Apple Launches .Mac

MACWORLD EXPO, NEW YORK—July 17, 2002—Apple® today launched .Mac, a new suite of Internet services and software that provides Mac® users with powerful tools for their life on the Internet. .Mac features email service with IMAP, POP or web-based access; 100MB of Internet storage seamlessly integrated with the Mac® OS X Finder™; and always-on hosting for personalized homepages and digital photo albums that can be shared with anyone on the Internet.

“.Mac does what others have tried and failed to do—make Internet Services a seamless extension of your computer,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “It has never been easier to store, publish, share or communicate on the Internet.”

.Mac introduces the ability to share calendars from Apple’s innovative iCal software with colleagues, friends and family members. To protect users’ personal information, .Mac includes McAfee’s Virex antivirus software with online updating, and Backup, Apple’s easy-to-use solution for backing up important data to CDs, DVDs and even automatically to Apple’s iDisk Internet servers.

Available immediately, .Mac’s powerful set of sharing, protection and communication tools include:

• Mac.com email, a robust email service that includes 15MB of IMAP/POP mail storage, secure access to mail, virus protection and a brand new web-based interface;
• iDisk, 100MB of Internet storage that is built into the Mac OS X Finder and also accessible from Windows or Linux machines;
• HomePage, Apple’s easy-to-use web site creation tool that allows users to publish an elegant web site in minutes;
• McAfee’s award-winning Virex anti-virus software to help users minimize the risk of viruses; and
• Backup, a personal back-up solution that allows users to archive data to their iDisk, CD or DVD.

With the availability of Mac OS X version 10.2 “Jaguar,” the next major release of Mac OS X, .Mac Members will also be able to take advantage of: • Apple’s new iCal calendar sharing application, that allows users to publish and automatically update family or group calendars to the web so group members can all keep track of upcoming events and activities; and • Mac Slides, a new service that lets users turn sets of photos into dynamic screen savers that can be accessed by other “Jaguar” users; when the owner makes changes to the set of photos, everyone’s screen saver is automatically refreshed with the new images.

Pricing and Availability
.Mac is available immediately as a subscription-based service for $99.95 (US) per year. Existing iTools accounts will be transitioned to .Mac accounts during a free trial period ending September 30, 2002. iTools members as of midnight, July 16, who sign up for .Mac before September 30, will receive a special introductory offer of $49.95 (US) for the first year. New Macintosh® customers can sign up for a free, 60-day .Mac trial from www.mac.com. .Mac will be available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

.Mac requires Mac OS X v10.1.3 or later; 128MB SDRAM; internal CD-RW or DVD-R drive (to create CD or DVD backups); Netscape 4.7 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later. iCal requires Mac OS X v10.2. The Virex anti-virus software, Mac.com email, iDisk, HomePage and iCards features of .Mac can also be accessed using Mac OS 9.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

Press Contacts:
Alicia Awbrey
Apple
(408) 974-0922
awbrey@apple.com

Nicole Scott
Edelman Worldwide
(650) 429-2764
nicole.scott@edelman.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website (www.apple.com/pr/), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Apple Store and Finder are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.