Appletell

TUAW has received information from an anonymous tipster about future Apple plans. Apparently, .Mac is going to undergo a complete revamp - and will be re-launched at the same time as the iPhone 2.0 launch - which is expected some time in June (most likely in the Worldwide Developers’ Conference). .Mac’s new changes would bring new features to the service for both Mac and Windows users for the first time; some of these features include:

• .Mac push e-mail
• Wireless syncing for calendars, contacts, and email (similar to Microsoft Exchange)
• .Mac syncing on Windows

It makes sense for Apple to integrate .Mac into the iPhone. Wireless syncing of calendars and contacts would make it a big competitor to Microsoft’s Exchange service - which is widely used as the standard for many businesses. .Mac hasn’t been too successful either, this could be Apple’s way of bringing the product to success.

Via [TUAW]

Recently, Apple has been stepping up in the business environment and has really begun hammering it home that they are ready to more aggressively enter this field.  With the new iPhone software to contain ActiveSync support for Microsoft Exchange and possibly more business geared features such as a camera for video conferencing, this move is no joke.  Furthermore, it was recently reported that according to a rumor from TUAW, .Mac will soon include “Full over-the-air syncing including calendars, contacts, and email (similar to Exchange).” What do both of these have in common?  They are very attractive offers for anyone involved in a high business position at a big or small company.  Apple has made their impression in the everyday consumer market and is now moving onto bigger goals.  A smart move, I may add.

By making their products better for a business environment, Apple is opening them up to a large amount of potentially new customers.  Many businesses have stuck with Windows as their main OS for years, and Apple has realized that.  By realizing that, they are now beginning to compete with it.  Most of their new products and updates have more features that are meant for business type people which can only lead to good.  Good on you Apple for taking a risk and putting your cards into this deck.  Keep on innovating, we all look forward to you having more of a presence in larger corporation settings!

Surely you remember Adobe’s new web-based image editor, Photoshop Express.  Why would Adobe release part of Photoshop’s power for free to the public?  Simple.  They want to allow users to familiarize themselves with some of the features of PS for free in hopes that they will then go on to purchase the boxed version.  Now, it just so happens that one of Photoshop’s main competitors, Aperture, is made by Apple.  What is Apple doing to drive sales of their image editor software?  Frankly, not enough.  The real question is, what can they do?  If you ask me, it starts with .Mac Web Gallery, but first some important changes must be made to it.

1) Obviously, add image editing features to it. The image viewing on .Mac Web Gallery is slick and easy as you would expect from an Apple product, but it could be so much more.  Allow users to edit the photo while online just like Photoshop Express does, except with an Aperture style twist, and you’ve got yourself one awesome platform.  This, like PS Express, could give users a chance to see what Aperture is like without having to install a whole demo.  It could also prove to the user how functional Aperture can be, even at a limited level.  Who knows, maybe they will like the online version so much they will buy the desktop version which would be the whole goal in the first place.

2) Open it up! Currently, the only way to have a Web Gallery is to purchase a .Mac Membership, a $99.95 a year package.  Why limit this great service to just a select few who are willing to pay for it?  Steve Jobs said it himself in a 2007 press conference, people are moving away from hard media and onto digital media.  Apple should be helping them do this by easing the difficulty of the transition (i.e. making a service like this free).  Giving them a free, easy to use, feature limited (compared to the desktop version) Aperture online would be a great start to opening up this service and getting some hype behind Aperture.

3) Build a community around it. Everywhere you go, you hear it, “Companies need to start embracing social media.” In my opinion, Apple hasn’t done much to that effect.  They could use .Mac Web Gallery as a social service that would not only allow for image editing, but a better way of sharing media.  Sure, you can share your Gallery now by sending friends and family the link, but I mean at a higher level, such as being able to add friends.  Mr. Jobs also mentioned in that same keynote that the point of this service was to make “send [your media] to the world.” If so, make it easier and more fun to do that.  “If you build it, they will come.”

As with anything. there would be roadblocks in tackling such a task.  For example, how do deal with the extra traffic to the servers and how much space to give each user.  However, Apple has plenty of money to make this work and the outcome would be worth it.  In summary, all Apple needs to do it open up .Mac Web Gallery (also, untie it from the .Mac package) and add some more features to it.  If you’re from Apple, this would be great to have by, let’s say, June.  Sound good?  Awesome.

Lately Apple has been pushing their windows products, more specifically Safari, and this has got us thinking what the next move may be. Kevin from jkOnTheRun thinks he may know what Apple has up their sleeves and it makes sense, .Mac for the PC.

In this new age we use multiple machines and multiple operating systems. Apple has made major breakthroughs with file sharing and usability between Macs and PCs, but there is still a gap when it comes to syncing up these machines. A new version of .Mac, possibly a “.Mac lite,” could definitely be in the works from Apple for integrating and syncing between your Mac, PC, and maybe even your iPhone.

On the Windows front there are options including Windows Live SkyDrive, a free service with half the space of .Mac. If Apple could launch this service so current .Mac users get a free upgrade or the features for a small fee, Apple could have a hit. Of course, all of this is speculation - we’re basically writing your business plan Apple, no excuses, get to it!

Check out the full post here as it goes into much more detail.

Read [jkOnTheRun]

A lot of people love the ”Back To My Mac” feature shipped with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Sadly, few people get to use this feature, as it is only available for .Mac subscribers. However, Lifehacker has put together an article describing, step by step, how to enable Faux Back To My Mac. Essentially, you’ll have to enable Screen Sharing and FTP file sharing in System Preferences, and then access these two features from other computers using a Static IP you assigned to your computer, and a domain name assigned to that IP (if you don’t like to remember numbers). The “hack” takes advantage of OS X’s built in FTP/ADP, and the Screen Sharing app found in /System/Library/CoreServices. Although the method they describe works fine, a VPN would also do the trick, such as Hamachi. Some people may prefer LogMeIn to the hack, and some people, like me, will save the time and hassle and take my computer with me.

Article [Lifehacker]

Apple has given a much needed boost to the .Mac service. Offering more storage, better integration with iLife ‘08 and even server side SPAM filtering for email.

The online storage has been increased from 1GB to 10GB for individual accounts and from 2GB to 20GB for family packs. Web Gallery will require iPhoto ‘08 and will allow you to upload and share pictures and video from either iPhoto ‘08 or iMovie ‘08. You can also let friends and family upload photos by email or browser or print out images at up to 16x20. The .Mac email now allows for attachments up to 20mb and has spam filtering available. To activate the spam filtering go to your webmail preferences in your .Mac account.

The updates and upgrades to the .Mac service will be given to the current users automatically and should take effect no later than August 14th. New users can sign up for $99.95 a year for an individual or $179.95 for a family pack with a 30-day free trial available. Overall this seems like some much needed improvements, I would say it’s still far from perfect but in my opinion it is now worth the yearly cost.

Read [Apple]