| Apple's .Mac is a suite of services you can access that literally integrate your Mac into the Internet. These services include the following: Email Using .Mac provides you with an email account you can use to send and receive email. Your .Mac email address ends in @mac.com, so using it is a good way to identify yourself as a Mac user. Using the Webmail service, you can also access your .Mac email account from a web browser. You can add more email accounts to your .Mac account for a nominal fee. iDisk An iDisk is a virtual disk space you can use to store files just like a disk attached to your Mac. A number of folders exist on an iDisk by default. For example, you can place items in your Public folder, and any Mac users who know your .Mac member name can access the files in that folder (which is an excellent way to share files with other Mac users around the world). And, you can create a website to share the files in your Public folder with anyone. You also store the data that forms your .Mac web page on your iDisk. You can configure your Mac to create a local copy of your iDisk and keep it automatically synchronized with the online version. An iDisk might be the most useful feature of having a .Mac account. HomePage The HomePage service enables you to create and serve a website. You can use HomePage templates to create a site, or you can use a web page application to create your site and use .Mac to serve it. Synchronization If you use more than one Mac, you can use .Mac to synchronize information across those Macs, such as your Safari bookmarks, your Address Book, and so on. Software The .Mac service enables you to download and use software for free, such as Apple's Backup, Virex Anti-virus, and games. You can also access a lot of other software, such as demos, updates, and more. Online chat Your .Mac email account enables you to take advantage of iChat to chat online via text, audio, and video. iCards These are electronic greeting cards you can send to others via email. There are numerous card combinations you can sendthese are great for the artistically challenged because you can create a customized greeting card by selecting from the available images and styles.
The only requirement to use .Mac is that you can connect to the Internet, can have a .Mac account, and are using Mac OS 9 or later. NOTE You can use .Mac with any kind of Internet connection. Like all Internet services, .Mac will work much better with a broadband connection, especially for iDisk and HomePage. If you do use a broadband connection, you'll soon find that .Mac does become an extension of your Mac.
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