.Mac o be renamed?

Apple's .Mac online service -- which provides functions such as web hosting, file storage and data sync -- may be nearing a substantial revision, code exploration indicates. Buried within the new v10.5.3 update for Mac OS X are several strings of code which imply that the .Mac name will be dropped, although a new name has not yet been chosen. In iCal's Localizable.strings file, for example, code can be found that reads: "/* Label of .Mac button in iCal’s General preferences. %@ is the new name of Apple’s online service (was .Mac) (remove -XX02)."

This ambiguity extends to the Localizable file for Safari: "/* Title of .Mac alert sheet, with .Mac brand name subsituted */
"You need a %@ account that has syncing enabled" = "You need a %@ account that has syncing enabled";."

Finally, Mail's Prefs.strings file has been altered, and now contains:

"/* Title of button used to open the .Mac system preference pane. */
“AOS_SYNC_BUTTON_FORMAT” = “%@…”;"

"/* Descriptive text for .Mac Sync. */
“AOS_SYNC_FORMAT” = “Use %@ to synchronize Accounts, Rules, Notes, Signatures, and Smart Mailboxes.”; ."

Apple may be intending to announce a revised .Mac at its WWDC conference on June 9th, but no evidence to this effect has so far appeared. This could also require a v10.5.4 update to the Mac OS, which would likely take at least one or two months to implement.

by MacNN Staff