How do I facetime from ipad to iMac?

James, absolutely -- On your imac, click the Facetime icon, then go to Facetime preferences. You should see a line stating: "You can be reached for calls at:" Simply click on the e-mail button and add the e-mail address you wish to assign to the iMac, then use this mail address as the Mac's calling ID. Note: This e-mail address must be one which is specific ONLY to the iMac, it can't be one which was assigned to any of your other devices, such as the ipad. When you want to call her iphone, continue using the phone number of that device.

BTW, I'm using Snow Leopard 10.6.8. here, and my address book contact info was automatically imported to my Facetime Contacts list. So it was a simple matter of adding a Contact to my Favorites list on the Facetime menu. Using your OS is probably similar.

James,

Yes, each i pad and the imac should have their own individual, unique e-mail address as its calling id. An iphone can use its actual telephone number for a Facetime calling id, even though communication will take place over the internet via wifi.

Think of it this way. If each device had the same e-mail address assigned to it, and you wanted to call your iMac from your iPad, it would be like picking up your telephone and dialing your own number -- you'd get a busy signal.

James,

I remember, when I first went through the Facetime App setup, I told my wife that the nerds at Apple are great at creating inovative hardware and applications, but not too good at telling us how to use them. I did find the process to be rather ambiguous. After a while it does all make sense, but perhaps it would have been easier if I had a glass of wine before starting.

Good luck, and thank you for your comments.

They don't need to be an Apple/Mac id e-mail Address. What I've been advising folks to do, is to go to one of the popular providers, such as Yahoo, and generate enough e-mails to cover their needs. It's free, and you can be sure that it's a unique address so you don't wind up talking to somebody you don't want to know. If you mean "any old e-mail address" that you make up, such as James@hotstuff, my impression is that won't work.