Filed under: Rumors, Internet, Internet Tools, .Mac
.Mac and Me rumors: TUAW inside look at Apple's next-gen service
What's next for .Mac, Apple's much-maligned online service offering for OS X users? TUAW has learned that .Mac will no longer be sold by Apple after WWDC, as new users will migrate to the new MobileMe service (not too shocking, given the swirling rumors as of late). Existing users will have their @mac.com e-mail addresses forwarded to their @me.com address in perpetuity, which should provide some relief for nervous .Mac users who depend on that email.MobileMe is slated to include a host of new features, which we alluded to early in May; in addition, there will be new web interfaces for all aspects of MobileMe -- calendars will look just like iCal, Contacts will look just like they do in Address Book, etc. This is similar to the way .Mac Webmail works today, though we've heard that the new interfaces will be much snazzier (yes, that's a technical term). Apple should also be updating the .Mac dependent applications (iChat, iWeb, iPhoto etc.) to work with the new service. The new service will be backwards compatible with .Mac protocols for the time being -- so developers will not have to rush out updates as soon as they hear the official word.
MobileMe is scheduled to be available sometime in late June/early July. We have also heard reports that the latest build of the iPhone beta firmware (2.0) has already undergone revisions to handle the new MobileMe service. Some of the features of the service on iPhone will include: over-the-air syncing of contacts, calendars, and photos. Interestingly, there is also a Windows version of MobileMe planned.
Though we're confident in the source of this information, this is still a rumor until Apple reveals all. We should hear more information about MobileMe at the World Wide Developer's Conference starting on Monday (June 9th).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
spartan1017 said 5:09PM on 6-03-2008
well, im all for updates to .mac, but I think the name change is a shame, and I hope they don't gradually force us to roll off our .mac email addresses...
[username]@mac.com is the ultimate email for me !
More features will be great, but please don't rebrand!!!
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Louis24x7 said 6:35PM on 6-03-2008
I agree. Having username @ mac.com was what made me buy the subscription.
Rick Ludwig said 11:41PM on 6-03-2008
Dang Straight!
I want to keep my mac.com address!!! me.com is just lame!
Andre said 11:46PM on 6-03-2008
Ditto, I pay $140 CDN a year *just* for the @mac.com. I have yet to use any other aspect of .Mac. ^__^
Kev Orng said 8:50AM on 6-04-2008
@andre
It's been a while since you renewed, it's $109 Cdn now.
And Amazon.ca doesn't offer the $69 version
Andre said 1:33PM on 6-17-2008
@Kev: Good to know. My renew date is today, so it's been a year. ;)
Josh said 5:08PM on 6-03-2008
This is sounding great. Might actually pony up the cash for a subscription. The trial for .Mac was... lackluster, in my opinion. Looked and felt like a 5 year old service that rarely saw any work. Yes, new features have been added but it really didn't feel like an Apple product when I was using it.
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Josh said 8:57PM on 6-03-2008
I have to agree with you.. the only thing i like was the mac-like interface, and even that was outdated.. it doesn't even look like leopard!
Jarques said 5:12PM on 6-03-2008
I wonder if this "new" service will require a subscription too?
The subscription was the one thing that put me off of getting .Mac. I can get most of the services .Mac offers at no cost.
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hmurchison said 6:38PM on 6-03-2008
Of course it'll require a subscription. Some of don't mind paying for a well integrated single source for our communications plus if a FREE service is scraping my emails for advertising and demographic info then it certainly isn't "Free" in my opinion. I realize the value of "my" personal information even if others do not.
phunkidude said 5:15PM on 6-03-2008
Let's hope the changes make Web Gallery into something functional. The current incarnation of this supposed service is practically unusable.
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matteo said 5:11AM on 6-04-2008
Why do you think so?
I quite like it...
matteo
iMatt said 5:23PM on 6-03-2008
I agree with Spartan.
I bought a .mac address b/c I thought it would be more permanent than a free address, and therefore simpler. (How many free services have folded over the years?) I recommended .mac to my mom for the same reason, and I don't want her to have to switch either.
That said, I'm eager to see the new features--especially over-the-air syncing between iPhone and my mac.
Also, I'd love to have my home mac bookmarks available on my work PC for use on Safari!
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chris said 5:55PM on 6-04-2008
Nah i doubt it, this is def fake.
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Lauren said 5:26PM on 6-03-2008
No, no, no, no, no!
Don't get me wrong. I like the new "snazzier" features that are to come, but I love my mac email addy.
I don't like [username]@me.com
That just seems,..umm..what the word...got it..GAY!
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Arnoz said 5:32PM on 6-03-2008
And too Windows-ish. Like the live.com stuff...
Lauren said 5:53PM on 6-03-2008
Besides, my business cards have my @mac.com address. It's a status symbol. It's association with Apple, and all things Apple. I don't want it to be @me.com. If I wanted something free, I have a gmail and hotmail account. This change is going to turn a once dignified, status symbol Apple service into a service that blends into the noise of all the other free services out there.
I hope this is just that, a rumor.
Word. said 5:31PM on 6-03-2008
Did i read that right? Is this service going to be free? If so that's absolutely fantastic. As much as i liked my trial of dotMac, looking at the main features it gave me:
an email address
vpn capabilties
an instant messaging service
webhosting
remote storage
a persistant identity across computers
I honestly couldn't justify paying $100 for a service that effectively umbrella-ed a set of services i could very easily use for free, albeit with more hassle. If it goes free i'll gladly join up!
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Bobnease said 5:32PM on 6-03-2008
I love the idea of all of the changes, but I'm not too keen on the name "Mobile Me". Kind of cheesie if you ask me. I do understand the possible thinking behind it with trying to attract Windows users, but I hope they at least give new users the option to choose between a mac.com and a me.com suffix for their e-mail address.
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Sam Gross said 5:47PM on 6-03-2008
Yeah. Great for people who don't really care about their domain. But, I truthfully, would pay even a few dollars for a @mac.com over @me.com