The Dot In The Mac

[dominiquejames]

After the 60-day trial period, and after the activation of the year-long .Mac account (particularly thru the special efforts of PhilMUG and associates), I'm sure we all want to make the most out of our individually subscribed accounts.

Let's use this thread to discuss the finer points of our account and how we can make the most out of it.

For starters, I'd like to know if you guys have downloaded and installed the free Virex software, and if your computer has ever catched or cleaned a virus.

Did you also install the other free software and do you use them? And the free games? And the free 300 Garageband loops?

What do you think of the iDisk utility?

Do you actually use all the features of the .Mac account? If not, which ones do you use the most and which ones you don't?

What can't-live-without-it features do you love and what do you find absolutely, essentially useful with your .Mac account?

What are the features you'd love to see developed, improved, added, updated, revised, changed?

I'm practically a newbie with the .Mac account, so were there other freebies and benefits that were previously available but are no longer available now, and for what reason?

And can we look forward to the same discounted rate from our friendly and helpful suppliers when renewal time comes? Can we renew for 2 to 3 or 4 years instead of only yearly?

Let's talk about our .Mac accounts here and how we can make the most out of it.

[Edited on 12-29-2004 by dominiquejames]

[zChris]

I look forward to this thread as I just subscribed using the promo and am still trying to figure out what to do with it.

1. I have my own domain name so I am trying to figure out whether to switch to the .Mac email or not.

2. I want to use my iDisk for posting mixtapes that I put together. However I dont really want to use the built in templates for file sharing. I am therefore thinking of integrating my blog (using blogger) to post the URLs for the download material. I am still thinking about the best way of doing this.

3. I was able to iSync my contacts successfully. However, the most updated version is in my server at work and for some reason I can get my office data using Entourage anymore so my .Mac address book is not that updated.

4. I seem to have an issue iSyncing my bookmarks. The sync seems successful but when I go to the bookmarks page, I get some sort of error.

5. The mail aliases feature is really interesting. I am still thinking about how to properly use this for best effect.

6. I downloaded Virex. Did a scan and no viruses found. I think I have to update the definitions though.

7. I just dont feel safe using backup to store my office files in a third party server. So I doubt I would actually use Backup.

In short, I have a lot of ideas but a long way to go!

[dominiquejames]

Like you, I feel that the .Mac account offers a whole world of possibilities that can be, at times, overwhelming for new users. I am also looking forward to hearing the ideas of our other members specially those who have been using .Mac for a number of years now on the creative ways they use their accounts.

[Aldrich]

im still on my free trial. Is there any reason i should spend almost 6k for this? the only thing i like is the email lol

[elbert]

I love .mac.

I picked up my discounted copy from Apple Center 2 days ago and immediately enrolled my account (which renews in 14 days).

I was happy to see that the retail box comes with two Apple stickers! Who says you need to buy a new Apple computer to get those stickers?

I downloaded Virex long ago, but I don't use it.

I download all the free games. In fact, in addition to Chess, they're the only other games I have in my computer.

I love iDisk. I use it for backups and for iSync as well. The /sites folder is great for linking images to (direct link to the files is http://homepage.mac.com/username/filename.ext)

One of the features I find invaluable is the Learning Center. Believe it or not, i thought I knew a lot about the Mac, but the Learning Center taught me so much more.

BTW, here's a tip. If you want to complete your .Mac experience, download this nifty little app called dotMac Menu. It's fairly simple to install but add's menu bar shortcuts to all the .Mac functions.

[Edited on 1-2-2005 by elbertc]

[zChris]

I've just started really playing with the thing and must admit that it is pretty good. However, there is this minor annoyance that I just wanted to check if anyone encounters as well.

It seems that whenever I need to go to a section of .Mac, such as HomePage, Mail, or whatever, it keeps asking for my password again. Even with .Mac Menu, whenever I click on a menu item that brings me to the web, I always need to enter my password. I already entered my .Mac info in the .Mac section of the System Prefs. However, it is strange that I cant enter the "@mac.com" in the username field. But whenever I login to .Mac on the web, the "@mac.com" is there as part of the username.

Also, there are times when I try to login using my full username (chrischeng@mac.com) and it doesnt log in. When I login as only chrischeng, it works, and vice versa.

Anyone have any insights on this?

BTW, if you guys have time, check out my HomePage. I linked it to my domain name.

[Edited on 1-3-2005 by zChris]

[mgd]

I primarily use .mac to share photos and the occassional files. Uploading via iPhoto is a snap, though the 48 picture per page maximum can be a pain. It's also serves as a security blanket since my contacts are backed up on a remote server accessible from any net connected computer.

As Elbert said, the Learning Center material is a great resource. The occassional freebies are cool too, espcially the Keynote themes. I'm particularly amazed at the seamless intergration it has with OSX, your iDisk appears as a regular folder on your mac supporting drag and drop. You can actually make your own website and drop the html and images on iDisk and have it displayed as your homepage. I'm not sure about PHP and MySQL support though for database driven sites.

It can also host your blog in conjunction with iBlog. The URL is a bit cumbersome though (homepage.mac.com/user/iblog/index.html).

As for Virex, I downloaded it but it has yet to find any threat.

[Edited on 1-12-2005 by mgd]

[mgd]

Here's something I picked up from the old site by Allan Feliciano (kibs1111). You may recall him from the iLife demos at Megamall, he gave us a run through of Soundtrack (I think). It was originally posted as a switch story.

Around the World

On my way to the Penn station in New York to take a train to New Jersey, a tense client called me up telling me that his client wanted me to do a musical score for an ad he was working on and it had to be ready in two and a half hours. He was at my office with the video. My tech digitized the video and placed it in my iDisk folder. I stopped by a WiFi-equipped coffee shop and downloaded it to my 17-inch PowerBook.

On the train, I booted up Logic and Reason and started programming some drum beats and some bass and lead lines using Reason’s Matrix Sequencer. Got to Jersey an hour later, plugged in my Oxygen 8 and added a couple more layers and aligned the music to the video right in my cousin’s living room. Less than an hour later, I was mixing my tracks.

Placed the file in my iDisk public folder. The tech downloaded it from there and presented it to my client. He needed a couple of changes done so discussed it using iChat. iChat’s ability to display what’s on his screen helped in showing me what he wanted. The revision process took around ten minutes. Just in time for his noon deadline.

My office is in Manila. The client didn’t know I was on vacation in New York at the time. On my old unreliable Windows system I wouldn’t have said yes to a two-hour deadline for a complicated project like that one. But on the road, on vacation with my PowerBook, Logic, Reason, .Mac, iDisk and iChat, I wasn’t worried at all.

— AF

[Edited on 1-12-2005 by mgd]

[opd]

another reason why i really love my dotmac account is it enables me to quickly, EASILY use 1 account for different sites - for example, under my one dotmac account, i made four sites: the main one for my family, a second for my high school class reunions, another for an uncle, and a fourth just for transferring files.

plus, i can put a PASSWORD on any of these sites, no sweat. for example, i can reserve a special site for web pages to show only to a particular client, or to transfer files only to one person or a designated group.

[dominiquejames]

mgd, where can i find the free keynote themes? i seem to have missed it.