Apple has updated its .Mac service, offering members new features to HomePage and iCards and a free download of Symantec’s Norton Parent Control software, which helps restrict kids’ access to the Internet. HomePage is the service that lets .Mac users create their own Web pages, while iCards are free digital greeting cards you can send to family, friends and colleagues.
Changes to HomePage include a new file-sharing template called My Downloads that helps you create customized download pages for files you maintain through your iDisk. What’s more, a new external HTML template also lets you integrate your own HTML pages on your .Mac home page, produced using applications including Macromedia Contribute and Dreamweaver and Adobe GoLive, complete with HomePage features like counters and feedback buttons. Six new photo album templates have been added, three new movie templates have been added, as well as a new journal template. HomePage Web pages can be edited on Windows XP-equipped PCs, too.
iCards are now integrated with the .Mac Address Book. If you use iSync to synchronize your Mac’s data, you can quickly send birthday cards, party invitations, birth announcements and other cards to people listed in your .Mac Address Book. The iCards site features a new design reminiscent of the iTunes Music Store and includes more than 200 new cards, automatic text resizing and six new typestyles — Calligraphy, Fancy, Casual, Classic, Modern and Fun.