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Mac Musings

Kiss iTools Good-Bye

Dan Knight - 2002.07.17 - Tip Jar

I guess it was too good to last. Apple is rebranding iTools as .Mac and will be eliminating free services effective September 30, 2002.

If you're a typical Mac user, there's a good chance you have a mac.com email address. I do. Not only is it free (well, it was), but it lets me promote the Mac with every email I send from that address. And that's really all I use iTools for.

Not for long, though. While Microsoft and a host of others offer free email, Apple is getting out of the business. If I want to keep my mac.com email address, Apple will let me pay just US$49.95 the first year - a discount from the regular $100 per year rate.

What do I get for that $100?

I get to keep my mac.com email address.
I can purchase additional mac.com email addresses.
I get to use HomePage.
I get 100 MB of iDisk storage space that I can share with others.
I get Virex antivirus software.
I get access to members-only support and private discussion boards moderated by Apple techs.

There are plenty of sources of no-cost and low-cost email addresses. They might not promote the Mac, but I'm not willing to pay $100 per year for an email address that does that.

I don't use HomePage or iDisk, so no great loss there. I don't get viruses on my Mac, so Virex really won't provide any benefit to me. And the Low End Mac Email Lists provide gobs of technical support and general Mac information for free.

As far as I'm concerned, the value of .Mac services fall way short of $100 per year. I'll stop using my mac.com address on outgoing mail this week and hope to be able to stop checking for incoming mail by the end of the month.

If you don't need HomePage and/or iDisk, I suggest you consider doing the same.

Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986, sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.

Recent Mac Musings

Why Is Apple Ditching Netbook Support Now?, 11.16. Mac OS X 10.6.2 deliberately removes Atom support. What does Apple have to gain by doing so?
IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
The Future of Personal Computing: Personal Servers and Low Cost Portables, 11.02. With WiFi everywhere, virtual network computing, and remote access, your iPhone, iTouch, iTablet, or MacBook Air becomes a gateway to your home or office computer.
The Late 2009 Mac mini Value Equation, 10.21. We called the Mac mini 'the best value in desktop Macs' two months ago, and the refreshed Mac mini only improves that value.
More in the Mac Musings index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo, Apr. 2006 - The top-end MacBook Pro includes a 1680 x 1050, 2.16 GHz Core Duo CPU, and supports Apple 30" Cinema Display.
Group of the Day: G4 List is for those using Power Mac G4s or G4 upgrades.
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Recent Deals

Best iPod nano Deals, 11.25. Refurb 8 GB 4G nano, $99; new, $126; refurb 16 GB, $129; new, $150; new 5G/8 GB, $134.60; 16 GB, $161.12. Shipping included.
Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 11.25. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
Best 15" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.25. Used 1 GHz Combo, $400; 1.5 GHz SuperDrive, $449; 1.67 GHz hi-res, $600.
Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
More deals in our archive.

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