Still not a member of .Mac? Well, we can't exactly say we're surprised; most people think of the service primarily as an email account and web space, which they consider to be grossly overpriced at $99.95 per year-- and if that were really all .Mac had to offer, we'd have to agree, especially considering the periodic complaints from users about .Mac email's reliability (or notorious lack thereof). Free, reliable email accounts are abundant; free, reliable web space is pretty easy to come by, too. So why pay Apple a hundred clams a year?

But we do subscribe, actually, and while we enjoy the convenience of niceties like integrated and streamlined iPhoto-to-web publishing, for our money, .Mac's real value comes from being able to sync Address Books, iCal calendars, and Safari bookmarks from Mac to Mac, and also to the Internet for online access from any 'net-connected computer. And once Tiger ships in a couple of weeks, .Mac syncing will be even more tightly integrated into the operating system and will also allow the syncing of more data, like Mail accounts and settings. Not that the more obvious .Mac features like HomePage and iDisk aren't convenient, of course, but it's the simple synchronization of data across multiple Macs that keeps us shelling out the moolah every September.

Now, if you're considering giving .Mac a second look, this is as good a time as any-- better, even, since Apple has just launched a new promotion: sign up for a year of .Mac, and you can get $30 back by mail. That seems to be a particularly good deal in light of the fact that Amazon.com is currently selling the .Mac retail boxed edition for $77.99-- with free shipping, to boot. After the rebate, that means your first year of .Mac would cost just $47.99, or less than half-price. That may even be low enough to get a few diehard .Mac skeptics to give it a whirl for a year just to see what all the fuss is about.

"But AtAT," you ask, "isn't all this just a shamelessly transparent attempt on your part to cash in on referrals of Amazon-sold .Mac subscription kits?" Well, duh. You did just hear us talking about wanting to buy a new Power Mac, right? Since we've been assured repeatedly that money does not, in fact, grow on trees, we figured we'd raise the funds by pimping Apple's Internet subscription services, using the newly-announced $30 rebate promotion as a convenient excuse to shove .Mac down as many throats as possible. Which isn't to say that we don't think it's a great service; it is. Just like the Mac itself, .Mac may not be for everyone, but we suspect it's for a lot more people than are actually giving it a chance. So do the research, and if you decide that .Mac might be worth trying, don't forget to cut us in on the deal, okay? Baby needs a new pair of processors.