Apple to unveil .Mac 3.0 internet service
Along with the official roll-out of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Apple Computer on Friday will launch the the second major revision to its .Mac internet service, deemed .Mac 3.0, sources tell AppleInsider.
The new version, which reportedly goes by the code-name "Argyle," will boast support for the company's next-generation "Tiger" operating system, allowing members to sync their keychains and Mail preferences, share family address books, and access up to five email alias addresses.
The new version will also debut with a plethora fresh templates for use with .Mac's hompage feature, including new templates for photo album and iMovies pages. Meanwhile, the .Mac Learning Center will reportedly gain several new training modules on Tiger, iLife and iWork.
Along with the release of the new service, sources said Apple will begin to phase out support for the currently featured Virex anti-virus software, which is not yet compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. However, the company will continue to allow downloads of the software for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther users.
Sources said .Mac members should also expect an innovative new launch page, which will provide direct access to many of .Mac's features. The new start page will reportedly sport a three column layout with personalized content areas on the left, features in the center, and promotions on the far right.
In support of the release, Apple will introduce two new .Mac retail packages, including a .Mac Family Pack that will allow yearly access for up to five people for (US)$179.95. A single .Mac license will continue to retail for (US)$95.95.
The new version, which reportedly goes by the code-name "Argyle," will boast support for the company's next-generation "Tiger" operating system, allowing members to sync their keychains and Mail preferences, share family address books, and access up to five email alias addresses.
The new version will also debut with a plethora fresh templates for use with .Mac's hompage feature, including new templates for photo album and iMovies pages. Meanwhile, the .Mac Learning Center will reportedly gain several new training modules on Tiger, iLife and iWork.
Along with the release of the new service, sources said Apple will begin to phase out support for the currently featured Virex anti-virus software, which is not yet compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. However, the company will continue to allow downloads of the software for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther users.
Sources said .Mac members should also expect an innovative new launch page, which will provide direct access to many of .Mac's features. The new start page will reportedly sport a three column layout with personalized content areas on the left, features in the center, and promotions on the far right.
In support of the release, Apple will introduce two new .Mac retail packages, including a .Mac Family Pack that will allow yearly access for up to five people for (US)$179.95. A single .Mac license will continue to retail for (US)$95.95.
Comments
I mean c'mon, even Gmail gives you 2GBs of storage.
Originally posted by Apparatus
Will they increase the storage? That's the main reason I haven't purchased .Mac already.
I mean c'mon, even Gmail gives you 2GBs of storage.
There is no indication of this. From what I've heard, the family pack will also only add an additional 250MB (total).
Best,
-K
I look forward to the update. I hope the update the webmail as well. It's a little on the pitiful side currently. I'd also like to see the ability to edit my calendar online. Here's hoping...
I think that .Mac should be one area where Apple is very aggressive. Like iLife it COULD be a reason for moving to a Mac is they really beefed it up.
Okay, this is rubbish. Looking beyond the fanboy myths, viruses for the Mac platform aren't an impossibility. I like getting Virex bundled with my .Mac subcription. It's an enticing bonus, allowing me constant, gratis access to a decent virus scanner. That they're "phasing it out" means I no longer have that luxury, and now I'm paying $100 a year for... what? A measly 250MB of storage? Some iPhoto pages? E-mail? A handful of Dashboard widgets? It's a joke. My ISP (Tiscali.de) gives me free e-mail and online disk space just for signing on, and there are excellent free alternatives to everything .Mac offers: Gmail, Flickr, FreeDrive, and training at MacOSX.com.
New templates are all very well, but this "upgrade" is really making me rethink why I'm paying for .Mac. I've been hounding them for blogging support, and I really thought that any improvements would take this Web phenomenon into account. But it seems that Apple is trying to give less and less for the same price.
I guess it does some convenient stuff, but man, you'd have to have money to burn to actually pay for it.
they could at least give .Mac people some incentives, like a discount on Tiger, Pages, etc, but of course they don't.
Originally posted by eji
"sources said Apple will begin to phase out support for the currently featured Virex anti-virus software"
Okay, this is rubbish. Looking beyond the fanboy myths, viruses for the Mac platform aren't an impossibility.
I pretty sure that Mac virus scanners only scan for windows viruses (so you don't accidentally sent it to someone else.) There are, literally, zero viruses on the Mac. There might be some in the future, but it's improbable.
Of course, it is still a useful application and an incentive to get .Mac
A start would be to:
--Cut the price in half
--Boost the storage to 2GB
--Boost the e-mail attachment size
--Fix the horrendous iDisk Finder performance
Maybe then it would be worth getting...but as of now, it's just an overpriced service for noobs.
Originally posted by adamrao
[B]Or you could pay $100 for yourself and $40 for the email accounts for others. It's not a bad deal overall. I really like .Mac and recently moved there after having my own domain name for a few years now. It is pricey, but I like having an easy to use webspace for putting up some photos and the ability to sync my Address book and Calendar (as well as my mail) so I can use it wherever I am and have it updated on my Mac at home.
FWIW, you can get third party alternatives for the photos and calendar syncing. For photos I use Gallery (http://gallery.sourceforge.net) and the iPhoto Gallery plugin (http://zwily.com/iphoto/). For calendars, there's phpicalendar (http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpicalendar/). Works out a lot cheaper than .mac to buy your own hosting and set these up.
Im' glad that Apple are continually adding updates / improvements to the .Mac system. Some things I'd love to see added include:
Originally posted by macFanDave
I want a Home Page template that lets you display photos and lets the viewers buy prints of the ones they like.
what about copyright.
In response to the Virex - I'm sure they're discontinuing it until they get one that works with Tiger. It's one of two reasons I subscribe (GMail hadn't had POP a year ago). If Apple get rid of Virex i'll switch to GMail in October.
Originally posted by spylaw4
How does one get a gmail account? All I can find is teasers but no link to sign up!
you need someone to invite you to join - each member gets 10 invitations.