Macbook air as 2nd computer

[msregister]

I work primarily on an 24' imac and am considering a new macbook air as a 2nd computer for take home work (overnight) and travel computer. my question is how can i have my emails in mail and work files always and effortlessly in sync between my work imac and the macbook air?

[wordmunger]

For your work files: Get DropBox. Much better than iDisk!

For email: A lot of users have success with GMail. I just use GMail web access on my MBA, but you could also use IMAP to have it sync with Apple Mail on both computers.

[msregister]

thanks for the tip with gmail, however i need to use my companies email address.

[Maui]

I gave up on MobileMe. For ease of use, its hard to beat Dropbox + Gmail. I have to do a bit of file management with Dropbox, since my Mac Pro has far too many files to sync with my Air, but once you set up which folders sync, you can forget about it and it just happens. Dropbox also syncs my passwords (I use 1Password) and I use foxmarks to sync bookmarks.

What program do you use to access your co. e-mail?

[wordmunger]

thanks for the tip with gmail, however i need to use my companies email address.

Your company doesn't have web access to email?

Is it possible to have all your company email automatically forwarded to a Gmail account? You can set a different reply-to address on your Gmail account.

[yoppie]

Here's another vote for Dropbox. I use it to sync school files.

As for e-mails, if your workplace has IMAP you can set it up for use with Mail. I access my school webmail account through Mail and it was pretty easy to set up.

[msregister]

i also have many mailboxes that i sort my mail to and need to have access to, how can i keep those constantly in sync between both computers?

[msregister]

we are a small company without server based email etc. just a hosted domain based email that i work with apples mail program. i would need to have my mailboxes in sync so that i can work also offline, especially on flights.

[camarobh]

I use a Macbook Air as my second computer, my primary being my iMac. I use MobileMe without any issue to keep everything in sync.

[Essjay]

Another vote for Dropbox, been using it since the beta started, its absolutly great!

Is it possible for mail to not download all the messages to the HD and just have it store a few? 5GB of mail is alot for a small HD...

[lucidmedia]

i also have many mailboxes that i sort my mail to and need to have access to, how can i keep those constantly in sync between both computers?

see if your email host will allow you to use the IMAP email protocol

[lucidmedia]

Another vote for Dropbox, been using it since the beta started, its absolutly great!

Can anyone clue me in on how much a service like dropbox costs? I did not see any rates on their website. Looks like a great service.

I am currently using me.com for calendar and limited file syncing across 5 macs. I use imap for all of my email.

[HLdan]

I use a Macbook Air as my second computer, my primary being my iMac. I use MobileMe without any issue to keep everything in sync.

DropBox seems to be getting the most praise however I have never tried it but I use MobileMe and love it. It's much easier than some 3rd party application. I have the new Macbook Air, an iPod Touch and a 24" iMac and I run my business on my Macs and I have to keep them all in sync without fuss.
The one thing I love about Mobileme (dot Mac) is when I got my MacBook Air last week all I had to do is type in my MobileMe username and password in System Preferences and it automatically downloaded all my contacts, emails and calendars within 40 seconds. I was ready to work in under a minute. This is really handy when you need to reformat your hard drive.
Plus it works with Exchange Server.

I don't think you're going to get quick and simple functionality from any 3rd party app like Mobileme.
You can also buy Mobileme on Ebay for under $50.00.

[aristobrat]

we are a small company without server based email etc. just a hosted domain based email that i work with apples mail program. i would need to have my mailboxes in sync so that i can work also offline, especially on flights.
Like lucidmedia said, if your web host allows you to access your mail via the IMAP email protocol, you won't have any problems keeping multiple computers in sync (assuming you setup the Mail program on each computer to access your email via IMAP).

If they only allow access via the POP email protocol, you're going to have problems (as that protocol was not designed to allow multiple computers to access email and keep them in sync).

The Mail program on your Mac supports both protocols. Hopefully your web host supports IMAP.

see if your email host will allow you to use the IMAP email protocol

[ksmith80209]

Again - Dropbox. It is so good, I paid to upgrade to the 50GB version. Syncing is so fast that on numerous occasions I have thought something was wrong - sync wasn't working - only to find out it synced before I could even notice.

That plus Fastmail IMAP and my Air is an awesome 2nd machine in perfect sync with my MBP.

[Loki.Mephisto]

Some people suggest fruux (see http://www.fruux.com/)

Maybe you take a look at it, i coulnd´t test it on my own yet.

[msregister]

thanks for all the suggestions. will any of those proposed solutions sync all my 20 email folders with the emails in each folder?

[DaveOZ]

Mobile Me all the way. When I open my Air it is always synced with my other Mac. iCal, Mail, Address etc. Never had a problem with it. Yes it will work with all your folders.

Forgot to add, you should be able to continue using your current mail account, just have all mail forwarded to Mobile Me and let it manage your mail. That's what I do and it works.

[aristobrat]

thanks for all the suggestions. will any of those proposed solutions sync all my 20 email folders with the emails in each folder?
If your current email host offers IMAP access to your email, you won't need a third-party solution to keep everything in sync.

The Dropbox solution looks only to be for syncing files.
The Fruux solution looks to be just syncing addressbook, etc .. not email.

[APPLENEWBIE]

Mobile Me all the way. When I open my Air it is always synced with my other Mac. iCal, Mail, Address etc. Never had a problem with it. Yes it will work with all your folders.. Me too. No problems, nice and stable for quite a while now. But OMG why is iDisc so SLOOOOOWWW?

[Borjan]

Hmm.. all these solutions work if you are connected to the internet though.. what its down?