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About
four years ago, Apple came up with a great FREE
internet solution. They named it .Mac (dot-mac),
and it provided an easy way for even novice users
to register a portable e-mail address, create
a personal website, share their files, and find
an ample supply of software for easy download.
A
year later, citing cost issues, Apple announced
.Mac would no longer be available for free. To
ease the sticker shock many current users of the
service felt, Apple introduced a few new product
components of .Mac and promised that enhancements
would be made to .Mac over time.
To
help users sort out the benefits and make an educated
choice about this product, which will be integrated
tightly into future releases of the Macintosh
operating system, I have included some of its
features:
Mail
Along with your .Mac account you receive a single
e-mail address, which you can access either from
your favorite e-mail client (such as Apple's Mail.app,
Outlook Express, Eudora, or Netscape mail) or
via a web browser pointed to webmail.mac.com.
Your
mail account gives you 15 MB of mail storage (expandable
for additional cost), mail forwarding to another
address, and the ability to set up auto-replies
or add your picture to your messages.
Address
Book Sharing
With .Mac you can share your contacts or access
them online. By publishing your contacts you can
access important numbers or e-mail addresses on
the go. And by automatically synchronizing the
data, any changes you make on the road will be
reflected the next time you connect at your home
computer.
Bookmarks
Using .Mac Bookmarks you can keep a copy of your
favorite website online to access from anywhere.
Homepage
The Homepage feature at .Mac allows you to easily
post webpages and allows you to share photos,
movies and files with your friends. Every account
includes a URL from which its site can be accessed.
You can use Homepage's themes and templates to
create your pages. You can share files through
a 'My Dowloads' link. Multiple sites can be maintained
within a single account, with security and password
protection options.
iDisk
Every .Mac account also has access to additional
storage through iDisk. 100 MB of storage is yours
to use to back up files, share with friends or
family or transfer files between computers. iDisk
also gives you access to Apple software downloads
for easy access.
iCards
.Mac users can easily send e-mail postcards to
friends and family with Apple iCards. You can
choose from a wide range of images available from
Apple's portfolio or customize your iCards with
your own images.
Backup
Apple's Backup software is an easy way to back
up your data and files, either to an iDisk or
recordable media. The application is small in
size, easy to download and available to all .Mac
users.
Virex
Apple offers McAfee's Virex virus protection software
to all .Mac subscribers for free download.
Learning
Center
.Mac also gives you access to Learning Center,
a collection of tips and tutorials to help build
your Macintosh skills. From .Mac use to OS X basics
to use of individual software applications, a
wide range of learning tools are available at
.Mac.
For
more information on .Mac check out www.mac.com
and decide for yourself.
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