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MobileMe Poll
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tupsy0
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Dec 30, 2009, 08:20 PM
 
Hi and thanks for taking the time to read my first post.
I have a Mac mini an iPod touch, will be getting a 13.3" MBP on the 4th of Jan. and plan to get an iPhone once my current contract is up. I am thinking of getting MobileMe. Read lots of reviews good and bad, most a were kinda out of date. So I wanted to get some up to date feed back from people using it now before I take the plunge.
If you have invested in the MobileMe service:
- are you happy with it?
- does it work properly,(have most of the bugs been worked out?)
- is there anyting you think it's missing or you feel is lacking that other services do better?
- finally is it worth it? do you feel your getting value for money and MobileMe provides a service you find indispensable?

Thanks a lot for your time and any comments you have would help a lot. I really want to integrate my contacts and ical between the mini and my new MBP and my iPhone when I get it. Plus I'm not on facebook or any of those sites so I wouldn't mind having a place to put some of my photos and what not online for friends and family. I'm also interested in the iDisc and the ability to send larger files by email.
     
Big Mac
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Dec 30, 2009, 08:49 PM
 
My review is limited because I really don't use the full feature set of MM.

1. Yes, I'm generally happy with it, although for the purpose that it serve me primarily (mainly my @mac.com address) it could be cheaper. iDisk comes in handy at times. Push email works well with my iPod touch. I haven't tried the iDisk app on my touch yet, but I suppose it's a good thing to have in case I need it. In the grand scheme of things $100 a year (or $70 if you get the box upgrade through Amazon) is certainly low cost enough to justify keeping the service, but it's expensive compared to $free.

2. It works properly almost all the time - Apple has made the service more reliable. The only caveat is the webmail interface, which can be prone to reload problems (but has gotten progressively better)

3. It's worth it primarily because I get to keep my email address, which I have been using since the days of iTools when it was free (iTools -> .Mac -> MobileMe). I wish they had kept and updated the Home Page module, but that's gone and won't be a factor in the decision you make.

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
     
pcryan5
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Dec 30, 2009, 09:47 PM
 
I'm lazy and idisk works just fine. Don't bother with any other non-compelling functions....
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 31, 2009, 04:55 AM
 
It saved my bacon years ago when my main machine up and died, and I just pulled my ancient iMac from the basement, entered my .Mac info, and had all my calendar and address book info right there.

Ever since then, there's been no discussion for me.

I use iDisk all the time, and since I got an iPhone, it's a complete no-brainer.

There are free solutions to much of this stuff, but my time is worth more than I'm paying for MobileMe.
     
besson3c
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Dec 31, 2009, 05:14 AM
 
If you want to integrate your contacts and calendar info, I agree with the others, MobileMe is easily your best option for that. There are some alternatives that provide a subset of what MobileMe will do via various hacks, but really, Apple doesn't it make this easy, and in some cases certain features are not even possible to reproduce.

Where MobileMe gets a bad rap is in comparison to other hosting providers when it comes to features and services that are shared between them. Specifically, if you are looking for an email provider, there are better options than MobileMe (unless push email to your iPhone is important to you), and if you are looking for a web host there are definitely better options (unless you use iWeb, I suppose). However, like I said, if you are just looking for all of the syncy stuff and you aren't bothered by the price, go for it!
     
Big Mac
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Dec 31, 2009, 05:48 AM
 
What are good uses of iDisk on your iPhone, SH?

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
     
turtle777
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Dec 31, 2009, 05:54 AM
 
Originally Posted by Big Mac View Post
What are good uses of iDisk on your iPhone, SH?
And what can it do that Dropbox can't ?

-t
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 31, 2009, 06:32 AM
 
Originally Posted by Big Mac View Post
What are good uses of iDisk on your iPhone, SH?
Sorry, that was poorly phrased.

I meant to say that I use iDisk all the time for completely seamless hosting - images, mixes, studio projects.

And since the iPhone, the service package offered by MobileMe is a complete no-brainer.

I don't actually use iDisk on the iPhone much, at all - though being able to quickly share a file already on there and immediately send out a link has come in handy a few times (such as when uploading a large project from the studio machine, but having to leave before the upload is completed - I could just inform people from the road where to find the production link).
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 31, 2009, 06:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
And what can it do that Dropbox can't ?
I have no idea. I've been a MMe customer since it was the free iTools service, almost ten years ago, so I've never had the need to look into alternatives.

But again: seamless and completely effortless setup (enter your password ONCE, and all this stuff "just works") is a definite winner for me.
     
slugslugslug
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Dec 31, 2009, 09:02 AM
 
I also have had it since the iTools days. Once I started paying for it, I’d always think about canceling a little before renewal time, but never got round to dealing with where I needed to go sign in and change my e-mail address.

But after getting an iPhone, it’s a no-brainer. It’s definitely worth the $70/year (I always get a box from Amazon) to have all my contacts and calendars sync without thinking about it.

And like Spheric Harlot, I use iDisk because it’s there and pretty seamless. I’ve never bothered with DropBox, so I can’t say how it competes. Given all the raves I hear about DropBox, I probably wouldn’t pay for iDisk alone, but since I’m getting MobileMe anyway, I use it. Offline sync mode is plenty fast and mostly reliable.

Given that the photo sharing stuff exists and is integrated into iPhone & iPhoto, I should really try it out, but I don’t really bother putting photos anywhere except facebook. MobileMe’s service seems pretty cool.

Overall my take is: it’s definitely worth it for iPhone users, even if your only computer is Windows-based. Having a Mac makes it a better value, and even more so with multiple Macs.
     
besson3c
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Dec 31, 2009, 01:19 PM
 
iDisk is just a WebDAV mount. You can make your own and put it in your Finder's sidebar if you are looking for something like iDisk.
     
gradient
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Dec 31, 2009, 01:51 PM
 
I have Mobileme primarily for the sync'ing and security functions. It's nearly worth $100/year just to be able to remotely locate, lock, and data wipe your iPhone if it gets lost or misplaced.
     
slugslugslug
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Dec 31, 2009, 02:15 PM
 
When you use iDisk with offline syncing, it’s not just a WebDAV mount. The whole thing gets duplicated as a disk image locally, and you work from that. When changes are made, they get synced to the online one. This way, file access isn’t slowed down by the network or lost when you don’t have connectivity. You can’t do that with any old WebDAV (except maybe with 3rd-party software). I’m under the impression that Dropbox works the same way, but like I said, I’ve never tried it.
     
besson3c
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Dec 31, 2009, 02:26 PM
 
I stand corrected!
     
turtle777
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Dec 31, 2009, 03:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by slugslugslug View Post
You can’t do that with any old WebDAV (except maybe with 3rd-party software). I’m under the impression that Dropbox works the same way, but like I said, I’ve never tried it.
Yes, Dropbox works the same, and you get 2GB for free.

-t
     
tupsy0  (op)
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Dec 31, 2009, 05:26 PM
 
Thanks for all the response! This has been so helpful to know that the service is working as it should. It's got the feature set I want all in one package and it works! Two stand out apps for me are Find my phone and Remote wipe. These are two amazing apps that I would have never thought of but when you think about it if you loose your mobile, find my phone will actually locate it for you! And if its stolen or you can't get it back you can completely wipe it which is really essential when you consider who ever has your phone will now have access to all your contacts email and ical.
I looked up Drop Box and it looks like a realy good service but 2gigs wouldn't be enough, 50 would be too much and cost nearly $2 per month more than Mobile Me and everything that goes with it. Every thing working together across all my devices even my iPod! Thats the killer feature! I also think that if you are paying for a service then it's more likely to be maintained and improved year on year otherwise people just stop paying. I can see how for some with specific needs like having loads of email accounts or large online data storage Mobile Me just isn't quite enough. But for me with fairly simple needs for organization, push email, and a bit of an online space with out going down the Facebook or Flikr route MobleMe is just about perfict.
Thanks again to every one who responded and a very Happy New Year to all!!!
     
chabig
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Dec 31, 2009, 05:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Dropbox works the same, and you get 2GB for free.
Or 2.25GB for free if you use my referral: https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTkxMzA4OTk

Chris
     
imitchellg5
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Dec 31, 2009, 07:04 PM
 
Funny, I think MobileMe is mostly a failure. First of all, the service, while more reliable than it used to be, still goes down much often. For something that costs $99 a year, it's simply unacceptable. I've never seen any of Google's services go down. Mail has performance issues, both on the web interface, and via Mail.app. Secondly, I hate how it did away with all of the features of .Mac/iTools. Mainly, I had an email only .Mac account, which renews automatically. This year it wouldn't, MobileMe stopped supporting it. I had to talk to customer service, and they had to "escalate the issue" to management, only after trying to convince me to upgrade to a family account. Eventually I get an email saying that they decided to let it renew (they could have just added it as an alias to my full account, but they wouldn't).

Syncing between multiple devices is really quite nice, but there are many things that make me think Apple shouldn't be charging for this service at all. It's a good thing I was able to nab mine on Amazon for $40, or else I'd ask for a refund (I'm tempted every time something breaks).
     
Spheric Harlot
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Dec 31, 2009, 07:16 PM
 
I haven't had an outage in AGES.
     
imitchellg5
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:07 PM
 
They had a huge outage about two months ago at night... everything went down, mail, iChat... (it actually became a trending topic on Twitter)

If you're not awake during early morning (US) hours, you'll likely not notice... but others do.
     
besson3c
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:08 PM
 
Is there a page which publicizes this info, imitchell? How do you know that the problem wasn't network related outside of Apple's IP block?
     
imitchellg5
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:10 PM
 
Yes. I keep this bookmarked.
     
turtle777
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:14 PM
 
Apple used to post details last year, but they discontinued posting the stats.

See here: AppleInsider | Apple now posting near-daily MobileMe outage updates

-t
     
besson3c
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
Yes. I keep this bookmarked.
Cool... I wasn't really doubting you, I just like to be accurate about this sort of stuff
     
besson3c
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Dec 31, 2009, 10:19 PM
 
The day that Apple fixes their damn email client and pushes this update out is the day that their sys admins breath a sigh of relief. Their poor IMAP servers must get absolutely pummeled each day by all of the OS X Mail clients accessing them and opening a gazillion connections.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jan 1, 2010, 03:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
They had a huge outage about two months ago at night... everything went down, mail, iChat... (it actually became a trending topic on Twitter)

If you're not awake during early morning (US) hours, you'll likely not notice... but others do.
I'm six hours ahead of NYC. I'd notice.
     
Gankdawg
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Jan 7, 2010, 03:40 PM
 
I didn't renew last year (October, I think) for the first time in several years. I had been a member from the beginning with a free iTools account.

It costs too much, the web interface sucks (very, very slow and clunky), and the features just aren't useful to me. Keep in mind I don't have an iPhone and if I did, I would seriously consider MM just for the locate/wipe feature.

Although the sync with the cloud was nice for my laptop and iMac, it isn't essential. I've got multiple backups using other means so iDisk/Backup is useless to me. I use xmarks and it works great. I don't use iCal or any online calender.
     
Andy8
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May 10, 2010, 07:41 PM
 
MobileMe becoming free?

What is the bet it is only free for new Macs, iPhones, iPods and iPads.

My guess is it will be driven by iAds.
     
turtle777
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May 11, 2010, 07:54 AM
 
That would be awesome *IF* Apple would manage to keep the service quality up.

So far (even paid), there was quite a bit of downtime and issues.

Personally, I wouldn't mind paying a few bucks, just not $100 per year.
For $20 / year, I could see myself snagging MobileMe up.

-t
     
Mrjinglesusa
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May 11, 2010, 09:42 AM
 
Since I got my Android-based phone (HTC Incredible), I've had to find new ways to keep everything synced. What I have found is that Google contacts and calendar play very nicely with iCal and my Address Book contacts. I am able to keep my phone, iMac, iPad, and Google (online) all synced perfectly.

Contacts: Set up Address Book to sync to Google contacts. Done.

Calendar: Set up a CalDav that points to my Google calendars. Done.

iDisk: Dropbox account. Done

The only reason I still pay for MobileMe is that I have had this email address for YEARS and don't want to have to contact everyone and tell them it has changed.

IMO, Google and Dropbox would offer the same functionality as MobileMe for FREE.
     
Simon
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May 11, 2010, 10:46 AM
 
Free MM for syncing makes sense. Google and MS are ahead here. Make MM free with every new Mac or new iDevice for ~2-3 years. That way it's an incentive to get a new Apple gadget.

But the current $100 is a total rip-off IMHO. Dropbox offers the same seamless experience, but it's not just cross-device, it's actually cross-platform. And it's actually fast, unlike iDisk. Also, the first 2 GB are free. IMHO a much better cloud-based storage than iDisk. That leaves $100 just for syncing. Way overpriced IMHO.
     
Helmling
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May 11, 2010, 01:31 PM
 
Originally Posted by tupsy0 View Post
Hi and thanks for taking the time to read my first post.
I have a Mac mini an iPod touch, will be getting a 13.3" MBP on the 4th of Jan. and plan to get an iPhone once my current contract is up. I am thinking of getting MobileMe. Read lots of reviews good and bad, most a were kinda out of date. So I wanted to get some up to date feed back from people using it now before I take the plunge.
If you have invested in the MobileMe service:
- are you happy with it?
- does it work properly,(have most of the bugs been worked out?)
- is there anyting you think it's missing or you feel is lacking that other services do better?
- finally is it worth it? do you feel your getting value for money and MobileMe provides a service you find indispensable?

Thanks a lot for your time and any comments you have would help a lot. I really want to integrate my contacts and ical between the mini and my new MBP and my iPhone when I get it. Plus I'm not on facebook or any of those sites so I wouldn't mind having a place to put some of my photos and what not online for friends and family. I'm also interested in the iDisc and the ability to send larger files by email.
CONS:
My contacts never seem to sync properly with my iPhone.
iDisk is so slow it's only useful to me for occasional back-up.
$99 is stiff.

PROS:
Uploading video and photos to the MobileMe gallery is great.
Having my calendar sync is INVALUABLE.
I run my website through iWeb.
     
   
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