To use AUSOM FirstClass you first need to be an AUSOM member or a member of an affiliated User Group. There is an additional FirstClass annual subscription fee of $50, payable on our Store page, after which you can register on the FirstClass system.

If you're already a registered FirstClass subscriber and would like to log onto the system directly from your Web browser, click the Web Login button, at right.

If you'd like to download the Client software that enables you to use the FirstClass system independently of your Web browser, click the Client Download button, at right.

If you've paid your FirstClass subscription but haven't yet registered on the system, click the Client Download button at right. Download the Client software appropriate to your system, and also the Setup Manual (the second item listed) which explains how to register.
Please note that after registering a FirstClass account you will have limited access at first. Authorisation and provision of full access to FirstClass may take up to seven days.
 

Using the easily-installed FirstClass Client software, you can access AUSOM First Class via any Internet connection.

Away from home, you can access it via any Web browser (simply click the Web Login button above).

There's even a Windows version of the Client software if, for instance, you use a Windows PC at work.

To download a version of the FirstClass Client software appropriate to your needs, click here for the Client Download page.
 

The modern 'bulletin board'

FirstClass's open discussion forums encompass the full spectrum of Mac computer use — computer and peripherals purchase and setup, software installation and use, Mac operating systems, networking, maintenance and troubleshooting of both the equipment and its software. All popular equipment and software is discussed by beginners and experts alike. Their experience is available to you for the asking.

Other open forums discuss such topics as desktop publishing, genealogy, the Internet, finance and investment, graphics, digital movies and photography, music, hardware and peripherals, networking and telephony, web development, Filemaker and many other topics that involve the use of Mac computers. Dozens of new messages are posted every day by both professional and amateur users. You'll be amazed at the amount of information that is present and freely available to subscribers to AUSOM FirstClass.

Downloads available from the system include updates from Apple and other commercial software publishers, as well as hundreds of shareware programs and utilities in many categories, to suit both new and older Macintosh computers. Large files and/or broken connections are no problem, as FirstClass allows you to resume interrupted downloads in a later session. The File Exchange area is one of the most-used on the system.

Private messages can be posted to friends and other Mac users on FirstClass, and you can also exchange mail with external (i.e. Internet) addresses anywhere in the world. Checking your email is as simple as double clicking on your FirstClass desktop mailbox. Further, you can access your FirstClass mailbox from anywhere in the world, even if the FirstClass software is not installed on that computer. Simply use the alternative Web-based interface, via the Web Login button above.