notMac Challenge hopes to spur free .Mac alternative

by Peter Cohen, MacCentral

Inspired by onMac.net's Windows XP on Intel Mac challenge that spurred enterprising experts to try to get Windows working on Intel-based Macs before Apple’s Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop came to the fore, J. Kent Pepper has begun the notMac Challenge.

“I’m starting the notMac Challenge to encourage the development of an easy-to-use replacement for Apple’s dotMac service,” Pepper explained.

“Since Apple started charging for dotMac, I’ve spent $495 on membership. That seems kind of steep since all the dotMac features I use most could be accessed using my own server. Much of the required code already exists but requires a very high degree of technical proficiency to execute.”

Pepper is encouraging like-minded users who are interested in a free alternative to Apple’s .Mac service to contribute to the prize pool. Pepper will match the first $10,000.

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