Re: alternative to .mac
Re: alternative to .mac
- Subject: Re: alternative to .mac
- From: email@hidden
- Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 12:20:25 EDT
Hmmmm - methinks there is a bit of double standard going on here...
We all claim to be members of the "cult of Mac" so to speak yet when it comes
to putting our money where our mouth is and supporting the company we bitch
and moan.
Most of you drive a car. You spent x,000 dollars on it. Was that the end?
Nope - you still have to pay for oil changes and other consumable/maintenance
services.
A web host has maintenance costs - should it be free? Should it be like the
british advertising supported free ISP's which never worked in this country?
Think about it.
IF indeed you are a supporter of Apple and the Mac platform then stop acting
like beggars with your hands out. The fact is that with more people coming
over to the Mac (hmmm isn't that our collective goal?) the costs associated
with iTools/.mac will be considerable. Add to that the fact that many people
do believe there is no such thing as a free lunch (a free user group
breakfast at Macworld sure...but not lunch <g>) and there is much to be said
for a fee-based system.
Could it have been handled better? Sure. Could it be cheaper? Maybe - but
then again - with all the parts currently used inside Macs - they could be as
well. We pay for the panache of using a Mac; we always have. We all believe
it to be the better machine.
Remember - no one is FORCING you to use .mac. I do believe that every user
group that is registered with Apple should be given one .mac account to use
for free but that would mean that Garr and Co. would have to monitor those
accounts closely to prevent abuse.
And folks - what are we talking about here? $8.25 /month! Hell - you smokers
spend that on 2 packs of smokes; the soda fiends get there in two twelve
packs!
What I'm hearing here is similar to the whining I heard when USB/FireWire
replaced SCSI/Serial...yet today no one squawks about that. I heard it again
last year when OS X came out and people complained about the Special Menu
being gone and Shut Down in the Apple Menu. Guess what? It's here and if
someone wants to cut off their nose to spite their face do it...switch. I met
someone recently who is so tee'd off at Apple about OS X that he switched to
a PC! So now he has other problems....great. I personally am glad he is no
longer with us since for anyone like him that we lose, we are gaining at
least 5 or 6 UNIX users. I still run one Mac 512 and a Color Classic along
with some other units. OK - they have limited capabilities compared to
today's machines but I also know a few folks who are using older units with
system 7.x on them and it meets their needs. That's Apple's strength. (from a
marketing point of view it is also their weakness - the machines are TOO
good.)
As I said - the $99/yr tag is not that bad; the announcement and timing was
not handled in the best way PR wise. And remember - if you were using iTools/
mac.com prior to July 17 - it's half price the first year. You can always
drop it after that if you want to. Right? When's the last time you could do
that with a car? Or a steak? Take it out for half price that is?
.mac sure beats the heck out of .Net IMHO. So get your members to stop
complaining and let's get behind it - even if you don't sign up for it.
Peter A. Weissenstein
Vice-President/Industry Liaison and Newsletter Editor
AppleCore Berkshire County
want to discuss this IRL?
413.637.0584
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