Apple and Google at WWDC? .mac update?

[MIDI_EVIL]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/08/apple_google_partners/

"Mix one hint from Google's Eric Schmidt with a two-word non-denial from Apple's Steve Jobs, and what do you get? A prediction from Wired blogger Fred Vogelstein that Jobs will announce a partnership between the two companies at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco next week.
The idea is that Apple will tap into Google's "cloud computing" infrastructure, offering Macintosh customers cheaper email and Web storage.

At the moment, Apple users pay nearly $100 a year for 1GB of storage on the company's .Mac service, while Google offers gigabyte after gigbyte for free. "We're a perfect back-end to the problems that [Apple is] trying to solve," Schmidt told Vogelstein in April. "They have very good judgment on user interface and people. But they don't have this supercomputer (that Google has), which is the data centers."
Google's cloud computing model operates much like age-old water and gas utilities, pooling computing resources from a vast array of machines and applying them to a common task.
Last week, when Vogelstein asked Jobs why .Mac lagged so far the Google paradigm, the Apple CEO said "stay tuned."


What a great idea, exactly what .mac needs!

Rich.

 

[Aniej]

i would love and can totally believe it. great catch and writing on your part too rich.

 

[DeSnousa]

I pray something good will come. The only reason I continue my .Mac subscription is because I have to many contacts on my .Mac email

 

[twoodcc]

i really hope this happens....i need a reason to join .mac

 

[clevin]

gmail's success is not purely because of the size, all major providers now have GB size email for free (AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, Netscape, etc, etc). Its naive to think a GB size free email offer will change anything.

 

[Diatribe]

I don't think it is just gonna be more space. They will probably offer all the features Google has (server side spam filter, web calendar, etc.) and maybe even some completely new things. Anyway, I am excited.

 

[MIDI_EVIL]

Yes, I have been using Gmail for a while and it's superb.

Love how well it works with Mail too, although I do get smtp server issues now and again, not a regular problem.

Would definately purchase .Mac if they could offer a basic package of about 5-10GB storage, with easy backup for pictures, documents folders.

Apple and Google could work some real magic.

Rich.

 

[ghall]

Anything to make .Mac better is a good thing. Might actually get me to renew next year.

 

[iPhil]

Well i've been "using" .Mac services for 2 years now, but I'm hoping for is a free* upgrade of Website Space.. Since thats the feature that i use most..


I've been using Gmail email services for almost 3 years now, I love the searchable email feature also,but the feature that I love the most is the Storage that Gmail gives to the users -- Infinity + 1GB of Storage

 

[FF_productions]

This should be on page 1 for rumors.

I can definetely see a new .Mac at WWDC.

The excitment continues to build!!

 

[mac-er]

Apple needs to stop being so greedy with .mac
They already have the highest profit margins in the industry, and no one wants to pay for anything on the Internet.

My predictions for .mac
1. Will be free, with everything hosted on Google servers (simply with an Apple covering)
2. May be tiered (with a free version and a pay, upgraded version)
3. More integration with the OS, iLife, and the iPhone

Bring back iTools!

 

[MacDonaldsd]

I think more storage and iPhone integration.

Wasn't there rumours awhile back that they were going to use the iDisk for movie rentals off iTunes ? as a secure buffer kind of thing.

Or have I just dreamed that up

 

[jwp1964]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/08/apple_google_partners/

"They have very good judgment on user interface and people. But they don't have this supercomputer (that Google has), which is the data centers."
Rich.

What happened to the two data centers that Apple purchased last year...has anyone seen/heard any rumors regarding what Apple has up their sleeve in that regard? Could that be a .mac related resource?