Eric Root, Thanks - I didn't know that was an option!
I don't really know what iCloud is - with only a desktop, I've not felt the need to look into it before now. At first glance, it looks complicated enough that it's probably going to take me a while to figure it out.
One reservation I have about going with Apple email is this: My goal is to get an email address which is relatively permanent, so I don't have to keep updating my email address with friends, family, and financial institutions. As long-time Mac users know, Apple has no qualms about creating the Next Big Thing, then abandoning it a few years later. Remember .mac accounts (2002-2008); and MobileMe (2008-2012)?
I know there is no point in trying to predict what Apple is going to in the next 4-5 years - but their history does not give me much confidence in the longevity of an "@iCloud" email address.
This site says: "iCloud Mail uses the IMAP and SMTP standards supported by most modern email apps. iCloud does not support POP."
I've always used POP, so I don't know much about IMAP - is it true that IMAP email is not downloaded to my iMac, but lives only on the IMAP server?
