Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... in All things Macintosh http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20457420 en Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:24:47 EDT Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:24:47 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20467313 Count Zero :
said by kfsutops See Profile :

There is nothing in .Mac worth spending $100 on in my opinion. Nothing.

Personally I would like to see them give the service away with the purchase of a Mac. I think it would be an "added" reason to buy a Mac. This could be one of the services that really set them apart.
A) You can get it for significantly cheaper than $100/yr
B) they used to give it away free
C) You may not find it's features valuable, but to someone who wants a lot of "point and click" simplicity .Mac is great.
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Check out my site: »web.mac.com/jwsmiths

Play Mafia!: »Pub Games]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20467313 Sun, 11 May 2008 21:51:11 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20467016 kfsutops : There is nothing in .Mac worth spending $100 on. Nothing.

Personally I would like to see them give the service away with the purchase of a Mac. I think it would be an "added" reason to buy a Mac. This could be one of the services that really set them apart.
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"There are no stupid questions, but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20467016 Sun, 11 May 2008 20:51:19 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20460688 kristimyers : I got .mac about three years ago when I purchased my first ibook and imac. The package sounded wonderful, but it never really worked for me.

1) The iDisk did not work reliably for me. I never figured out why.

2) One of the main attractions for me was the ability to create groups. I set one up for my family to share pictures of our daughter, by I got too many complaints from family members that .mac was too much trouble. I think they had to sign up for a trial, then do something to keep free access after 60 days. They weren't comfortable with that. So, no one joined and the group died.

3) The web hosting was not impressive to me, as I could get that cheaply anywhere else. And, I liked more control over design and hosting than .mac would allow.

4) Email. This was the deal breaker. I received HUNDREDS of spam emails a day. The spam filter on my other account catches almost everything, but it seemed like everything was coming through on .mac. I could easily spend an hour each day going the the messages to delete them, and I didn't have that time. And, if I waited a few days, the mess was too much to bother with. I emailed for help, and none came. I finally cancelled .mac just to get rid of the email mess. At the time, they couldn't help me with filtering solutions, and I needed .mac to be a web-based email option, so I gave it up.

I have been able to put together solutions that work for me by looking at other sources, like Yahoogroups, GoDaddy for offsite file storage and MacHighway for web hosting. I love my web-based email through everyone.net. In the end, these solutions are much cheaper than what I had paid for .mac.

Just my 2 cents.

Kristi]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20460688 Sat, 10 May 2008 08:57:43 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20460265 Frosties : To pay €99 for .mac is a bad deal. Apple really must update their prices more. As it is now it's way overpriced here, even if it's a smart software packet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20460265 Sat, 10 May 2008 02:47:24 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459718 Thinkdiff : Trial version is full-featured I believe. .Mac isn't really something that makes itself available to you. You have to put its features to use.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459718 Fri, 09 May 2008 23:11:22 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459710 Dominokat :
said by Dominokat See Profile :

I'm going to try it.
What the hell. Something else to figure out! :p
That didn't last long. I was able to get a free 60 trial for the .mac service.
And already I am wondering if I should bother with it.
Maybe it is the trial version, but I am not impressed.
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"Open the Pod bay door Hal"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459710 Fri, 09 May 2008 23:09:51 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459454 TAKN : To be honest, .Mac is a a terrible waste of money. There are not a lot of features, extremely basic web hosting, and Back to my Mac is a hit or miss in most cases. The only thing it is really good for is if you want a REALLY easy way to publish a very very basic website. The syncing capability between macs is not bad, but not great either.

Your money is better spent on proper web hosting, and Orbicule Undercover (a much better way to recover a stolen mac).

P.S. - I have a 1 year subscription to .Mac (Received for free as part of my Apple training). I barely use it because it's crap and never recommend it to my customers unless they need a way to very easily post their pictures online and don't mind spending an extra $100.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459454 Fri, 09 May 2008 22:10:46 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459252 Dominokat : I'm going to try it.
What the hell. Something else to figure out! :p
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"Open the Pod bay door Hal"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459252 Fri, 09 May 2008 21:23:01 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459104 mahermusic : .Mac... indispensable, period. My wife and I wouldn't think of NOT having it available to us.
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Don't blame me... I voted for KERRY.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20459104 Fri, 09 May 2008 20:42:09 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458861 anon : I switched to a Mac 3 years ago and have had .Mac ever since, but I'm dropping it now. I'll detail the reasons why below. The money I save will be used to purchase REAL web hosting.

.Mac Sync Is Hopelessly Broken
I've tried to use it, I've tried to like it, but it just doesn't work and I gave up on it.

iDisk Is Unresponsive
Uploading and downloading files is usually fast, but it is otherwise completely unresponsive.

Web Hosting Is Inflexible
I know enough about the web to not touch iWeb with a ten foot pole. Having no server control whatsoever makes .Mac web hosting the least useful paid web hosting I have ever seen in my entire life. It works with a real domain name now, but other than that it is the same as ISP web space, which I outgrew about 10 years ago.

IMAP Email Is Awesome
However, it's crazy to spend $100 annually for IMAP email, even with 10 GB of storage and nice Mac OS X integration.

Back To My Mac
I don't have Leopard yet, but I plan to get it for free with a new Mac sometime this year.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458861 Fri, 09 May 2008 19:52:40 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457728 scots : The static IP is handed out via the router rather than hardcoded into the iMac, so router/subnet info should be the same on all machines. I'm at work right now, so can't really do any troubleshooting. Will get back with you later on this. Thanks!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457728 Fri, 09 May 2008 15:28:40 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457707 Thinkdiff : Can you connect to the iMac from the other computer by manually putting in the IP at the connect to server dialog box?

Are the router and subnet IP addresses the same on both machines?

Don't want to hijack this thread anymore than it already is, so if you want to continue trying to diagnose the problem, send me a PM or restart the old thread. ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457707 Fri, 09 May 2008 15:24:45 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457688 scots :
said by Thinkdiff See Profile :

I seem to remember you making a thread about this before. BTMM is not for local networks. You can just use the built in File Sharing and Screen Sharing options and the computer will show up in the SHARED section of the Finder window. If you have both of those turned on (and the Finder preferences set to show shared computers) and it's still not working, check if you have any firewalls installed on your computer. Also turn off Back To My Mac and reboot both computers. If that's still not working, you may have a strange router that's not passing data properly between the two computers or the two computers are on a different subnet.
File Sharing and Screen Sharing are both turned on. I've tried with BTMM on and off. I've logged in and out of .Mac. The OS X firewall is totally off on all machines. I've rebooted numerous times. I've given my iMac a static IP address on my network. BTMM doesn't work for me over the LAN or across the internet. I've never been able to get my iMac to show up in the SHARED section of the Finder window. Nothing I've tried has worked. My router is an AirPort Extreme that I got back in December, and it has the latest firmware and whatnot. The only thing that shows up in the SHARED section of the Finder window is my Buffalo NAS.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457688 Fri, 09 May 2008 15:20:30 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457573 jayco437 : I'd rather spend the money on a big ass dog. A dog is less likely to lose over 2 years worth of your email. You'll also get better customer support from a dog than you will from .Mac.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457573 Fri, 09 May 2008 14:55:44 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457420 BinaryXtreme : I agree.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457420 Fri, 09 May 2008 14:17:31 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457382 djrobx : It would be a much better value if more gigs were included and better hosting features. 10GB is nothing these days.

Absolutely love the story though. Remoting in and using the built-in iSight to snap a photo of the perp is priceless. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457382 Fri, 09 May 2008 14:11:05 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457272 vukodlak75 :
said by Count Zero See Profile :

These days I use it as my primary personal email account, I use the web galleries to host albums for relatives to look at, I use iDisk to host files I want to distribute to friends and family and even though I only have one Mac now I find it useful to keep my settings sync'd to .Mac in case I have to restore (keychains especially).
sam e here :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457272 Fri, 09 May 2008 13:50:19 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457188 Thinkdiff : I seem to remember you making a thread about this before. BTMM is not for local networks. You can just use the built in File Sharing and Screen Sharing options and the computer will show up in the SHARED section of the Finder window. If you have both of those turned on (and the Finder preferences set to show shared computers) and it's still not working, check if you have any firewalls installed on your computer. Also turn off Back To My Mac and reboot both computers. If that's still not working, you may have a strange router that's not passing data properly between the two computers or the two computers are on a different subnet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457188 Fri, 09 May 2008 13:35:48 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457153 scots : Well that's pretty cool, I guess.

I can't get Back To My Mac to work inside my house across the LAN, let alone outside the house across the internet. I'm not even interested in using it outside the house across the internet. I'm just interested in using it inside the house so I don't have to go upstairs when I'm feeling lazy and want to get to stuff on my iMac. After looking at the support forums on the Apple web site I'm apparently not the only one with this problem. I've gone though all the tips and troubleshooting info I could find, and it still won't work for me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457153 Fri, 09 May 2008 13:30:44 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457055 dennismurphy :
said by sporkme See Profile :

Does the syncing work for all users of the machines or must you buy an account for each user? I'd pay $70 for the syncing alone if it handled all users, but I'm suspecting that's not the case.
That "depends". If you use the same .Mac login information for each user on the same machine, then yes, it should sync between each user.

I think. :-)

I'll give it a try and let you know ...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457055 Fri, 09 May 2008 13:14:39 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457009 HEDP : It works for some not for others, and I personally hate the thing that I returned it 2 hours right after I bought it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457009 Fri, 09 May 2008 13:05:41 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20456967 sporkme : Does the syncing work for all users of the machines or must you buy an account for each user? I'd pay $70 for the syncing alone if it handled all users, but I'm suspecting that's not the case.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20456967 Fri, 09 May 2008 12:56:56 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455914 Count Zero : I got it for free initially with my first PowerBook G4.... didn't use it for most of the first year (even the email was only sparsely used) but then I realized that it allowed me to sync things seamlessly between my two Macs, and now it is pretty tightly integrated into iLife.

These days I use it as my primary personal email account, I use the web galleries to host albums for relatives to look at, I use iDisk to host files I want to distribute to friends and family and even though I only have one Mac now I find it useful to keep my settings sync'd to .Mac in case I have to restore (keychains especially).

I was able to find it in the For Sale section of this site recently for $45. I agree that $99/yr is overpriced, and $70 isn't much better - but $45 is pretty darn good. That's cheaper than Mozy which I also find highly useful.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455914 Fri, 09 May 2008 09:57:18 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455902 TigerNutz : IMHO.....overpriced]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455902 Fri, 09 May 2008 09:55:39 EDT Re: Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455882 haroldo : For $70 a year, (if it's only for backup) a backup drive becomes an attractive alternative.
My family purchased 4 .MAC subscriptions (I knew we didn't need, it, but I guess it was a temporary point of sale moment of weakness) and we've never used any aspect of it, ever!
I swear, we wont buy it the next time, but then, if the salesperson is persuasive...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455882 Fri, 09 May 2008 09:51:12 EDT Why to pay for .Mac ...... http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455857 dennismurphy : Woman recovers her stolen laptop using Back to My Mac ....

»www.1010wins.com/Woman-Helps-Cop···/2157543

At $69.99, I think .Mac is a bargain. 10gb of online storage, email, web hosting, synchronization, BTMM, and my favorite feature, full integration with iPhoto and Aperture for Gallery publishing!

I know a lot of folks don't like .Mac for whatever reason, but I think it's a bargain for what you get.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455857 Fri, 09 May 2008 09:47:00 EDT