account too for the price? I have broadband so I never really noticed. If this is the case, than that price is good for those using modems and or for those that are new to the internet. Since I have RoadRunner, I may just going to configure Mail to use that account. That is, if I don't decide to upgrade (since it will only be $49 - try it out for a year). 100MB of storage is nice - but can it be used with any FTP program? Or is it exclusive to just .mac via OS X?
Also, why did he say that Hotmail was not free? Is MS charging for Hotmail now?
Surely the full subscription cost from a percentage of the installed user base should cover the most of the cost of running .mac.
Screed ...not an economics major...
<strong>How many people are going to be turning those iTools email accounts into a Hotmail one.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Given that Hotmail is now charging $20/month [edit: $20/year - thanks groverat! I was wondering...] according to Steve's slide, not many.
So you're paying more for a Passport-linked, insecure spam magnet that (I just found out) thinks that Mozilla is "no longer supported" and that you should "upgrade" to IE 4 or Netscape 4.08.
Yahoo's charging too. Free POP mail is dying. It was supported by advertizing revenues, and then those fell through the floor. Given what you're getting, the .mac price is fair. Of course if it was free it would be nicer for us, but as it is it looks good relative to the competition.
Part of me is wondering whether one goal of this strategy is to pump some money into the ailing Earthlink. Apple lost a chunk of change on their Earthlink and Akamai investments last quarter, and they might be trying to buoy their partners up (among other things).
[ 07-17-2002: Message edited by: Amorph ]
[ 07-17-2002: Message edited by: Amorph ]</p>
OTOH, as kickaha noted in another post, .mac is more than just email and web-space. The infrastructure is there for some amazing, amazing things. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Apple has to offer in leveraging this technology and I'll be willing to pony up the $50 for it. Now, about those email addresses... Can I divy them up between friends and family or not? I'll have to check it out.
My Grandparents boycotted the Internet when it came out.
<strong>Given that Hotmail is now charging $20/month according to Steve's slide, not many.</strong><hr></blockquote>
$20 per year
10MB e-mail storage
McAfee virus scanning
Apple, like Hotmail and Yahoo!, should offer a basic free webmail service and charge for anything else. But then again, I expect Apple not to just equal Hotmail, but to exceed it. So far that's not happening with Apples webmail.
It does cost them money, that's for sure. I also know people with 5 or 10 iDisks set up - that's got to cost them alot.
BUT, we already pay a pretty significant premium when we buy a Macintosh - $100 US a year for .Mac seems like a lot to me.
I really think this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Us Mac defenders have been using all the cool bundled software and services to justify the absurd hardware prices. Now Apple is charging for a .1 update ($129 too damn 10.1 to 10.2) and also charging for all the services on top of charging beyond top dollar for the hardware.
Nick