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Is the Glass 4.54% Full or 95% Empty: 2.1 Million Jump .mac Ship


Remember how Monday Apple announced .mac has 100,000 members? That’s a less impressive number when you consider iTools had 2.2 million members. So if 100,000 have poneyed up the US$49/yr to pay for .mac, that means some 2.1 million former iTools users haven’t, a figure Macworld UK says Apple admitted is correct. (In fact, assuming some .mac members were NOT iTools members, actual adoption may be even lower.)

Apple’s senior vice president of applications Sina Tamaddon continues to spin adoption rates positively, telling Macworld UK “We’re thrilled to have more than 100,000 .Mac subscribers so quickly.” Let’s review, though: in just a few days, iTools users will have their e-mail deleted and the price of switching to .mac will double to $99/yr. And 95% of iTools users have decided to give up accounts rather than pay. Apple, already having difficulty convincing users to upgrade to OS X, will need to make a much stronger case for .mac if it wants to speed adoption rates. But it’s hard not see why they’re “delighted” with just 100,000 users: assuming, conservatively, that everyone was at the $49/yr rate, that’s roughly US$5,000,000 in revenue from charging for the service. Not bad pocket change. Now if Apple could find some additional revenue streams: Dogcow!, the Saturday morning cartoon?

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.