icloud is not in my system preferences on my mac how can i instal it

iCloud requires OS X Lion (10.7.5) or higher. If you’re running OS X 10.6.8 or earlier you will need to upgrade to OS X Lion higher in order to set up iCloud on your Mac. From 10.5.8, you would have to purchase a Mac OS X 10.6 DVD from the online Apple Store, then install the 10.6.8 combo installer: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399.) You can upgrade to Lion or higher from 10.6.8.

First check to see if your system meets the system requirements to upgrade.

Lion system requirements are:

• Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
• 2GB of memory
• OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
• 7GB of available space

Mountain Lion and Mavericks requirements are the same, as listed here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5842.

If you can run Mavericks, you can download a free upgrade from the Mac App Store. If your system can only run Lion, you can go here to purchase a redemption code to download it from the Mac App Store. If you prefer Mountain Lion for software compatibility reasons, you can go here to purchase a redemption code to download it from the Mac App Store.

After upgrading, you will find iCloud in System Preferences>iCloud on your Mac, and can set it up as explained here: http://www.apple.com/icloud/setup/mac.html.

Before upgrading, you may want to check the compatibility of your existing applications by checking here: http://roaringapps.com/apps:table. Also be aware that older PPC programs such as AppleWorks and Office 2004 for Mac will not run on OS X Lion or higher.

thank you. i have an older MacBook Pro with OS X v10.6.6. I go and consult the Genius Bar near me.

You don't really need to do that. Firstly, download and apply the 'combo updater' to bring your system up to 10.6.8:

http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1399

Then try downloading Mavericks in the App Store which you will find in Applications. If your Mac isn't suitable it won't let you download it and you will need to purchase Lion in the online store. You can also check your Mac against the requirements given above. If you are still having problems after that then the Genius bar would be a good move.