Let’s take a break from the grim realities of the world and look ahead to what the future could be like for computer users. Sit back, relax, and think “What if…”

What if you could have a secure storage site on the internet, a “virtual hard drive”, where you could share files, photos, and music with your friends, as well as have access to your personal files, from any computer anywhere in the world?

What if you could have only one set of web browser bookmarks, AddressBook contacts, and calendar appointments - every computer in the house could use them, and you could use them if need be from any computer anywhere in the world?

What if those bookmarks, contacts, and calendars, as well as other vital information (your Quicken financial data, etc.) could be automatically backed up to your virtual hard drive, easily restored if need be, and accessed only by you through any computer anywhere in the world?

What if you could view all the photos and listen to all the music stored on your home’s main computer easily and wirelessly from any other computer on your home network?

What if you could create a virtual album of your favorite digital photos, and with a few mouse clicks transform it into an attractive web site or coffee table book?

What if a few more mouse clicks could inform your friends via email of your beautiful new online photo album?

What if you could send an elegant, professional email postcard to anyone in your AddressBook, and even customize it to feature your own photos or artwork?

What if you could easily, and with no knowledge of HTML or graphic design, create a personal web site with but a few mouse clicks?

What if that web site could serve as a movie theater for your home movies; a home for your family newsletter, “Great American Novel”, or professional resume; an online birth or graduation announcement - all built with professionally-designed templates and viewable from any computer anywhere in the world?

What if you had access to 24-7 Learning Center of online tutorials, including interactive movies to help you get the most out of your computer?

How long will you need to wait to see these ideas come to fruition? Get a Mac and a .Mac subscription and start enjoying them today.

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski