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103 points

Do I really need iCloud?

Do I really need iCloud?... What do I do.

I still want my Apple ID that I use for everything Apple... Purchases through the store, purchases through iTunes, purchases through the App store.

I have 3 macs, one iMac that I need to leave with 10.5.8 for various reasons. The iMac is our primary computer for iTunes and our iPhones and iPads.

I have two MacBooks, one in regular use, one occasional but kept up to date.

All our computers are set up as authorized through my Apple ID so I can purchase and play music on any of them.

All our iPhones and iPads (one for me, one for my wife) are set up as authorized through my Apple ID for the same reason.

Between us we have four Apple email addresses one mac.com (the Apple ID) and three me.com

We sync everything through the iMac, and don't have that many calendar or contact changes that we need online push sync sevices. Never used Mobile Me sync services because they just did not seem to work correctly, so I don't really need it.

I don't want or need iTunes music match or photo streaming, I would rather just not have push or streaming anything.

All I want or need is three things.

1. Most important -- to maintain our Apple ID and email addresses.

2. Convenient -- iTunes re download purchased music and what ever else is allowed.

3. Convenient -- App store re download 10.7 Apps for the computers that use 10.7

Right now, the iTunes cloud download and App store download works without an iCloud account. Will this continue after June 2012?

So the last thing is...

What happens to my email addresses after June 2012?

Thanks,

Andy

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Oct 16, 2011 9:42 PM

17 replies

Nov 24, 2011 11:56 AM in response to Victoria Herring

Your daughter is fearing something that shouldn’tbe feared btw.

Regardless, Her e-Mail address is her Apple ID and that will not go away.

Her Mac's mail program (mail.app) will still function for any (or multiple) mail systems that she chooses to use. MobileMe is a mail system. And iCloud is also a mail system.

Currently, November 2011, both of these system are up and fuctional at the same time, yet independent.

After the end of June 2012, the MobileMe e-Mail system will be unavailable.

So, after the end of June 2012, she can choose to either go with the iCloud e-Mail system or do something else. Her e-Mail address will be hers after June 2012 regardless, but the MobileMe e-Mail servers that make the routing and intermediate storage of mail possible will be unavailable.

Remember, there are two different concepts to grasp.

#1: One is the mail program that resides on her hardware. This will fuction as it is forever.

#2: The other is the mail routing system(s.)

Her mail address is:

A: an Apple ID.

B: an e-Mail address.

The e-Mail adress (B) has to communicate with some e-Mail routing system (#2). Currently that system for her is MobileMe, in the future it will need to be iCloud.

-Alan

Ps: Just to clarify further iCloud is many things.

• It is an e-Mail routing system.

• It is many other things.

As an e-Mail system it is stand alone and will work with most modern IMAP supporting e-Mail programs.

As to the many other services that it provides in general you need more recent programs to access those features. For the most part, those more recent programs reside with Lion.

Nov 26, 2011 3:27 PM in response to Alan Edinger

Thanks much = I'll get the explanation to her and maybe we can move forward = right now she's in grad school and snowed under with work but over holidays we can deal with it = thanks again.

Do I really need iCloud?