Women in Technology

All of the features you mention above are available for much cheaper (in some cases for free) if you just want to spend a little "hands-on" time with some code.

Where .Mac exels is in it's ability to work seamlessly with iPhoto, iCal, iSync and iTunes. Not to mention Address Book and Backup.

I can post a password protected web page of photos in a couple of minutes and still have the ability to update it from any web browser without having to open a single html file. I can also easily share a calendar either online or directly with another OS X user as well as access my address book online. And I can have all of this synchronized between work and home on a regular basis using iSync.

I do agree that the above features would add nicely to .Mac's current feature set, but i think that Apple's original intention may have been to focus on some features that weren't available elsewhere and would complement the current set of iApps.