Apple encouraging iCloud upgrades with free Snow Leopard for MobileMe users

Posted:
in iCloud edited January 2014


In an effort to push customers toward iCloud ahead of shuttering its MobileMe service, Apple has reportedly begun offering free copies of OS X Snow Leopard to MobileMe users still on the older Leopard version.



Macgasm reported on Wednesday that the Mac maker had sent an article to MobileMe customers with an offer for a free DVD of OS X Snow Leopard. The move comes as Apple is just months away from its June 30 deadline to close the service.



It's not immediately clear, however, exactly who is eligible for the free upgrade offer, which expires on June 15. The publication contacted Apple to clarify but had yet to hear back from the company.



Apple's email reportedly outlines a three-step process for bringing MobileMe Leopard users onto iCloud. First, customers will need to get their free DVD of Snow Leopard. Once the new operating system is installed, they can purchase and install OS X Lion via the Mac App Store. Finally, they can visit me.com/move to bring their MobileMe accounts over to iCloud.











iCloud incorporates many of the features and services that MobileMe offers, though some have been cut. Apple confirmed last year that iDisk, Gallery and iWeb will be discontinued with MobileMe.



MobileMe got off to a shaky start that prompted harsh criticism of the development team from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.



"You've tarnished Apple's reputation..." he reportedly told the team. "You should hate each other for having let each other down."



At the introduction of iCloud last year, Jobs said the MobileMe launch was not "Apple's finest hour" and pledged that the service would be different because "it all just works." Apple has, however, had some trouble making the transition to iCloud. Just this week, a small number of users experienced disruption of service to their iCloud mail accounts.



The company's efforts to move users over to iCloud reflect its own belief that iCloud, unlike MobileMe, is here to stay. CEO Tim Cook said in February that iCloud, which has more than 100 million users, will be the center of Apple's strategy "for the next decade or more."



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    Yes, dear users... please help us lock up even more of your data in our proprietary cloud....



    It's kind of depressing that Vista has support for iCloud but Snow Leopard doesn't. I just want to have photostream/picture folder support and my contacts on my core duo macs! Is it that hard to ask?
  • Reply 2 of 33
    bwinskibwinski Posts: 164member
    SO, LET'S SEE...



    Papa bear is offering to UPGRADE all the older Macs out in the wild to Snow Leopard to get everyone on a platform that's 'close' to reality of the hardware that's 'current'... THEN, as a VERY FIRST STEP of the process to move over to iCloud, the VERY FIRST THING that Papa Bear wants these folks to do is UPGRADE TO LION???



    NO!!!



    I stayed on SL because you ass-clowns told me that my Mac didn't have enough horsepower to run Lion. NOW, you want folks with hardware OLDER THAN MINE to upgrade to Lion?? Are you people nuts?? Steve was right.. you clowns SHOULD be ashamed of yourselves.. this plan is lunacy ...



    You OWE your user base a plan - not a meat grinder... idiotic.
  • Reply 3 of 33
    aizmovaizmov Posts: 989member
    This is stupid. What about all the Macs that can't run Snow Leopard let alone Lion? Apple should have made iCloud available on Snow Leopard at least.
  • Reply 4 of 33
    tylerk36tylerk36 Posts: 1,037member
    It has always been policy of almost any tech company that sells computers and or software to force users to upgrade. It is the truth and unfortunately we all are caught up in it. Yes Microsoft has a little more flexibility when it comes to their OS and Processors and Graphics cards. We all have to pay some time and one will have to choose. Microsoft or Apple. Who will you stand with? I choose Apple. Yes my Mac Pro is obsolete and will not run Mountain Lion. But I am gonna have to save for another Mac Pro and upgrade. Oh well I don't like it but I know that is the way it is and I can't change it. So I adapt.
  • Reply 5 of 33
    slang4artslang4art Posts: 376member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tylerk36 View Post


    It has always been policy of almost any tech company that sells computers and or software to force users to upgrade. It is the truth and unfortunately we all are caught up in it. Yes Microsoft has a little more flexibility when it comes to their OS and Processors and Graphics cards. We all have to pay some time and one will have to choose. Microsoft or Apple. Who will you stand with? I choose Apple. Yes my Mac Pro is obsolete and will not run Mountain Lion. But I am gonna have to save for another Mac Pro and upgrade. Oh well I don't like it but I know that is the way it is and I can't change it. So I adapt.



    System requirements for Mountain Lion haven't been confirmed yet.
  • Reply 6 of 33
    slang4artslang4art Posts: 376member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aizmov View Post


    This is stupid. What about all the Macs that can't run Snow Leopard let alone Lion? Apple should have made iCloud available on Snow Leopard at least.



    Apple doesn't support Power PC any longer. It's been 6 years.
  • Reply 7 of 33
    slang4artslang4art Posts: 376member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bwinski View Post


    SO, LET'S SEE...



    Papa bear is offering to UPGRADE all the older Macs out in the wild to Snow Leopard to get everyone on a platform that's 'close' to reality of the hardware that's 'current'... THEN, as a VERY FIRST STEP of the process to move over to iCloud, the VERY FIRST THING that Papa Bear wants these folks to do is UPGRADE TO LION???



    NO!!!



    I stayed on SL because you ass-clowns told me that my Mac didn't have enough horsepower to run Lion. NOW, you want folks with hardware OLDER THAN MINE to upgrade to Lion?? Are you people nuts?? Steve was right.. you clowns SHOULD be ashamed of yourselves.. this plan is lunacy ...



    You OWE your user base a plan - not a meat grinder... idiotic.



    2 OS upgrades (usable on up to 5 Macs) for users that haven't purchased new hardware in over 3 years, all for $29. The humanity...
  • Reply 8 of 33
    slang4artslang4art Posts: 376member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by theguycalledtom View Post


    Yes, dear users... please help us lock up even more of your data in our proprietary cloud....



    It's kind of depressing that Vista has support for iCloud but Snow Leopard doesn't. I just want to have photostream/picture folder support and my contacts on my core duo macs! Is it that hard to ask?



    Use an alternative service if you can't afford new hardware.
  • Reply 9 of 33
    Don't you get it? It's Apple's way of telling you to get a new Mac. Do they really have to spell it out for you?
  • Reply 10 of 33
    droiddroid Posts: 38member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nkingman View Post


    Don't you get it? It's Apple's way of telling you to get a new Mac. Do they really have to spell it out for you?



    Why do they need a new mac? Most of the syncing features that iCloud has were in MobileMe & already worked with 10.4 onwards. Apple has made an arbitrary decision to cut support off for pre Lion users.
  • Reply 11 of 33
    droiddroid Posts: 38member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Slang4Art View Post


    All Mac Pros run Lion.



    He said Mountain Lion, not Lion.

    It's another case of a older machines being cut off for minor incompatibilities, such as the EFI firmware version. A version 1,1 Mac Pro with lots of RAM & an upgraded graphics card could potentially run 10.8 faster than a new Mac Mini, but Apple say no.
  • Reply 12 of 33
    slang4artslang4art Posts: 376member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nkingman View Post


    Don't you get it? It's Apple's way of telling you to get a new Mac. Do they really have to spell it out for you?



    Apple is allowing users with 6 year old hardware to run iCloud. iCloud isn't a requirement to use a Mac. If you wish to use iCloud, and have a Mac that cannot run Lion, then you can weigh whether iCloud is worth selling your Mac at a great resale price and upgrading. They aren't forcing anyone to do anything; the entitlement of some people is pathetic.
  • Reply 13 of 33
    bandittbanditt Posts: 23member
    I was hoping for a Snow Leopard integration of iCloud. Technically it can be done
  • Reply 14 of 33
    myapplelovemyapplelove Posts: 1,515member
    It's bs how they are not supporting icloud for snow leopard, and then you hear people here talk about "entitlement". Yeah people having paid for mm for 2+ years shouldn't be able to have their data synced anymore on their no more than a year old os, unless they pay even more for lion... The way they are obsoleting last years os via icloud and machines that are 3 or so years old again via icloud is what is pathetic, not people's sense of entitlement...
  • Reply 15 of 33
    djkikromedjkikrome Posts: 189member
    It would be nice if they would put more effort into combining old .mac IDs with the new iCloud IDs or iTunes account names.
  • Reply 16 of 33
    realisticrealistic Posts: 1,154member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by myapplelove View Post


    ... The way they are obsoleting last years os via icloud and machines that are 3 or so years old again via icloud is what is pathetic, not people's sense of entitlement...



    Snow Leopard to Lion upgrade was only $30. What 3 year old Apple computer was obsoleted by iCloud again?



    If you prefer the way MS does it then buy a Windows based product not an Apple product.
  • Reply 17 of 33
    etkaletkal Posts: 10member
    The problem isn't just being at Snow Leopard, but iCloud requires iOS 5 on portable devices, meaning anyone with a perfectly good iPhone 3G is stuck as well.
  • Reply 18 of 33
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by etkal View Post


    The problem isn't just being at Snow Leopard, but iCloud requires iOS 5 on portable devices, meaning anyone with a perfectly good iPhone 3G is stuck as well.



    I have a first-gen and I'm not whining about not having iCloud on it. Tech changes. Do you really want your iPhone 3G to have worse battery life? Think about it.
  • Reply 19 of 33
    They'll either have to make Mountain Lion as good as Snow Leopard, or they'll have to pry Snow Leopard out of my cold, dead hands!
  • Reply 20 of 33
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by POWERman View Post


    They'll either have to make Mountain Lion as good as Snow Leopard, or they'll have to pry Snow Leopard out of my cold, dead hands!



    It is funny, but I remember when SL was released, quite a lot of people had issues with it (some genuine and some sensationalised). I got the impression that the general consensus was that it was not as good as Leopard and Apple took a step backwards.



    Now it appears that Lion is even worse than SL and by some indications, ML seems to be worse than Lion?



    I don't know. Personally, I moved to Macs with the Late 2009 27" iMacs, which came with Snow Leopard. Since it was my first interaction with OS-X, I had no complaints whatsoever.



    When I upgraded to Lion last year, I still didn't have any complaints, save for some changes in gestures.



    I will upgrade to ML as well when they release it this fall. I'd like to be on the latest OS as long as it is possible. Maybe I don't use OS-X enough to recognise the regression in the versions?



    Anyway, I have Fusion 4, so I can always run SL if required.
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