Anyone using .Mac?

February 26, 2004 4:07 PM

Anyone using .Mac? I'm considering it 'cause I want to use iSync for my contacts and calendar, but $100/year seems spendy.
posted by kirkaracha to Computers & Internet (16 answers total)

Yeah. I am.

There are lots of little bonuses. Synchronizing my bookmarks (via isync) and safari means that wherever I am, I can browse without remembering URLs.

I use idisk all the time - since I need to put a file or two to get somewhere else; and with Panther I have the idisk local...it copies fast and then I sync later.

I actually use one of the items they gave away (but isn't available anymore) called StickyBrain all the time. They give all sorts of little things away that a great...over the year I think it's near or equal to the $100.

Down sides: there have been a couple outages. Um....I'm not thrilled with the cost- but I got $20 to use (for resubbing) @ the apple store (I could have gotten a game, simcity I think).

Overall? It's been great, which is why I continued my membership. I own a domain with mail, so it wasn't just the mail that I was looking for.
posted by filmgeek at 4:41 PM on February 26, 2004

I personally use it for the email, 100 megs of space, and total synchronization of everything. Some of the freebies are nice, and I sometimes public iPhoto libraries into web galleries, but $100/year works great for the core things I need it for.

IMAP mail alone is worth a lot to me because I work between 2+ machines.
posted by jragon at 4:41 PM on February 26, 2004

public=post
posted by jragon at 4:42 PM on February 26, 2004

I hate to admit it, but I'm hooked. iSync, and the easy integration between iPhoto and Homepage, did it for me. But if I didn't have two Macs, I'd (personally) stay away from it.
posted by stonerose at 4:47 PM on February 26, 2004

I use it. I'm not really sure if it's worth it, but I like having IMAP and I really like their webmail interface.

I also use it for photos, even though I have my own blog. It's addictively easy to grab some pictures in iPhoto and throw them up there.

If I ever get a second Mac, I'd probably use it even more.
posted by timeistight at 5:31 PM on February 26, 2004

I will add another "yes"

My regular ISP has a terrible webmail interface, so I use my Mac as my main account. I love that my address book is synced up online.

Idisk space is great for "sharing" a new cd with a few friends as well.
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 5:59 PM on February 26, 2004

You can save a good chunk of change by buying it from a reseller. Apple charges sales tax + shipping, so that $100 ends up closer to $120. I bought my renewal through an outfit that advertises in MacWorld magazine called MegaMacs. No tax, free shipping, and it was ~$80.*

*Caveat emptor: Within 48 hrs of my order being processed at MegaMacs, somebody started using my credit card all over the net. I'm not saying it was anybody associated with that company, all's I'm sayin' is, I'm just sayin'...
posted by Alylex at 6:06 PM on February 26, 2004

It's overpriced. I have it, and it's nice (but since I don't need the e-mail, not as nice as it could be), but I still think it's outrageously overpriced. If you can use the goodie software they provide, it helps... but there have not been enough goodies, IMHO.
posted by litlnemo at 6:41 PM on February 26, 2004

One mistaken impression I had about iSync was that you had to be a .Mac member to use it at all. Not true--you just need to be a .Mac member to use it with iDisk. I'm not one and it works like a charm with my bluetooth phone. FWIW.
posted by adamrice at 7:58 PM on February 26, 2004

It's been handy. StickyBrain is a great little app and is actually still available for free, it's just not obvious. You have to follow the link to the other free Cronos app to get to it.
posted by anathema at 8:15 PM on February 26, 2004

Response by poster: One mistaken impression I had about iSync was that you had to be a .Mac member to use it at all. Not true--you just need to be a .Mac member to use it with iDisk.

Excellent. This is what I was most curious about. I've got an ISP that gives me more disk space and an IMAP account for less than .Mac, so all the .Mac I'd really use is the syncronization stuff. Thanks, everybody.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:35 PM on February 26, 2004

Well, you have to use .mac to iSync two Macs. You can sync your handhelds and stuff to your Mac without it, but you need .mac if you want to sync multiple computers.
posted by blueshammer at 4:53 AM on February 27, 2004

Hmm.... any third party solutions to syncing mail.app between two macs? That's the only thing I'd really want/need.
posted by mecran01 at 6:08 AM on February 27, 2004

Mecran01--

If you are using POP3, figure out how regularly you can be sure to check mail on each machine. Set each to "leave mail on server" (under preferences: account) for at least that many days. They'll both pick everything up. No third-party nothin' (which would be pretty tricky--nothing obvious showed up at VersionTracker).

If you are using IMAP, it'll Just Work, I think.
posted by adamrice at 7:13 AM on February 27, 2004

So if you want to synch two Macs you have to subscribe to .Mac twice?
posted by bshort at 9:24 AM on February 27, 2004

bshort: No. One subscription, many Macs.
posted by Alylex at 12:21 PM on February 27, 2004