Much as I love discussing the ins and outs of contacts, events, and reminders, our focus here will be on setting up email accounts on your Mac.

If anything, the Mountain Lion version is actually easier to use because it isn’t crammed with additional settings specific to the Contacts, Calendar, and Reminders applications. And it should be, because Apple modeled Mountain Lion’s Mail, Contacts & Calendars system preference on the setting of the same name found on today’s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. If you’re new to the Mac but something of an iOS veteran, this lesson will be a snap.