By Graham K. Rogers

With the newest version of OS X -- 10.8, Mountain Lion -- there are several changes to System Preferences and some additions. The Mail, Contacts & Calendars preferences has a panel similar to the one that was available in OS X 10.7, Lion, but there are differences to services and optons that are accessible.

The display of information in Mail, Contacts & Calendars, which was a new panel in 10.7, may seem redundant initially: some information duplicates data in other parts of a user's installation. However, it simplifies the creation of new accounts and is aimed at those who use online services: the cloud.

When first opened the interface is in two parts: to the left, a panel that lists services that have already been joined; and to the right a list of online services.

If the user is already using services such as Mail, or has one of the online accounts, the details will have been automatically entered when OS X was installed.

When an account exists and is listed in the panel to the left, highlighting the account name opens a panel with account details: email address, full name and description.

With some services, like iCloud, a list of specific parts of the service (mail, calendars, chat) are shown with a checkbox beside each to show if it is in use. This is identical to the iCloud preference pane. A button to the right opens a panel with account details. The Google item shows which services are in use, with basic account details, but the Details button also shows a password box (bullets only are shown).

Other services will display connection data specific to that item (e.g. POP mail, iCloud Messages, Facebook chat), while icons of any inactive services are greyed out lower down the panel. If visible, there may be data already available and a checkbox (active/inactive) will bring them to life again, if wanted.

To add an account, we click on the + Add Account item at the bottom of the list of services. On a new computer -- or new user account on a computer -- to create an account, we press the same + Add Account item in an otherwise empty list.

As an indication of the way such services are expanding, while more traditional connections are giving way to new arrivals, there are a number of changes to the account types offered. The order of services listed is not alphabetical: iCloud, Microsoft Exchange, GMail, Yahoo! and AOL have been joined by Twitter, vimeo and Flickr. Other links may be offered depending on country.

Clicking on any of the listed services reveals a panel with Full name (in some cases already entered), other identification details, depending on the service (e.g. Apple ID, Yahoo! ID, email), and password.

Although I have a Twitter account, that was not shown so I entered details. A button on the Twitter panel offers a user the option to update contacts. I found that several names in my Address Book had a Twitter field entered. Clicking on this gave me two options: Tweet; and View Tweets.

At the bottom of the services list is Add Other Account. A panel opens with six options:

• Mail account. Full name, email address and password are required;

• Messages account (formerly iChat account). Names accessed using a button are AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk and Jabber. Screen name and password are required to start the process although a jabber account also displays server options (Auto is the default);

• A CalDAV account is a type of account that allows multiple users to access calendar data on a remote server using the iCal format. The panel revealed requires User name, password and server address;

• A CardDAV account (like CalDAV) allows users to access calendar data on a remote server and is based on HTML. The panel revealed requires User name, password and Server address;

• The LDAP account uses a protocol for accessing and maintaining directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. The panel has the following data fields: Description, Search base (people, company), Scope -- Subtree, One Level or Base -- Server Address. A triangle below Server Address opens a box for entering port number (default 389); there is a checkbox for SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). Below the data entry fields is a button for Authentication with options of None (default) or Simple.

  OS X Server account allows a user enter server details running OS X 10.7 or newer (unchanged in 10.8). When the server address (IP number) is entered a Continue button becomes live and pressing this opens a panel with server information displayed and text boxes for Name, Account and Password. There are three buttons: Cancel, Go Back and Set Up.

Notes

Some of the entry types in Mail, Contacts & Calendars can be duplicated in Apple's Mail, through online web pages of the specific services, or via other applications.

It is presumed that this preference is available as a form of centralised control in order to add new accounts easily and without going through the separate applications/sites, and as a way to assist users who are increasingly expected to use online services.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.