Apple’s .Mac services are not new to the Macintosh, but as technology advances and bandwidths expand, the number of services offered gets better and better. The genesis of .Mac services was born from the fact that Apple controls both ends of the connection (they own the Apple Web site, and they make the computers). The developers at Apple decided to come up with some really great proprietary services, and then make them available to Macintosh users.

For example, Macintosh users should be able to communicate easily with other Macintosh users, so iChat was invented. In addition, Macintosh users should be able to have a virtual hard drive (iDisk) to store their stuff, and they should be able to open it and use that stuff on any other computer; even a Windows machine. And that’s not all, faithful Mac users should have sophisticated e-mail services, video conferencing abilities, and the ability to build and maintain a Web site; plus you should have access to programs to backup your important documents. In truth, there are dozens of .Mac features, and more being added all the time.

You can join the .Mac community for free, and receive some limited features; however, if you want to utilize the full power of a .Mac subscription you’ll pay over one hundred dollars a year. While that may seem like a substantial chunk of change, the benefits of the services are great and if you do the math, it breaks down to about eight dollars a month.

When you join the .Mac community, you’re immediately connected with thousands of other happy Macintosh users. Not only does a subscription to .Mac give you access to all kinds of cool stuff, it also gives you access to stable e-mail, communications software, and a Help system geared specifically to the Macintosh operating system. Joining the .Mac community is quick and simple; however, there are system requirements you should check before you begin the process. If you meet all of the requirements, you’ll need a credit card to complete the online purchase.

Once you’ve filled out all the information on the 3-screen registration form, and then clicked Submit, you now have instant access to the full power of the Apple .Mac community and the Web. The good news is that you can access your account from any computer, anywhere, at any time of the day or night. You might say that the .Mac community never sleeps. Your .Mac account is not measured by time spent online. Once you pay your subscription fee, you can use the account as often as you want. The process of signing on is simple and painless; in fact, you could create a bookmark for the Macintosh in your browser, and automate the entire process.

Once you’re registered as a user, all of the advantages of the .Mac site become instantly available; including the ability to read and send e-mail from your new mail account, store and share your photos online, create a custom Web site, work with groups and teams online, synchronize .Mac content across multiple Mac computers, and manage and backup files online. A .Mac account gives you access to a centralized online site you can use to work with and synchronize your bookmarks, contacts, and calendars with all of your Macs. When you login in to your online .Mac account, you can set account preferences for personal information, password and storage settings, and .Mac mail.

The .Mac Mail service gives you a way to keep in touch with friends, family, and clients at home, or wherever you travel. And you don’t even have to have your own computer. You can access, read, and save your e-mail using a Web browser on any computer, anywhere, through the www.mac.com/dotmac Web site. After you setup a .Mac account, you are now ready to receive and send e-mail to other .Mac members, or to anyone with an Internet e-mail address.

The iCards service is an exclusive .Mac area designed to let you send personalized electronic postcards to your .Mac friends, or anyone that has an e-mail account anywhere in the world. You can select from an abundance of cards, all organized into logical categories such as: Holidays, At The Office, and Just Because to name a few. New categories are being added all the time, in fact, if you’re a budding photographer, you can even submit your images. The designers of the iCards service have a contest, and once a month they select a winner from the submitted artists. If you win, your images are displayed in the Featured Artist section of the iCards page.

Your .Mac Address Book lets you store personal and business information on all your friends, relatives, and contacts, in one safe place. In truth, you might actually have two or three other places where this same information is stored, maybe Safari, the Address Book application that comes bundled with the Leopard operating system, or even your iPod. The .Mac address book is used to maintain your mailing lists and e-mail contacts. However, before you despair of having to type in all those contacts again, Macintosh gives you a way to Sync all of the contacts and keep them up-to-date, no matter what application performed the changes.

Bookmarks are just another place to store the addresses of all the fantastic Web sites that you are constantly going back to, time and time again. As the years roll by, you’ve probably generated quite a collection of bookmarks, and you need access to them. Since these great bookmarks are located within your browser, why would you need them in two places? What if you’re on the road, you don’t have your computer, and you need information on that great restaurant... but you don’t remember their Web site? All you have to do is sign into your .Mac account (on any computer), and access your bookmarks. With the amount of traveling some people do, that can turn out to be a lifesaver.

Most of us would like to have our own customized Web site; however, many lack the experience to build the site, or don’t know a Web designer who would do a good job for the least amount of money and maintenance. If you want to create a Web site that shows off pictures of your family, or you want to create an online resume, there’s no need to hold back any longer, because having a .Mac account gives you the ability to create a Web site. By following step-by-step instructions using an application called HomePage. As a matter of fact, if you’re a Web designer, you can create the site using programs such as Macromedia Dreamweaver, or Adobe GoLive, and upload the site. Your .Mac account lets you create a Web site, based on your level of experience, and helps you tailor the site to your specific needs.

Web sites don’t remain the same, they’re fluid. For example, you’ve created a Web site containing pictures of your family, and your daughter just had a baby. You had better get that picture of the new addition to the family out there double-quick. Possibly you created a resume page, and you need to add (or subtract) some of the information. Regardless of the situation, once you create a Web site, as sure as the sun rises, you’ll want to change it. Editing a Web site is actually easier than creating the site. All you have to do is select a page, make changes, and then click Publish. And, if making too many changes to your Web site has you spinning in circles, simply delete all of the pages in the old Web site, and .Mac lets you start all over.

Backing up your files is one of those things that most of us talk about, but seldom do on a regular basis. However, if you’ve ever experienced a catastrophic failure of your hard drive, a current backup can mean the difference between a simple restoration process, or the permanent loss of all your precious information. In addition, backups are not enough; they should be “off site” backups. In other words, your backup disks should not be in the same location as your computer (what if there were a fire). The good news is that owning a .Mac account makes backing up and restoring files easy (they supply you with the software), and you can create off-site backups using a CD/DVD or your iDisk. You can choose backup options to make it easy. For example, you can select options to backup your Home folder, personal data & settings, iLife data files, purchased music and video from iTunes, or custom to select your own files.

Probably one of the coolest, and most-used features of a .Mac account is iDisk. The iDisk service is like having a 10GB hard drive available to you anytime and anywhere you can plug into the Internet. The iDisk is perfect for performing off-site backups, or for storing large files for later use. For example, you could place large files in your iDisk (files that are too big to e-mail), and then download them when you get to your destination. Or if you have a high-speed Internet connection, you could simply use it as a secondary storage device. In addition, if you need more room, you can always upgrade and purchase more space. The good news is that once iDisk is open, you can treat it just like any other storage device on your computer. In fact, the Public folder located in your iDisk can be accessed by anyone owning a .Mac account. This is the perfect place for placing a document that needs to be distributed to co-workers, or as a place to store photos for other .Mac users to see.

If you’re not connected to the Internet, you can create a local copy of your iDisk on your computer, so you can make changes to it at any time. The next time you connect to the Internet, the local changes you made on your computer are synchronized with your iDisk online. If you need more iDisk space online, you can upgrade to 1GB of combined .Mac mail and iDisk storage. You can find out current iDisk storage usage information on the iDisk tab in .Mac Preferences. If you change the size of your iDisk storage, your local iDisk storage is automatically changed. If you are away from your computer, you can access your iDisk public folder online. The Web address is similar to http://idisk.mac.com/ accountname-Public. The public folder is available to anyone who knows how to access it unless you add password protection, which you can set in the .Mac Preferences.

Change iDisk Public Folder Permissions

1. Click the System Preferences icon in the Dock, and then click the .Mac icon.

   

2. Click the iDisk tab.

3. Click the Read only or Read and Write option.

   If you selected the Read and Write option, it’s important to set a password.

4. Select the Password-protect your public folder check box.

5. Type a password 6 to 8 characters, and then type it again to confirm it.

   

6. Click OK.

7. To change the password, click Set Password, type a new password, confirm it, and then click OK.

8. Click the Close button.

Did You Know?

You can connect to your iDisk public folder in .Mac preferences. Click the System Preferences icon in the Dock, click the .Mac icon, click the iDisk tab, and then click the link to your iDisk public folder.

Having difficulty running your virus software? When you perform a backup, should you include application files? And what about the problems you’re having loading and playing your favorite Mac game? Don’t worry, help is on the way in the form of the .Mac community of users, as well as, the full support of the Apple Exchange. Apple’s support system is constantly being updated to reflect the state of the current Macintosh software and hardware. If you have a question, and you need an answer, the .Mac online support system is the place to be.