Comments on: MobileMe Replacement?

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:33:25 +0000

I have been with mac.com since the early days. I can tell you from the time of the original isync application through mobile.me sync, there were a lot of growing pains. Right now, mobile.me sync is rock solid between 5 computers and 2 iphones. This just didn’t happen. There have been a number of times when I felt like I would like to strangle someone at Apple. I would be vary skeptical of sync apps. just being released. When something goes wrong with your sync, you better have a good backup.

Anyway, mobile.me just keeps getting more and more useful. I am working on an idea right now where I am uploading to idisk and using individual bento clients on each machine to get the effect of a database on server solution. We will have to see how successful this will be. But it holds great promise in organizing file information on multiple machines.

And the real problem with idisk is the asymmetrical service between uploading and downloading that is typical of dsl or cable service. While download speeds are great, uploading can be a great pain. It takes a great deal of time to upload 20G of information.

By: larry

larry — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 02:40:56 +0000

$99 is too much for the service, so I get a new registration (disk) on eBay or Amazon for about 1/2 that; or, at least, I could until the service became more stable and therefore, more popular. I enjoy building my personal websites with iWeb and it’s trivial to upload them to my MobileMe account. And Aperture is compatible with MobileMe Gallery just like iPhoto, so that’s another plus for me. But, the biggest plus is that I can edit my calendar from any Mac or my iPhone and it updates everywhere so it’s always current. I also have investigated alternatives to MobileMe, but the scenario I’ve outlined works best for me.

By: Jocca

Jocca — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:01:56 +0000

With three macs, an iPhone and iPod Touch to keep track of my stuff, I do not mind paying for Mobile Me at all. It is only 8.20$ a month and it keeps my mail, contacts, calendar, web browsers all in sync in one place. I also use my iDisks to back up all my most important documents, just in case. It’s simple and reliable. The part of the service I like most when I get a brand new mac, is to watch all these informations magically appeared on the drive, after registration and entering my .mac account. It is an extremely well implemented service and is worth every penny of it.

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:51:52 +0000

You said “MobileMe Contact works very well with Mac OS X’s Address Book application via iSync.”

No, it doesn’t.

iSync is ONLY for syncing Contacts and Calendars from Address Book and iCal to non-Apple mobile phones, via a USB or Bluetooth connection.

iSync does not sync with MobileMe at all. It is “MobileMe Sync” which handles Contact syncing between other Macs and me.com.

By: Icey Cake

Icey Cake — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:49:46 +0000

Thanks for the TIps Vic!!! For $69, may be I have a reason to continue my MobileMe subscription again.

By: Icey Cake

Icey Cake — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:46:08 +0000

I have a Mac desktop, 2 Mac notebooks, 1 Windows 7 notebook, and 1 Linux Desktop. That’s why I have to mix and match MobileMe along with the other services in order to have all of them in sync. I’m trying to find out if I can ditch MobileMe but it seems I cannot.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:40:06 +0000

For $8.25 a month (unless you shop Amazon, then it’s usually $5.75/month) I don’t have to think about what apps or services I use to keep my digital life smooth. I happen to like Apple’s apps (not everyone does) and when you add in the iPhone integration, well I can skip a cup of coffee or two per week to pay for it. $99 – not worth it. OTOH $5.75/month (that’s one cup of coffe a week at 7-Eleven) well, then it’s suddenly very affordable for the simplicity alone.

P.S. Back to My Mac works fine for me and pretty much always has. I have an Airport network in my home but none of my remote locations have one. It has something to do with the firewall and UPnP settings of the network. If the settings are acceptable the service seems pretty hardware neutral.

By: Vic

Vic — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:36:09 +0000

I always take the path of least resistance! If I can get .Mac (AKA MobileMe!!) for less than $99, THAT is all the justification I neew to renew again… SO, every year on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) I do my MobileMe renewal. The cost? Usually about $69.00 from Apple Online Store!! NOW MobileMe’s subscription price is worth the money. @ $99? Not so much!

By: Charles Wilkes

Charles Wilkes — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:56:10 +0000

I am a happy iMac user, however when I first migrated to the Mac, MobileME had just collapsed with errors causing lots of grief. So I elected NOT to go with MobileME, even when they seemed to have solved their many problems. Fact is I didn’t think I needed anything they had to offer, and I’ve seen nothing since then to cause me to change my mind. So this is about the only Mac related Apple offering which I did not buy into. I do appreciate learning of many free apps if I decide I need any of them. I do have an iPod Touch, which gives me a portable backup of my addresses, etc., which I think is all I will use of such features. But I’m happy with Gmail and Google documents, so I doubt if I will ever need them. And I don’t plan to ever use any Microsoft app. again.
Charles Wilkes, San Jose, Calif.

By: hmurchison

hmurchison — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:21:16 +0000

To each his own but i’m not seeing the value. MobileMe give you a single login for all the features. Sure I’ve saved 6 bucks a month by using add supported sites but i’ve lost efficiency. I wouldn’t trade Address Book for Gmail Contacts on its best day.
Flickr is nice but sometimes I just want a clean non web 2.0′ish gallery. Spanning Sync and LogMe in are yet other obstructions and services that require management. Dropbox is nice but if I need to send someone something they have to create an account unlike iDisk which will eventually allow you to send anyone a link.

I urge you to think about what you’re really gaining here. Amazon has sold .mac and now Mobileme for $69 for quite some time. That’s $5.75 per month. You honestly expect me to forgo on a better UI, better iLife integration and cheap webhosting to save $5.75 a month. How about skip that fast food value meal once a month or sack lunch it to work. To make a financial impact in your life you have to save more than $10 a month or you need an efficiency increase that is substantial. Your solution is going to make you happy but I think it has as many flaws as it has gains.