So we get no new power macs, and have to pay for itools.
Apple please give me a reason to start liking you once more.
Pull your heads out of your arses and take the hints,
You ignored everyones pleads for cd rw now in my view you are ignoring a pent up need, or want for PDA's
(hopefully you'll prove me wrong and release a revolutionary PDA idevice that no one knew they needed. But until then wake up, and see the writing on the wall. eventually you'll have to listen to the masses.)
I just read two posts that are being sent to Apple as feedback on this .Mac thing. I am going to post them here, because at first glance I'm inclined to agree with them. I think they're very well written:
Posted by qwerpafw:
[quote].Mac is all well and good. Sure, y'all blatantly ripped the name off microsoft's .net initiative, but I guess that doesn't matter significantly. You offer new features, expanded integration, and better windows compatibility. Even better, you multiply the storage space by a factor of 5. But there is a problem. A big problem. You started charging for even the most basic services, charging *after* people got used to using them.
The real issue lies in two things: the email and the support info. Myself, and many many other people, were willing to spend the extra cash requirede for the purchase of a macintosh computer because we felt Apple included many value-adding features. One of these (major) features was iTools. With iTools you got, most significantly, a working pop3 email account for free, with spam-armoring and integration with the OS. So, like many other people, I signed up. My mac.com account is now my main email address, and I use it for everything. If you require people to pay, I would have to cancel my account, which would be very difficult due to the number of people I converse with regularly. A second issue with regard to the .mac rollout would be support. I have often used the support boards and knowledgebase to fix problems with my computer, ensuring a good user experience on my end. If you require paying to access these features, I might as well have bought a windows machine and subscribed to a support plan.
So you see, iTools, and its 'freeness,' was a major factor in why I choose to buy a mac. Remove iTools, and I will likely switch to a PC in the future.
I can envision a new 'Switch' ad... A PC user who deried the exorbiant amounts apple charges for its hardware, pointing out how they continue to add charges at every opportunity. Is this the scenario you want? Think long and hard. Charging for extra storage is great, and many people already pay... however, you should keep the email free, as well as the support boards. Charging for something that people expected to have for free, something that you advertised as free, as part of the bonus of buying a mac, not only is shameful, but stinks of bait-and-switch.<hr></blockquote>
Posted by gEEk:
[quote]Not even a diluted free option? This is a *major* faux pas on Apple's part. Much like a drug dealer who offers the "first hit free", Apple has gotten millions of users to allow iTools to become entrenched in their computing experiences, only to require a fee to keep using it. I use my iTools account for my primary email, homepage, sharing pictures, etc. My fiancee also has begun using her .mac email as her primary at my suggestion. Now I have to explain to her why a chunk of our wedding/new house fund must go to Apple for her to *continue* using what was free for so long. Has this been Apple's plan from the beginning?
What about iPhoto? This has been touted as a simple and free way to share pictures with family and friends. Not anymore! Now, new users will have to pony up an additional $100 just to post their pictures to their homepage account! And this is after paying the premium to have a Apple product in the first place... where is the added value? The cost of ownership is going UP, and that was another area where Apple (previously) had an advantage over PC users.
This is a highly dubious action which will be met with a *tremendous* outcry from the loyal Macintosh users who already *pay a premium* to use Apple products.
The free basic iTools account for every Mac user was a fantastic selling point for Apple computers. Now, one more reason to prefer the Macintosh over the incresingly faster and cheaper PC products has disappeared.
At *least* offer a free service with only basic service and minimal service... come on; storage is only getting *cheaper* for everyone these days, and Apple even makes its own servers now! To even suggest that it is getting *more* expensive for Apple to provide this *tiny* amount of storage at a time when cost/gigabyte is dropping rapidly is an insult.
Mr. Jobs will be wearing eggs and tomatoes seconds after announcing this new policy at the Keynote today.<hr></blockquote>
My best friend is going to be replacing his aging PC with a new iMac after MWNY, after a couple years of prodding by me. One of the most important things to him was the ease of sharing photos & iMovies of his kids online for free. He loved how easy it was to put up a website, and the fact that it didn't cost you anything beyond the cost of the computer. I mean, we're already paying a very hefty premium to use a Macintosh, and this was a great perk. For this guy to buy an iMac is a bit of a stretch financially. I can't belive I have to tell him now that it'll cost him $150-160 CDN for to get it. Brutal.
Comments
BTW: <CONFIRMED> Jaguar is 10.2 and will NOT be released today</CONFIRMED>
Cheers,
Marc
Compare, though to this:
<a href="http://www.lowesthosting.com"; target="_blank">http://www.lowesthosting.com</a>;
which is ugly, ugly site. But it offers, for $4.95 / month (vs. $8 for .Mac):
* a domain name So instead of joesmith@mac.com you are joe@smith.net or whatever
* 30 MB space. (vs 100 with .Mac)
* unlimited email accounts (vs $10 per extra)
* Dynamic web hosting: PHP, etc. (vs just HTML)
How do you think it compares?
Apple please give me a reason to start liking you once more.
Pull your heads out of your arses and take the hints,
You ignored everyones pleads for cd rw now in my view you are ignoring a pent up need, or want for PDA's
(hopefully you'll prove me wrong and release a revolutionary PDA idevice that no one knew they needed. But until then wake up, and see the writing on the wall. eventually you'll have to listen to the masses.)
<strong> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> Apple changed it back. Did you take a screenie murbot?
J :cool: </strong><hr></blockquote>
Bastards!
This really bites...
I have no problem with Apple charging for those services, but I don't use iDisk, I don't maintain a web page, and I already have antivirus software.
The problem I have with the whole thing is they are FORCING us to switch over, so...
I will have to pay $100/year just for one email address!
Posted by qwerpafw:
[quote].Mac is all well and good. Sure, y'all blatantly ripped the name off microsoft's .net initiative, but I guess that doesn't matter significantly. You offer new features, expanded integration, and better windows compatibility. Even better, you multiply the storage space by a factor of 5. But there is a problem. A big problem. You started charging for even the most basic services, charging *after* people got used to using them.
The real issue lies in two things: the email and the support info. Myself, and many many other people, were willing to spend the extra cash requirede for the purchase of a macintosh computer because we felt Apple included many value-adding features. One of these (major) features was iTools. With iTools you got, most significantly, a working pop3 email account for free, with spam-armoring and integration with the OS. So, like many other people, I signed up. My mac.com account is now my main email address, and I use it for everything. If you require people to pay, I would have to cancel my account, which would be very difficult due to the number of people I converse with regularly. A second issue with regard to the .mac rollout would be support. I have often used the support boards and knowledgebase to fix problems with my computer, ensuring a good user experience on my end. If you require paying to access these features, I might as well have bought a windows machine and subscribed to a support plan.
So you see, iTools, and its 'freeness,' was a major factor in why I choose to buy a mac. Remove iTools, and I will likely switch to a PC in the future.
I can envision a new 'Switch' ad... A PC user who deried the exorbiant amounts apple charges for its hardware, pointing out how they continue to add charges at every opportunity. Is this the scenario you want? Think long and hard. Charging for extra storage is great, and many people already pay... however, you should keep the email free, as well as the support boards. Charging for something that people expected to have for free, something that you advertised as free, as part of the bonus of buying a mac, not only is shameful, but stinks of bait-and-switch.<hr></blockquote>
Posted by gEEk:
[quote]Not even a diluted free option? This is a *major* faux pas on Apple's part. Much like a drug dealer who offers the "first hit free", Apple has gotten millions of users to allow iTools to become entrenched in their computing experiences, only to require a fee to keep using it. I use my iTools account for my primary email, homepage, sharing pictures, etc. My fiancee also has begun using her .mac email as her primary at my suggestion. Now I have to explain to her why a chunk of our wedding/new house fund must go to Apple for her to *continue* using what was free for so long. Has this been Apple's plan from the beginning?
What about iPhoto? This has been touted as a simple and free way to share pictures with family and friends. Not anymore! Now, new users will have to pony up an additional $100 just to post their pictures to their homepage account! And this is after paying the premium to have a Apple product in the first place... where is the added value? The cost of ownership is going UP, and that was another area where Apple (previously) had an advantage over PC users.
This is a highly dubious action which will be met with a *tremendous* outcry from the loyal Macintosh users who already *pay a premium* to use Apple products.
The free basic iTools account for every Mac user was a fantastic selling point for Apple computers. Now, one more reason to prefer the Macintosh over the incresingly faster and cheaper PC products has disappeared.
At *least* offer a free service with only basic service and minimal service... come on; storage is only getting *cheaper* for everyone these days, and Apple even makes its own servers now! To even suggest that it is getting *more* expensive for Apple to provide this *tiny* amount of storage at a time when cost/gigabyte is dropping rapidly is an insult.
Mr. Jobs will be wearing eggs and tomatoes seconds after announcing this new policy at the Keynote today.<hr></blockquote>
My best friend is going to be replacing his aging PC with a new iMac after MWNY, after a couple years of prodding by me. One of the most important things to him was the ease of sharing photos & iMovies of his kids online for free. He loved how easy it was to put up a website, and the fact that it didn't cost you anything beyond the cost of the computer. I mean, we're already paying a very hefty premium to use a Macintosh, and this was a great perk. For this guy to buy an iMac is a bit of a stretch financially. I can't belive I have to tell him now that it'll cost him $150-160 CDN for to get it. Brutal.