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http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=675
.Mac: The crux of the matter
By ron carlson, Insanely Great Mac
July 17th 2002
At the end of Jobs'' .Mac introduction those assembled didn''t applaud, but they were
wrong not to
Yesterday in my piece about the .Mac rebranding of iTools I said "It''s hard to
imagine a combination of remote disk space, preformatted homepage designs, etc. that
warrants an annual subscription fee of $100."
On second thought, it''s not so hard to imagine after all. Actualy, quite the opposite
is true. If I don''t put down $49 -- the introductory price -- I lose the ability to
instantly upload photos from iPhoto. If you think that''s no big deal, think again.
I do have an alternate site that I pay for where I could post pics of my kids (in
Taiwan) for my family in the US (spread across several states). However, instead of
Apple''s click and publish model, I''ll have to revert to the old model of posting
digital representations of my little ones.
On a good day that involves at least three apps (Photoshop, an .html coding program
and ftp). This of course turns a job that takes about a half hour now -- import the
photos, crop, make minor visual corrections, etc. -- into a major task that will take
up several hours. That is, of course, if I can string together several hours -- no
mean feat with twins and multiple part-time jobs.
Moreover, iTools also provided me with an easy-to-use upload/download site for my less
than erudite friends -- as simple as FTP is, explaining its use and configuration to
the "four-app" wonders (IE, Office and a pair of money makers like Photoshop and
PageMaker) that inhabit the computing universe (i.e. anyone that matters) is a
difficult which needs to be multiplied by about 20. iTools'' double-click simplicity
is the app of choice when interacting with these folks because it just works.
Moreover, Apple''s got something that I really want -- truly portable data in the form
of iCal, iSync, etc.
Smart, very smart
So, you might be asking yourself, "What''s the big deal?" Actually, you''re right.
It''s quite manageable at this point, especially if I don''t get hooked on
Cupertino''s newest iApps. But, it''s unlikely to stay that way. Apple needs to find a
way to tie its iApps together and produce a profit, and .Mac is the perfect way to
make that happen: It''s the gateway to what makes Apple really cool.
.Mac is a proprietary interface for "it just works." Does anybody else do it? Will
anyone else be doing "it just works" any time soon? Not likely and that''s what makes
Apple cool. Nifty widgets aren''t the sole domain of Apple. In fact, one of the
greatest complaints about Apple and the Mac is the distinct lack of nifty widgets.
Seguey to the future
In case you haven''t noticed, despite the fact that interactive TV and a host of other
Internet wonders have either not materialized or completely flopped, the world is
moving onto the web and it is inevitable that someone will figure out how to tie them
altogether. And, news flash -- Apple''s way out in front and they''re not going to
give it away just to sell us hardware.
It should be apparent to all that making and selling "things" is a profitless endeavor
and the days that Apple can sell "machines" carrying a 30 percent margin (i.e. their
lifeblood) are certainly numbered.
It wouldn''t surprise me if Steven P. and company are planning, at least in theory,
Apple''s departure from hardware design and manufacturing entirely. The iPod was
designed largely by third parties and the LCD iMac includes more than a few parts that
third parties hold the patents to. This trend will only increase because it "saves"
money and, therefore, boosts profits (at least in the short term, but the disturbing
failings of American capitalism are another story entirely).
Intellectual property is where this game is at and IP isn''t embodied in things, or at
least permanently so. Moreover, "cool" cannot be contained in an object for more than
a few months.
PC makers are loosing hundreds of millions of dollars and shedding workers at an
alarming rate. Apple has largely avoided this fate, but how long will it be before
they entirely outsource production? I suspect it could happen tomorrow if they wanted
it too.
What matters
Apple''s .Mac initiative is small, but will get much bigger. Why? Because it has too.
It''s a prototype of the "gateway" that countless thousands and countless billions
have pursued with limited success at best.
The impressive thing about Apple''s approach is they aren''t promising us the moon.
What they are promising is humble, little things: e-mail addresses, contacts,
calendar, photos, etc. Little things that matter greatly. Little things that will just
work.
Moreover, unlike products from the great whore of Redmond, Apple is delivering .Mac
without ads, grotesque commercial tie-ins, user licenses that give away our rights,
subversion, coersion, etc. Oh, and it just works.
Now what will you pay? Without a hint of irony, I''m telling you I''m going to pay $49.
Post your comments at:
http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=675
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