Apple Archive

Free mac.com Email Becomes Fee Mail

- 2002.07.19

I was among the first to sign up for an iTools account when it was released back in 1999. I wasn't even running OS 9, but instead I signed up on a friend's computer running 9, and then I used iTools on my Mac running 8.6.

But starting next week, I will no longer be using my iTools account, and on the 30th of September, I will no longer have an iTools account at all.

iTools was a great service. iDisk was great, and the free IMAP, POP3, and Web based email were also excellent, even if it did cause some problems with bulk emails. I liked iCards, and I even found some interesting sites at iReview (which Apple discontinued after only a short time).

However, Apple now has decided to rename iTools as .mac and "expand" their services to include antivirus software, backup software, and a 100 MB iDisk, instead of 20 MB.

Unfortunately, along with the new options comes a new price: $49 the first year for existing users, and $99 for new users.

Hmmm. So the new business plan is to give away email addresses, wait for people to become dependent on them, and then start charging a yearly fee.

This doesn't sound like the old Apple, which was always very careful to keep their customers happy. Now it seems that Apple just wants to make money and no longer cares about their customers.

iTools was also a way to get new users onto the Mac. Since Apple is really trying to get people to switch from the PC to the Mac with their "Switch" ad campaign, iTools was an excellent reason for a PC user to switch. In fact, I know a couple of people where iTools was the deciding factor. They won't think very highly of Apple now and will have learned that Apple cannot be trusted in the future.

Yes, .mac might be a reason to switch - from the Mac to the PC. Hopefully this latest move is not indicative of what Apple will be doing to its customers in the future.

While I know that Apple needs to make money, I also know that it is not right to give something away and then take it back again. This is what Apple did with .mac. And I'm not the only disappointed user. I will be transferring my website and setting up a new email address with Earthlink, my ISP, which is where it all should have been in the first place.

The title of an album by Defiance sums it up pretty well: Nothing Lasts Forever.

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