How do you create an Apple ID?

[Tushman]

Forgive me for the obvious Mac users. I'm having some difficulty in creating my Apple ID.I'm trying to download a free app in iTunes where it prompts me to enter my Apple ID & password. I typed in my yahoo e-mail address & password and it says "That is not a valid apple ID" or some such. This is the same yahoo e-mail that I had used about 2 years ago to sign up on their iTunes forum to post a question about my iPod. I figured either a) it doesn't accept yahoo e-mail address or it's been so long since I last logged in that Apple purged it from their records.So I clicked on the button for "Create a new account" which leads me to the 2nd screenshot. When I use the same e-mail address, it says "This Apple ID has already been taken".My question is simple - do they accept Yahoo or Gmail addresses? What exactly do I need to create my own Apple ID?And just out of curiosity, how can I get a mac or apple domain email address such as xxx@mac.com?

[Guest LilBambi]

Yes, you can use web based email accounts, at least some. Apparently it does work with gmail. Not sure about yahoo.But might be best to go directly to the Apple website here to try to create it or reset your password.Sounds like you may have already created it and need to reset the password.

[Tushman]

Yes, you can use web based email accounts, at least some. Apparently it does work with gmail. Not sure about yahoo.But might be best to go directly to the Apple website here to try to create it or reset your password.Sounds like you may have already created it and need to reset the password.

Yep... apparently that was it. I reset it and I'm a happy camper now. Thanks for the help.BTW, Bambi, do you know how I can get a mac or apple domain e-mail address? Do I have to buy one of them fancy MacBook Pros we were drooling over?

[Guest LilBambi]

That's great. Happy to help.You get one through the MobileMe account, not free. $99/year and it comes with a bunch of stuff.More info here: http://www.apple.com/mobileme/

[Jeber]

This might be better as a separate thread but I'll mention it here anyway.You mention MobileMe, Fran. I've read around the web that it isn't all that great a service, especially at that price. For nearly the same cost you can get an annual subscription to the pro version of Dropbox and get more options and more storage space. I don't know that having a .mac email address is worth $100 a year. Your thoughts?

[Guest LilBambi]

MobileMe is nice, but I agree on the price issue.DropBox on the other hand is extremely useful and cross platform, being available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It's a great service, and encrypted end to end and on the server. Can't get much better than that.

[Arena2045]

Since this thread crossed into the MobileMe sandbox, I thought I would chime in.MobileMe is more than just an email address. You have access to cloud syncing of contacts, calendars, etc for simple syncing to other Mac OS X devices as well as Apple's "i" devices. You also get access to your data via a browser which will sync any changes. While their gallery feature is no Flickr, it is getting better, especially with the privacy settings and allowing non-mobileme users have access to "private" family galleries with proper permissions... You also gain access to the handy find my iPhone service (which will ping the phone and play an audible sound - even if it's muted - to help you locate it). Or if it's lost or stolen, you can remotely wipe the phone, display a message, etc.Does Dropbox surpass MM's iDisk, yeah, no doubt about that. But hopefully the new data center on the east coast will help speed that along. ;)Also forgot to mention, that Apple is bringing more MM apps to their iDevices to expand on the capabilities. Which is a Win for customers.