I have Verizon as my online provider. I’m having a lot of problems with them right now after moving. I may need to get another email address. I’ve used Seascape for email. I like the fact that I can go from email to online without closing out from one to the other. With Apple they are separate functions—Safari and Mail. In checking Apple’s “Mail” it seems you have to get “.Mac”—for a fee—to get a email address. Right? Worth the money? Are Yahoo and Google online providers that offer email? One better than the other? All suggestions/comments appreciated.

I say sign up for a Gmail account. They offer IMAP and POP access for free, meaning you can check it in the email client of your choice including SeaMonkey. With Yahoo! and many other free email services, you only get access to a web-based interface unless you pay to upgrade your account.

Apple Mail does not require a .Mac/MobileMe account. Gmail has information in their help pages about configuring Apple Mail if you choose to use it.

I’ve taken your advice in the past and do it again with Google mail. How do I get Google to come up on startup—now SeaMonkey comes up. I now have Google via SeaMonkey. Can I eliminate SeaMonkey and just get Google? Google looks promising.
Thanks for all your help.

When you say it comes up on startup, do you mean when you launch Apple Mail? Or Safari? Assuming it’s Apple Mail, yes, you could remove (or simply deactivate) your SeaMonkey account so long as you’re getting the mail there via Google.

When I say SeaMonkey comes up on startup, I mean when I launch iMac it eventually goes into SeaMonkey. Nothing to do with Safari or Apple Mail. David Nelson had suggested I use Gmail and I have an account there now. I’d like Gmail to open when I start my iMac and eventually get rid of SeaMonkey—find it’s getting unstable. Right now iMac opens to SeaMonkey then I can open Gmail. I forget what I did to get SeaMonkey. But, again, I’d like to use Gmail for my emails and connect to the internet.

If SeaMonkey comes up automatically it’s either because it has been set to start when your computer boots up, or it is your default email or browser.

1. Click on the Apple menu, then Accounts, and look at the login items for your account. Remove SeaMonkey if it’s there. Optionally you can add Safari to the list if you want it to come up when your computer starts.
2. Open Safari (if that’s what you want to use as your browser), then go to the Safari menu, then Preferences, and under General set Safari as your default web browser.

Does this answer your question(s)?

I feel really stupid. I assumed the Apple menu, you mentioned, would be under the Apple logo at the upper left of the screen. But I don’t see anything like that. What I’d like is my computer to open with a provider that lets me go between my email and get the news I’m interested in. I think Yahoo does that, but you favored Gmail. I’d go with your selection. So, how do I get SeaMonkey off my back and hook into Gmail, Yahoo, Apple Mail, etc.?
Thanks for your help.

He meant Apple Menu>System Preferences>Accounts