[geeks] welcome to ... DOT MAC! ..............DOT DUH!!!!!!!!!!

[Kevin Lee]

Well I was watching the Apple MACWORLD keynote yesterday live via satellite
and you should have heard
the following:


STEVE JOBS:  Everyone is charging for email and web service, so we have to
as well.
So starting Oct 1 2002 .MAC it is going to cost $99 a year.
iTools as we know it will be withdrawn.

-----
THE CROWD:  COMPLETE SILENCE
-----
STEVE JOBS:  Of course if you already have an iTools account it is only
going to
cost you $49 a year for the first year.
-----
THE CROWN:  MORE SILENCE....................some guy coughs.........
-----
STEVE JOBS: Ok, lets continue.

You watch there are already lots of FORGET IT STEVE we wont pay for that web
sites
sprouting up.  So just when APPLE needs good press in a market downturn they
go
and do this.  Who thought this up?   You never kick your customer when their
down.
Wait until your rolling in cash and dropping the prices on things and
everyone is
all happy joy joy, and then slide it in and try to get people to empathise
with you.

But NO JOBS JUST DROPS a BOMB and expects to get away with it.

All of the web sites and WSJ and lots of newspapers are writing about how
APPLE
is screwing their customers out of $99 a year. Bad press #1

BOMB #2 OSX 10.2 will cost existing 10.1 owners full whack no discount.

BOMB #3 No new Powermacs

BOMB #4 No new Powerbooks

BOMB #5 NO price discounts on anything except the most expensive imac 15inch
and that is after they raise the price by 100 dollars 3 months ago.

All in all I am glad I DO NOT WASTE MY MONEY in going to this DUD of a SHOW.
Instead of Apple getting a lot of good press which is what you want when
your in
a down market and their stock is tanking they do and announce this tripe.

Kevin Lee






----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim H." <lists at pellucidar.net>
To: "geeks" <geeks at sunhelp.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2002 8:19 PM
Subject: [geeks] welcome to ... DOT MAC!


AAAUGH!

got this email today, looks like they are gonna take away my mac.com
email at the end of Sept.

I used them too, for stuff where I though I might want a response, so I
didn't give the /dev/null address but didn't want to give them my real
email, or even my real domain.

>> START QUOTE

Today we announced .Mac, pronounced "Dot Mac," that replaces the Apple
iTools
service. In the two and a half years since we introduced iTools, both
the
demand for Internet services and the cost of providing them has
increased
dramatically. As a result, we're no longer able to offer iTools for
free.
Instead, we are introducing a new paid membership program that will
allow us
to continually enhance and expand our Internet services offerings for
our
customers.

>> END QUOTE

And why the heck call it that?  Do they WANT to be perceived as a second
rate company copying redmond?

Tim