from the "if it ain't broke..." dept.

Dear Steve Jobs:

You know that I'm a fan of Apple. I'm on my second Mac laptop and have more iPods than I can count. And, I've been a subscriber to .mac -- now MobileMe -- for several years.

But therein lies the rub: .Mac's replacement absolutely sucks. It would suck if it were free. It sucks a thousand times more because I'm paying $100+ a year for it. Well, Steve, no longer.

Luckily I wasn't affected by the chaotic roll-out of the latest re-branding. Unlike many .Mac subscribers, my mail was down for a short time only.

What pisses me off is what you've done to .Mac -- which had been my primary mail server.

Since the "upgrade" the following problems have appeared:

1 - I cannot access my e-mail via webmail on any computer that isn't running Safari or Firefox. So, Steve, how do I upgrade the computer I'm using to access my mail? Short answer: if I'm at an internet cafe or I'm at work, I can't. So what's the use of having MobileMe if I can't read my mail on the road?

2 - Even accessing MobileMe webmail on my 2008-vintage Macbook with hardwired broadband internet is an exercise in frustration. The GUI is slow and unresponsive. It's like pulling teeth to read a single mail. And on an older desktop or using wifi the GUI slows to a crawl if it works at all. There's not even a lower bandwidth GUI option like there was with .Mac!

So it's goodbye to MobileMe and hello GMAIL! Yes GMAIL: it's free, doesn't require a fast computer or lots of bandwidth, and it just works.

If you need to contact me, please don't use my MobileMe address. Use GMAIL.

Kindest Regards

Doug
A former Apple fanboy.

*** UPDATE ***

I don't know if Steve reads Roadspill, but the MobileMe team sent the following mass email this afternoon:

We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users' patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe's launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around.

Too late, Apple. Too late. Careful, or you'll turn into Microsoft...