05/30/2008, 10:15am, EDT
Friday, May 30th
.Mac service to 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.
Filed under: networking, Apple
Other story tags: Mac OS X, .Mac
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oops
Or, it could be Apple's engineers playing games on the mac community. Punk'd!
Big
Big overhaul with functionality that gives push OTA sync calendar!
?
what they need to overhaul is iWeb.
maybe
maybe they'll make it worth the $99 :)
.Mac
If all they do is rename the service, this will be a huge yawner.
If they give it a major overhaul, with a significant capacity increase, new services and must-have features, then it may just get me to keep my .Mac account when it's due to renew in Fall this year. I've been on the fence about whether or not I want to keep paying the amount they ask for it, since Apple has done so little with it in the last year.
Let's hope something big is in store for the service to keep it relevant!
alternative explanation
Maybe Apple will allow to synch with services other then .Mac? Latest Address Book already supports synching with gmail. What if this functionality will be expanded across other parts of Mac OS X?
iWeb
iWeb = Part of iLife
iLife = iWeb, iPhoto, iMovie, iDvd, Garageband
Standalone Cost = $79
Free on your new computer
Re: iWeb
Uhm... this article is about .Mac, not iWeb. THe poster that said $99 is referring to the $99/year price tag for .Mac - which is well worth it for some, not for others.
Here we go again with $99
Retail is for suckers.
- Cosmo Kramer
@hayesk
I stand corrected. I combined two comments.
Well worth it for some and not others. Like everything in life.
We'll never be able to please everyone.