To .Mac or not to .Mac? That is the question.

At first, I was like, yes, .Mac is a decent deal and I will get it. Then I noticed that it is $20 more for Canadians (this is in addition to the currency conversion). After some taxes and so on, it comes to ~$160 CDN. I'm not so sure that this is a good deal. I don't need the email, besides, 250 meg is not a lot of storage anyway compared to what some others offer for free.

I am interested in the Backup feature and the Anti-Virus, partly because I am paranoid but more so due to the fact that my girlfriend uses the computer when I am at work and she knows nothing about what she is doing or installing etc.

Would I just be better off buying Virex online and finding a cheap backup programme? What budget backup programmes should I be looking at?

Also, I read on the forum that there is a discount for .Mac accounts for those who have just bought a new Mac computer. Does this work only if you order alongside your computer purchase?

Ok, I would really appreciate hearing what you guys think I should do.

All the best,

jordan

Hey Jordan! I don't know how well this works for a Mac, but I've always used Streamload.com for backup. Free unlimited UPLOADS of most files, but you can only download 100MB's a month. If you want to download more, you can pay about $6 a month for unlimited downloads, etc. http://www.streamload.com Its a great place I store all my stuff there cause I'm always moving and having a stable working computer has always been hit or miss for me. :3

Lee

Here's my fourteen cents or so.

I personally do not like or use Virex. It slows down my computer, if anything. I use .Mac mainly for the mail, and for the occasional free program special here and there. The online storage is also very nice for me, but there are better, cheaper ways to do it. .Mac is only really a good price if you use ALL of it, and if you're paying more than 100 bucks USD, you really shouldn't bother, IMHO.

Perhaps then, I would just be better finding myself a decent back up and virus programme elsewhere. Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated. If anyone else have 14 cents worth (accepting both Canadian and US currency) I'd be happy to hear them.

ciao,

Jordan

Oh, by the way ... you find that Virex slows down your computer? That sucks. do others find that this is the case? I almost feel stupid for wanting virus software because most people tell me that I don't need it on my Mac but then there are others who recommend it and my Windows user conditioning kicks in and says "no virus programme, are you crazy!".

I've used Virex and Norton in the past and for me neither really impacted my system speed much. And neither was worse than the other.

If you're going to go out an purchase virus and backup software anyway, I'd say just get .Mac. I have it and use it for many things. .Mac is also going to be much more integrated into Tiger. So if you're on the fence about it, you can always try it for a year and just not renew it if you really don't use it.

The other thing to realize is that there are free or shareware backup apps that are decent. I use Super Duper. You can get it at Macupdate.com.

How useful is the sharing iCal thing?

Can you easily log-in remotely to view it? Can you add/change anything?

Personally i think .mac is way over priced, but then what isn't...

If your interested in virus and backup programs you might check this:

http://www.intego.com

Perhaps it might meet your needs. You can get a 3 program package that includes a virus program, a internet barrier program, and a backup program for about $99, which seems like a decent price to me for all three.

I like my .mac account. I wanted an antivirus software anyway, and the price for the software was close to that of .mac, so I took .mac. I don't notice a slowdown between w/ virex and w/o. Maybe that's jut me, though...Unless you're scanning your entire computer, THEN it takes a long time.

.mac for sharing video

How is .mac for sharing photos and video? I like the idea of posting video from iMovie... Does that work well or is the a better/cheaper way for doing that also?

One of the reasons I want a Mac is for the all-in-one concept that Mac, OSX and iLife offer... .mac seems like a natural extension of that... $99 doesn't seem like too much if you were to go out and piece together a similar bundle of software and hosting solutions....

Can't wait til Apr 1. Hope I haven't fallen for a really good April fool's joke and waited for nothing!