A mainstream Maryland newspaper called the Sun Spot has published a fairly comprehensive review of Apple’s .Mac service. The piece includes the history of Apple’s conversion of iTools to .Mac, a breakdown of the services offered, a balanced look at Apple’s conversion rate for .Mac accounts, and a very reasoned analysis of what those services are "worth." What makes this piece even more interesting to us is that it was written by an actual Mac user, something not so common in mainstream newspapers. Some snippets from the piece:
Like many Mac users, I originally signed up — mostly for the e-mail account — and I used the other services infrequently. I had no intention of handing over $50 just for an e-mail address But after waffling for a month and a half, I subscribed to .Mac, anyway. What changed my mind?
Basically, Apple made the first year of .Mac risk-free, at least for me. In the first week of September, Apple threw in 100 free digital prints. The freebies show up as credits in the Kodak print service available via iPhoto. For a guy with nearly 900 images in his iPhoto library — and who is way behind on getting them converted to prints — this was a juicy inducement.
With digital cameras, you don’t automatically get prints. You either have to print the images out on your inkjet, upload them to an Web-based printing service or take your memory card to a brick-and-mortar photo developer. Regardless of which option you choose, the 4×6 prints will cost you 40 cents to 50 cents apiece, excluding shipping.
True, the Apple offer does not include shipping, but I could order all 100 at once for $6.99, which normally would cost me, with tax, $58.44. So even if I decide that .Mac itself is of marginal value, my first year essentially will cost me nothing.
Another thing that pushed me toward .Mac was the compulsion "power users" have to possess the latest and the greatest. Apple has indicated that it will keep enhancing the .Mac service — and I couldn’t bear to be locked out of some drool-worthy future feature.
And despite its generally weak services, .Mac provides something no other software can: integration with the Mac operating system and Apple’s collection of freeware, like iPhoto.
There is much more n the full article, and we recommend it as a good read.
The Mac Observer Spin:
This article offers some nice exposure for Apple, especially to mainstream PC users not familiar with .Mac, but also to mainstream Mac users who don’t keep up on the latest and greatest technology coming out of Cupertino. We have heard that Mac users like this exist….
We love seeing mainstream coverage of Apple, especially when it is positive, because it offers broader coverage than Mac-oriented sources could ever provide. To find such a well-written and balanced piece in a newspaper from an actual Mac user who isn’t Bob LeVitus (who has written an excellent column for The Houston Chronicle for many years), is all that much more outstanding.