Spymac

Spymac is a web magazine with a community comprised largely of Apple Macintosh users. Providing comprehensive news, reviews, features, message boards, email, web hosting, and graphics gallery, Spymac members can also host their own blog, online calendar and discussion area.

Spymac was founded in late 2001 by two people going by the names "AtariST" and "Nostradamus" as a Macintosh enthusiast site. One of Spymac's early stories concerned the iWalk, an Apple PDA that was supposed to be released on October 23, 2001. The photographs and description were shown to be a hoax, possibly based on the rumors generated by the iPod's development (the iPod was unveiled on the iWalk's purported release date). Early in 2002, Spymac reported on the upcoming release of a similar product, again called iWalk. This article, complete with video of the supposed device, was not conclusively debunked, but numerous criticisms of the video cast doubt on its authenticity. As of 2004, Apple has not produced a new PDA. While Spymac has claimed in both cases to be a victim of the hoaxes, many detractors have accused the site of faking the material itself.

Spymac Network, Inc., with offices in the USA, Canada and Germany, is developing under the premise that community is the Internet's most valuable resource. Founded in late 2001 as a Macintosh enthusiast site, Spymac now provides paid and free Internet services to nearly one million members. Spymac launched the Internet's first public 1 GB email service, Spymac Mail in April of 2004. This announcement came days after Gmail's heavily publicized beta launch. Spymac also produces its own line of best-selling notebook cases, computer accessories and furniture, which can be purchased in leading retail outlets throughout Europe and via Spymac's Online Shop.

Products and Services

Spymac Wheel - An online service for Mac OS X and Windows users that includes Spymac Mail Pro, iCal and Web page hosting, plus a suite of Internet applications that integrate seamlessly into your desktop. Get rolling today.

Spymac MailPro – The premier paid e-mail service on the Internet, for both Mac OS X and Windows. For only very little, members receive an advertisement-free 3 GB e-mail account that includes IMAP, POP and Web-mail access, desktop syncing, leading edge spam and virus filters, and cell-phone integration.

Spymac World - Spymac World offers an unsurpassed suite of services, including 1 GB e-mail, web hosting, iCal hosting and photo sharing... completely free.

Spymac Hosting - Affordable, feature packed hosting that lets users host their site with the same technology and in the same location as Spymac.com.

Spymac Shop - From notebook cases to designer Italian furniture, Spymac strives to bring its customers products with plently of style and substance.

Spymac Advertising - From Microsoft Corp. to IDG, Spymac has helped organizations of all sizes to implement highly effective advertising campaigns.

The Gallery - An open-to-all-members photo gallery at Spymac. The Gallery allows users to upload their photographs and have them rated by peers for whatever qualities the photos may possess. In Spymac's most recent major update, voting polls were created to allow users to ask questions over their pictures. This voting feature is new to The Gallery although the feature itself has been part of Spymac's discussion forums prior to its implementation in The Gallery.

Shoutbox - A page-based chat program located at the right side of every page on the Spymac site. A toggle switch above the Shoutbox allows users to change between the Shoutbox and the most recent forum posts. To save on bandwidth, refreshing the Shoutbox is not automatic. Regarding Shoutbox content, PG-13 rules apply most of the time.

Spymac WOS

Spymac is powered by an integrated collection of applications (developed in-house) that together form "Spymac WOS". The Spymac Web Operating System is an intelligent environment featuring patent-pending technology that allows for the creation of an immersive and visually-stunning Web experience. This Web Operating System is due to be updated to "Spymac 4" on August 31, 2005. Upgrades are to include large hardware updates, and rewriting of most of the WOS code.

Smart Time Sensitivy – The WOS determines time-appropriate events, images, text, and everything in between by automatically syncing with each visitor's system clock. The login page features more than 24 variations of lighting to correspond with each hour of the day; the primary navigational system darkens and changes as night falls; and system-messages adapt to the individual user's time.

Image Manipulation – Images uploaded to Spymac are resized, rotated, masked and framed based on the characteristics of each individual image, advanced algorithms and a touch of random behavior. Thumbnail creation in the Gallery, Auction items and even user avatars are all handled in the same fashion, providing unique and visually impressive images to all areas of the site.

Event Management And Notification – Just as the Mac OS X dock communicates application events visually, the navigational elements in Spymac are smart enough to detect important occurrences, such as the arrival of a new e-mail to a member's Spymac Mail account or the start of a new Auction. The navigational system communicates these events graphically and instantly: providing a look and feel similar to that of a desktop operation system.

XML Output – All dynamic content has a dedicated XML stream, making integration with Mac OS X desktop applications, widgets and other Web technology seamless and powerful. Example streams include Forum posts, Gallery comments, Auctions and daily news.

Alliance System – Spymac's unique friend manager allows members to control private images, build alliances and communicate secretly using Invisible Ink technology.

External links

• Spymac home page (http://www.spymac.com/)
• Spymac's webmail launch announcement (http://www.spymac.com/news/index.php?contentid=274)
• Wayback Machine archive of the October 2001 Spymac iWalk announcement (http://web.archive.org/web/20011025213922/http://www.spymac.com/index.html)