Anybody use .Mac

setanta5

Hey all, as my MBP should be returning this weekend i am considering going for .Mac account. Can anyone who uses it or have used it recommend it to me or tell me what use they had for it.

I'm sort of on the fence but leaning toward buying it. Just wanted to hear from a users point of view how good or bad it is.

bigred

I got .mac primarily as a backup location for my critical data (700-800MB of key docs and files). The Backup app was OK but seemed to eat up all my bandwidth, as did iDisk sync. Also, I wanted to use it as an online mirror of my personal files. However, my job has .mac blocked so I cant get at them anyway.

I dont really have need for the email address, webspace etc. as I already have these elsewhere. Currently I'm using a tool called Mozy to backup all the critical stuff (includes keychain and mailboxes). It's completely seamless and so far I've not had need to recover anything.

However with all the new and improved stuff that the iLife 08 has brought in terms of content generation, and the 10GB limit, I'll be giving .mac a go again (when my new 24" imac gets dispatched... any day now). Idiot-proof web galleries, automatic post to youtube, etc. are good features that I'll give a try.

440Hz

Thread on this already

Oriel

I use it mainly for syncing data between my Macs.
For me, the iDisk upload and download speed is absolutely terrible.

Simon201

Yeah as above upload speed is crap, I dont use the iDisk (via the finder) unless I have to. I use Transmit and that works great, uploads to nearly the speeds that my isp says it should anyhow. Ten fold increase in iDisk space is a massive improvement in value for money. Sticking stuff in your Public folder for anyone on the internet to access is really great. iSync features are very handy, ie I bought a new Macbook in Chicago a few weeks ago and within minutes I had it loaded up with all my iCal data, contacts, Safari bookmarks and keychains etc. I've only recently started using the publish calendars feature in iCal. I can publish the calendar of the gigs that I play and my buddy can see them at any time at any computer. And they update automatically as I add events or edit events. Then there's all the iWeb/iPhoto features for putting up all your photos and media onto the internet but I wont go into that at this stage!
All in all I think it's pretty good value for under €70 -

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Apple-Mac-4-0-dot-mac-Membership-FACTORY-SEALED_W0QQitemZ230163862543QQihZ013QQcategoryZ189QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Wizoom

If you're thinking of .Mac purely for backup purposes, consider Mozy instead at http://mozy.com

As far as I can gather, it's free, and people report good upload speeds with it. They're doing a Mac Beta right now, it's worth a shot.

EDIT: Had another look, you do get 2GB free space. More than that and you'd have to pay some, though I think it's relatively inexpensive.

bigred

Wizoom wrote:

If you're thinking of .Mac purely for backup purposes, consider Mozy instead at http://mozy.com

As far as I can gather, it's free, and people report good upload speeds with it. They're doing a Mac Beta right now, it's worth a shot.

EDIT: Had another look, you do get 2GB free space. More than that and you'd have to pay some, though I think it's relatively inexpensive.

Second that - mozy is completely transparent and doesnt effect my bandwidth at all. Is preconfigured to pull keychain etc. to backup so no hassle, no thinking. The initial backup to put everthing up can take a while, but after that, it's sweet.

Cabaal

Seems interesting http://mozy.com/pro/comparison

Might give it a try,

Its nworth noting the Pro version doesn't work on Mac yet, but it works on XP which is handy