.mac ... are you going to do it?

[nkuvu]

But the Email Account Management button doesn't exist.

[hombre]

Hey Hugh, Have you tried Virex 7.1 yet? As a user of 7.0, I can attest that there is room for improvement (although basically I like it). I have seen nothing announced about what the differences are. As far as the Virex website is concerned, it seems not to exist yet.

Thanks

Stuart

[briandoyle]

You CANNOT get free e-mail. The .Mac convert feature spoken of previously is only for full paying customers who purchase additional mac.com e-mail addresses.

I am sending one feedback everyday through the link on the .Mac webpage asking them to give us our e-mail for free, as they promised.

BD

[dbhill]

Yeah, you bet!!! The Mac has given me a great life, and I'm happy to send them money every chance I get. I don't care if I get a huge benefit from '.mac', it's Apple and I support it.

~Dennis

[lerkfish]

hey, I just signed up for the $49 first year....muy cool! just the backup program is worth it.

[davejr]

well at least I still have my free hotmail email address

[bakaDeshi]

bakaDeshi@macosxhints.com

how about it, rob??

You can lure in everyone for free for a couple of years and then start charging everyone.

-bD

[lamont]

$US99.95 is about $AU220.00 with bank conversion charges etc. etc.

If it was a ONCE ONLY charge, I would not hesitate, but with ongoing and inevitable price rises and inflation every year - no thanks.

I only use the Email service and will continue to do so if the Account Management Button ever makes an appearance - if not, it's the flick for .Mac

PS. Perhaps Apple are "only testing the water!" - if so lets hope the scheme gets a bucket of cold water thrown over its cost structure.......

[xchanyazy]

This is really more about 10.2, but people were asking about it earlier..

From the campus apple guy:

Quote: Hi folks, For those of you who subscribed to the Mac OS 3-Year Maintenance, you are covered for 3 years for these types of upgrades (through March 2005). That was the whole point of the maintenance! As soon as Jaguar's released we'll start offering CDs at a nominal price (probably $6 apiece) so maintenance subscribers can install it on their licensed machines. For those of you without maintenance, you can still obtain maintenance licenses on an ongoing basis: <https://cgi.www.umich.edu/~itdweb/ma...rder_form.html> Note also that the price of maintenance will drop after 9/15/2002, so if you want to upgrade to Jaguar and don't mind waiting a few weeks to get it, just hold out and order it then. Without any maintenance, you would have to pay the full Educational discount price of $69 at M-Stores for a shrinkwrap copy. If there was enough non-maintenance interest, we could probably band together to get a marginally discounted license-only purchase, but that would still be in the $50/license range and hardly seems worthwhile. I hope this clears up the matter. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.

So, $69 for education, and a possibility to get a $49 site license type upgrade.

Considering I got 10.0 for 29 dollars (educational with public beta), $69 is a little disappointing, but not so bad.

About .mac, screw it. It may be worth it to me if I could lock in the $49 price for a long period of time, but as is I have my school's servers for another 2 years (or 3 depending on the whole "graduating" thing), I'm not even going to think about it for another couple years, which should coincide with a price drop *crosses fingers*

[sao]

I'm going to sign up to .Mac

It's handy and price wise not so bad for the first year.

And can't wait to get 10.2

Although money is somehow not a problem for me right now, I understand it should probably be difficult to afford for other people.

And considering there are quite a few million of macintosh users worldwide (does anyone know a more accurate figure?) multiplied by US$129, then Apple is going to get a big chunk of money for a software upgrade.

I wonder what was the cost for programmers plus R&D, in the making of 10.2?

Oh, I love the concept of 'open source' more and more.

I have five macs at home, does this means I need to buy five 10.2 upgrades? Anybody?


Cheers...

[sbur]

Quote: Originally posted by dsk What's really gonna hurt is the price of Jaguar--my goodness. But between iChat, iCal, iSync, Sherlock, I don't know if I'll be able to resist it. Anyone know if there is an educational discount, and how significant it is? David

Education price for 10.2 is $70. Much more in line with my pocketbook.

[JayBee]

Just had a thought - is there any point in subscribing to .mac before 30 Sept., regardless of your philosophical standpoint on .mac?

$49 gets you a year, right? It's free till the start of October, right? So by subscribing early, you miss out on up to two months of free/cheap service as you'll only get until say August next year, then have to pony up your $100, whereas leaving it till 30/9 you'll get two more months' cheapness...

Just something that ocurred to me. This is where I get hunted down and shot by those of you who have canned up the cash already...

[nkuvu]

Quote: Originally posted by JayBee Just had a thought - is there any point in subscribing to .mac before 30 Sept., regardless of your philosophical standpoint on .mac? $49 gets you a year, right? It's free till the start of October, right? So by subscribing early, you miss out on up to two months of free/cheap service as you'll only get until say August next year, then have to pony up your $100, whereas leaving it till 30/9 you'll get two more months' cheapness... Just something that ocurred to me. This is where I get hunted down and shot by those of you who have canned up the cash already...

My thoughts exactly. But I didn't want to be burned at the stake, so I kept my mouth shut until someone else brought it up.

[mervTormel]

Quote: Just had a thought - is there any point in subscribing to .mac before 30 Sept., regardless of your philosophical standpoint on .mac?

thanks for pointing out the folly in 'early adoption rate' strategies

i'm still evaluating the service. i like the idea of off-site backup for critical files, as long as i'm goddam-guaranteed security, privacy, integrity and retrieval.

let's look at the services...

Quote: Communication and sharing * HomePage with new visitor feedback features * Mac.com Email with IMAP and 15MB of storage that can be upgraded for more * Ability to purchase up to 10 additional email accounts * iDisk with 100MB of storage that can be upgraded for more * iDisk utility software for group sharing of files Safety and security * Backup software to back up your files to iDisk, CD, or DVD * Virex anti-virus software to keep your system protected * Continuous anti-virus updates to protect from the latest threats * Members-only support with private discussion boards moderated by Apple technical support representatives

if the services have value for you and are robust, (100/12=) $8.34USD a month isn't a bad price.

as for virex... huh? has anybody exercised this thing enough to know that it works? has it found and eradicated a virus for anyone? how does it work? does it stick its fingers in the naughty bits and screw up yer rig like norton?

in review, i don't understand all the whinging about the costs. we're getting a hell of a lot of tools in the total package. amortize the costs over a year and you have reality...

OSX 10.2 @ $130.00 + .macServices @ $50.00 = $180.00 / 12 = $15.00 per month

my sister wastes more money on breakfast cereals for her three kids in a month.

p.s. the other day, i only had 59 days left in my trial .mac service. today, i have 70 days left.

--
these are my opinions. if you don't like them, i have others.

[nkuvu]

Because the payments are in lump sums (not monthly), I have two months to save $50 if I want to do this, which would be approximately $25 per month.

Only then can I start considering the price to be $8 per month -- by saving that much each month before having to pay the $100 next year.

The $130 for Jaguar can't be broken up into the same monthly payments, unless I want to wait until next year. But for the sake of argument (discussion, really, since I hope this doesn't degenerate into an argument), let's say I wait until Sept 30th to get the .mac subscription and Jaguar at the same time.

That's $130+$50 = $180, divided by two months (and change) to get about $90 per month.

A very different number than $15 per month, and one that I may or may not be able to afford.

I'm not talking about value for the money or anything like that. It's just that simplifying it down to $15 per month is an unrealistic simplfication IMO.

[mervTormel]

Quote: I'm not talking about value for the money or anything like that. It's just that simplifying it down to $15 per month is an unrealistic simplfication IMO.

i hear ya. but if you can't scratch $100 together, you've got some bigger problems. what would you do in the case of an emergency?

amortization is a tried and true money management technique. it compensates for a complete lack of money management

i suggest you make more money, or spend less. don't get me wrong. i don't mean to sound parental. but, i see a lot of people who waste so much frickin' money on pure *****e. and have no concept of a budget. and live beyond their means. living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck must be an awful strain.

i'm not saying you're of that ilk. but, if you think $250.00 is a lot of money, you've got some serious considerations to make.

at age 25, i think you're supposed to have a year's salary in a savings account somewhere. how? sacrafice.

bill of no rights

[bakaDeshi]

Quote: Originally posted by sao I have five macs at home, does this means I need to buy five 10.2 upgrades? Anybody?

Apple != MS (at least not yet) I think you're pretty safe here. I have not heard of any draconian serial numbers implemented in jag but I could be dead wrong.

Yeah, there's no monthly payment plan being offered by Apple so it's $50 once which I will probably have to take a pass on as well(still no income and the dow keeps goin' down).

Virex? Do we need? I assume OSX being *nix that it will be susceptable to *nix viral. Are there a lot of *nix viral out there? I've only had one virus in all my mac years(10+).

The Backup utility is the only thing that is peeking my interest a little and not having to switch email addresses.

I think I've got enough change in my piggy bank for jag. Time to crack it open. I should probably save it for food but I've got have priorities you know.

-bD

[nkuvu]

It's all a matter of priority, merv. In the case of an emergency, I could easily scrape up money. This isn't an emergency.

For me, updating to Jaguar is not a required expense. I'd like to do it, but I haven't decided if I'll be able to justify the expense. Nor is .mac a necessary expense -- it's a convenience thing for me, since currently I'm only using the email.

At age 25 I was still in college, so my yearly salary was pretty low. Not that I had a year's salary in savings (still don't) but...

I think $250 is a lot of money. I make a lot more than this -- I'm a software engineer, after all. But I've lived for too long on low-income wages to think that $250 is pocket change. Old habits die hard and all that.

I'd love to discuss personal finances, but I think that's really beside the point.

I personally categorize Jaguar and .mac as unnecessary expenses, so I have a hard time justifying the money for it. I know, I'm repeating myself, just wanted to make sure that my point is clear. (And I'm not criticizing anyone who feels that this is a necessary upgrade or subscription)

[sbur]

Quote: Originally posted by mervTormel i hear ya. but if you can't scratch $100 together, you've got some bigger problems. what would you do in the case of an emergency? ...snip... i'm not saying you're of that ilk. but, if you think $250.00 is a lot of money, you've got some serious considerations to make. at age 25, i think you're supposed to have a year's salary in a savings account somewhere. how? sacrafice.

Wow, merv. If that isn't a generalization, I don't know what is. Should an emergency come up, $250 shouldn't be a big deal, but I'd hardly call Jag an emergency. Your response left no room for prioritization. In many cases, the "sacrafice" would be not getting Jaguar.

You also assume that everyone joins the workforce at about 20. In case you didn't know, grad school is not a money making proposition. Especially when both you and your spouse are in school at the same time. I'm 31 and am still associated with a grad program (post-doc now...wife is pursuing a grad degree now too) so money is tight. I'm lucky enough to have special grant money to take care of most of my tech needs, but that runs out in august...with no renewal.

I know from this and other boards that I'm not alone in the struggling student thing. Personally, I'd rather spend my money on rent or health insurance than have to spend it on Jag. Or maybe just sink it into the car...there's always something that needs repair now, but I refuse to carry a balance on my credit card....

I know what you were trying to say, and generally I agree. But amortization doesn't work if you don't have the start up cash. So it ended up sounding really patronizing and elitist.

[mervTormel]

Quote: Wow, merv. If that isn't a generalization, I don't know what is. Should an emergency come up, $250 shouldn't be a big deal, but I'd hardly call Jag an emergency. Your response left no room for prioritization. In many cases, the "sacrafice" would be not getting Jaguar.

{sigh} you misinterpreted my 'emergency'. of course, this software upgrade business is a luxury. by emergency, i meant emergency. something that requires an immediate fiscal fix. medical, or vehicle dependency or something of that ilk that threatens your status quo. i don't know where you got software upgrade=emergency.

i just hear so much creeching about the cost of this [immense amount of work], and wonder how many crappy CDs they've bought in the past six months, or the like.

if you're not in the work force, then i'm subsidizing your support, so you have little wiggle room in your position and i have none in mine (i cannot negotiate my tax rate).

anyhow, after considerable thought and reflection on jaguar and what it consists of and provides, if it delivers, it is well worth the cost. the .mac services require a little more justification per user.