Does anyone use dot mac?

[jeremy6044]

i don't know if this is the correct forum to ask this question, but i was just given a gift subscription to dot mac, and i'm wondering if anyone uses it for anything?

i know i can read about what the features are, like email addresses, etc...but what do you use it for in real world uses? is it practical?

[FBDiver]

I'm using a trial account now to figure out the same thing. I think it's a little pricey, but the new features with Leopard are pretty attractive:
sync login profile across multiple macs is super. I like the fact I have space for backups, file shareing so I don't need a server to share files from home and work or with friends, etc. The web stuff in nice but not a big deal for me.

Basically before Leopard I wouldn't have thought about .mac, now I might actually sign up after my trial ends.

I would suggest signing up for the trial and see for yourself.

[paul.b.davis]

It was great when I got my new MBP, I did one sync and all my PowerBook's old setting were there. It was almost like no switch at all

iDisk is great for me because I do not have a printer at my house, so I use it for loading things onto a school computer for printing.

I like that iWeb posts all the changes to my site with just one click (this is the main reason I got .Mac)

The e-mail just plain works with Apple's Mail (go figure) and the e-mail aliases are good for keeping spam out of your inbox if you give one of them to the wrong online retailer.

Hope this helps

[roland.g]

I use it for my main email and for my homepage with movies and photos. I want to start using iWeb to update the page. I use the iDisk to transfer files and iDisk utility for Windows to retrieve those files at work, etc. I find it pretty handy. I've had it since forever when it was a free iTools account, and paid for the subscription when they changed it/added features. I also use it for iChat rather than an AIM name.

EDIT: When I upgraded to 10.5 I did a clean install and synced before and after to get all my data.

[britpop]

My dot mac account will expire in 5 days. I wont be renewing.

[vanmacguy]

I use it all the time. I subscribed when I got my first Mac and wouldn't be without it.

Sure, it's not cheap and there are free ways to do all the things that .Mac gives you, but it's a fully integrated solution and keeping two or more Mac's in sync is brainless.

I like the fact that it just works all the time.

Cheers.

[cohibadad]

.mac is nice for lots of stuff. Mail is like gmail imap but has more functionality for iphone (notes). Mostly .mac integrates your apple devices so naturally those with multiple mac devices get the most out of it. Photo uploads from iphone displayed on web and synced for multiple viewers, pw protected or not is one example. It is also the easiest way to use many of iLife features such as iWeb site creation.

[Quillz]

I only use it for the Safari bookmark syncing, iDisk and Back To My Mac. Except the latter really doesn't work right.

[TheQuestion]

i love .mac

I use just about feature, but Photo galleries, iweb publishing are the best. 10GB of storage really helps too.

That being said, many people try it but only end up using the email. I can understand why they don't want it.

[tyr2]

I recently subscribed to it, with a cheap subscription from eBay, £40. I wanted the address book / calendar / safari syncing, which I have to say works very well indeed.

I've not tried the web/idisk/email stuff as I've already got that from somewhere else.

Is it worth it for me? Just about with the cheap subscription. I'll be looking at the notmac guys again when the subscription comes up for renewal.

[BornAgainMac]

Steve Jobs talked about some secret new features with .Mac back in June when he was sitting next to Bill Gates. So the increase in storage and the photo AJAX technology and using it to locate your Mac over the Internet to get your files is what he was talking about? I was hoping to see more with it. I hope MacWorld has something better announced.

[Mal]

I have a free account through work, and I've been using it for photo hosting and backup of my important docs and my settings. The last part is a bit superfluous with Leopard and Time Machine, but popping up a photo album from iPhoto is so simple, it's really work the money if there's any chance you're going to want to show someone else a digital picture or two anytime during your subscription.

jW

[/dev/toaster]

I use it and love it. I can't tell you how many times it saved my ass when I was out and about and needed to grab a contacts info or something like that.

Not to mention, its very helpful to sync my contacts and bookmarks to multiple machines. The web gallery in iLife '08 is really really nice as well.

Yes, its a bit pricey but if you fully utilize it its well worth it.

[Mindflux]

I have a trial, but honestly I can't see myself paying for it yearly. Between my web hosting, and google's picasa easing upload's to the web.. i have enough email addresses and web space (both free and paid for).

[nemex]

I use it basically for the mail. For some reason it is the only external webmail application that doesn't get blocked at work by the firewall.

Behind the scenes it also keeps my contacts, mail preferences, etc. in Sync between my 2 macs.

The iDisk, is good too, though I don't use it very much because my uplink speed is terrible.

:apple:

[jeremy6044]

well, i don't have any other web hosting. i also only have one mac, so syncing wouldn't be necessary. i can imagine it might be useful for uploading pictures for me. the thing is, i don't like the fact that your email address disappears when you stop subscribing. i've used the same yahoo email for years and don't worry about it just disappearing or having to pay for it. the other thing is that i use carbonite on my pc (similar to mozy on mac, i think), and i'd love to use .mac with time machine for an off site back up...but 10 gb is wayyyy too small. they should at least give 30-50gb.

i do like the idea of everything being integrated, though. hmmm...

[Jestered]

...and i'd love to use .mac with time machine for an off site back up...but 10 gb is wayyyy too small. they should at least give 30-50gb.

.mac is not a full backup solution. The iDisk can be used to backup pictures, files, docs, etc... It was never meant to be used as an external full backup. That is why they don't offer more than 10GB (at least as far as backing up goes).

[Maui]

With an upgrade you can run a 30 GB iDisk. Still not large enough for a really backup solution, but a nice place to just stick stuff, especially when working across 3 machines.

For me, the synch'ing of 3 machines, contacts, etc., is well worth the prices. It could stand for some more features, though.

[Kilamite]

I use .Mac, and I love it. Syncs all my settings, dock layout etc. When I did a clean install for Leopard, I entered my .Mac stuff and bingo, my desktop looked familiar to what I had in Tiger.

Good mail service, I love the @mac.com, makes me feel special :p and iDisk I use all the time, for showing screenshots on this forum, sharing videos with friends etc.

A little bit pricey, I'd rather it was half the price it is, but worth it.

[Cloudane]

Nah. I couldn't justify it for the price, considering I have enough technical knowledge to run my own domain with Dreamhost, use WebDav for an "iDisk", sync address book using phone and bluetooth, sync calendar using gCal etc. There's very little (if anything) that I can't do better for free already.

The rather snazzy new photo gallery would've swayed me to it if it was suitable for my level of photography but given the low resolutions and high compression that can't be changed, it's only really suitable for casual snappers.

I'd also be very tempted if it was offered on a pay-monthly basis, but Apple are too greedy for that, they'd rather nail you down for a year.

[MadGoat]

My first thought was, why would I pay for something I can get for free? I am an advanced computer user, but sometimes I like to have someone else do the work for me. Sure I can code something similar to backup and isync and I have 100 times the space with my web hosting company that I could use for remote storage. Although for 100 and some dollars for a year, I think that's a pretty good deal.

I also think having an @mac.com email address looks better than hotmail or gmail in the professional world. I use it solely on my resume now.

[lofight]

I don't, but i still have the 60 day free, so maybe i will use that one day..

[Cybergypsy]

I used it when it was free....god i am old

[MacBlackBook22]

i don't know if this is the correct forum to ask this question, but i was just given a gift subscription to dot mac, and i'm wondering if anyone uses it for anything?

i know i can read about what the features are, like email addresses, etc...but what do you use it for in real world uses? is it practical?

I find it very useful especially now with the back to my mac feature (it took me awhile to get it to work but it does now) and it was great when I had to do a clean install on my macbooks when upgrading to Leopard. I was able to download all my mail and calendar etc from .mac it sure saved all the tedious inputing all my email accounts info. Just having my iCal sync everyday between my home macbook and my roaming macbook is invaluable for keeping my work schedule synchronized. Before they had the back to my mac option is was great to have the storage on .mac I put any and all files I might need while out of the house and at computer clients. Plus the @mac.com emails are great I use them as my main email now.. So for me its a big "thumbs up" for .mac :apple::apple:

[vansouza]

i don't know if this is the correct forum to ask this question, but i was just given a gift subscription to dot mac, and i'm wondering if anyone uses it for anything?

i know i can read about what the features are, like email addresses, etc...but what do you use it for in real world uses? is it practical?

The house has three .Mac accounts; so I guess we like it.

[Mindflux]

The house has three .Mac accounts; so I guess we like it.


.Mac Family pack, you mean? :P

[admiraldennis]

Yeah, I used .Mac...

back when it was called iTools and it was free :p

[psychofreak]

.Mac Family pack, you mean? :P

Maybe not; there is more storage with individual .Mac accounts, which is needed in some cases...

[vansouza]

.Mac Family pack, you mean? :P

Yes to both... sadly this house is smitten... 4 macs and 3 .Mac accounts... not family on .Mac

[ivan1234]

i bought it primarily because I wanted a private email addy (.mac) and I never did use any of the other features. Alas I did not renew my .mac subscription after that initial year. Every feature I found useful with .mac could be obtained elsewhere for cheaper or for free i.e. flickr for image hosting.

[pprior]

i bought it primarily because I wanted a private email addy (.mac) and I never did use any of the other features. Alas I did not renew my .mac subscription after that initial year. Every feature I found useful with .mac could be obtained elsewhere for cheaper or for free i.e. flickr for image hosting.

I bought .mac because i couldn't find any other option for picture sharing that easily let's multiple people upload pictures to a common collection.

I.e. - school trip, everyone can upload their pictures to a common webpage and thus share them. Flickr and others don't seem to suppport this.