.Mac for £35 / $61

[Shaun.P]

Hi there,

I will be able to get a copy of .Mac for half the price Apple sells it on their online store (£69). Do you think it is worth paying £35 for .Mac? I intend to use Backup 3, make a website and use the email, but I have been thinking: Do I really need it?!

I have an account with Google GMail, I don't really need a website and I can backup my stuff to DVD-R or CD-R disks easily enough.

Basically what I'm asking is, do you think it is worth me paying £35 for it?

Let me know what you think,

Shaun.

 

[Blue Velvet]

I think it's definitely worth £35. You may find uses for it that you haven't thought of yet. But if you're fairly skint, then maybe not...

You could try the demo version for a few days just to make sure — I think that can last 30 days or so.

Whether it's worth £69 per year is entirely another matter.

 

[Demon Hunter]

.Mac is invaluable for small files, which are more safe on an internet drive. I love it.

 

[Shaun.P]

Thank you for your insightful comments so far! It was actually selling for £40 on eBay, and I asked the seller if I could perhaps get some sort of a discount because I'm a student, and he said £35, I emailed him back saying that I can really only afford £30, so I will see what he says.

 

[mfacey]

I can't quite see the point of .mac beyond the fact that its really nicely integrated into the mac os. I think you should really consider what you're going to be doing with it. For webspace, email and ftp you're better off getting a cheap hosting solution with your own domain. I've recently switched some of my hosting needs to http://www.b-one.net who really are very cheap! Even you're good .mac deal won't beat their hosting prices!

 

[Twinkie]

I can't quite see the point of .mac beyond the fact that its really nicely integrated into the mac os. I think you should really consider what you're going to be doing with it. For webspace, email and ftp you're better off getting a cheap hosting solution with your own domain. I've recently switched some of my hosting needs to http://www.b-one.net who really are very cheap! Even you're good .mac deal won't beat their hosting prices!

You've obviously never used the sync features to keep two Macs the same

While you can accomplish the same thing through a combination of other services, if you subscribe to the belief that your time has a certain amount of value, .Mac usually winds up being a deal.

 

[mfacey]

You've obviously never used the sync features to keep two Macs the same

While you can accomplish the same thing through a combination of other services, if you subscribe to the belief that your time has a certain amount of value, .Mac usually winds up being a deal.

Yeah I suppose that is a really nice feature. Wouldn't work for me though, seeing as I only have one mac (for now)

 

[Twinkie]

Yeah I suppose that is a really nice feature. Wouldn't work for me though, seeing as I only have one mac (for now)

The OP has two, though... even if his second Mac is on eBay

 

[Shaun.P]

Yep I just have my iBook the now. He told me he isn't making a profit at £30, so it looks like it will be £35. I'm going to have a think about it and decided whether its worth it or not!

 

[Twinkie]

Yep I just have my iBook the now. He told me he isn't making a profit at £30, so it looks like it will be £35. I'm going to have a think about it and decided whether its worth it or not!

Personally, I think it's worth it. And for the sake of reference, I do have a hosting account elsewhere, and I've worked in IT for well over a decade.

If you're doing a straight price comparison, a hosting account will win almost every time. But when you look at what you can really do with .Mac (one-click iPhoto publishing, synchronization of your address book, calendar, bookmarks and mail to one common point that's accessible from any browser, etc.), there's a lot of potential value there.

If you're the type of person who doesn't leave the house much, it probably isn't worthwhile. But if you're at a client's site, a friend's house, a library, etc., and you want a page you bookmarked, a phone number, etc., it's VERY nice to have. Whether you want to spend a little bit of money and build that functionality yourself, or a little more to have it all taken care of for you is really decided by your wallet and technical abilities.

 

[Demon Hunter]

Personally, I think it's worth it. And for the sake of reference, I do have a hosting account elsewhere, and I've worked in IT for well over a decade.

If you're doing a straight price comparison, a hosting account will win almost every time. But when you look at what you can really do with .Mac (one-click iPhoto publishing, synchronization of your address book, calendar, bookmarks and mail to one common point that's accessible from any browser, etc.), there's a lot of potential value there.

If you're the type of person who doesn't leave the house much, it probably isn't worthwhile. But if you're at a client's site, a friend's house, a library, etc., and you want a page you bookmarked, a phone number, etc., it's VERY nice to have. Whether you want to spend a little bit of money and build that functionality yourself, or a little more to have it all taken care of for you is really decided by your wallet and technical abilities.

So eloquent today, Twinkie.