How to Prepare a .Mac Account for MobileMe

MoblieMe promises effortless email, contacts and calendar syncing, easy photo sharing, snappy website creation and online storage. It will work seamlessly with all the applications you use every day, including Microsoft Outlook on a PC, and keep your information synced across all your computers and iPhone. When .Mac is phased out and replaced with Apple's MobileMe service, your .Mac account doesn't go away. Apple will upgrade every .Mac account to a MobileMe account with little effect on your data. There are a few recommendations to prepare your .Mac account for MoblieMe, but they're easily accomplished and will make the transition easier.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Apple Macintosh Computer
• .Mac Account

1. Check if you have the the latest version of Apple's Mac OS X.
   
   Click on the Apple in the upper left-hand corner of your screen and select "About This Mac." In order to run MobileMe, your Mac needs to be running Mac OS 10.4.11 or later.
2. Click the "Software Update..." button in the "About This Mac" window to update your computer to the latest version of Mac OS X.
   
   After the install is complete you may need to restart your computer.
3. Upgrade your browsers. Although MobileMe will work on all major browsers (Safari, Firefox or Internet Explorer), it will run best on the latest versions.
   
   Most browsers have a "Check for Updates" feature in their menu. Firefox has this in their "Help" menu. Safari will be updated through Apple's Software Update in Step 2.
4. Open your System Preferences (Apple > System Preferences) to set up your Mac to sync your contacts and calendar.
5. Click on ".Mac" in the "Internet & Network" tier of your Mac's System Preferences.
6. Log in to .Mac if you haven't already by entering your .Mac Username and Password and click the "Sign In" button.
7. Select the "Sync" tab.
8. Select "Contacts" and "Calendars" by clicking on the check box next to each.
9. Click the "Sync Now" button.
10. Watch the MobileMe video on Apple.com and go to the MobileMe site to read up on the features.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also set it up so your computer will sync with .Mac automatically by changing "Manually" to "Automatically" in the drop-down next to "Synchronize with .Mac" in the Sync tab of the .Mac System Preferences window.