The .Mac to MobileMe transition: what you need to know
When Apple rolls out its new MobileMe internet service early next month, it will completely replace the company's existing .Mac service. Many features will continue to function the same way they do today, some will change, and others will disappear completely. Here's what you need to know.
For starters, anyone with a .Mac subscription will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe and see their iDisk storage doubled from 10GB to 20GB at no additional cost -- though Apple warns that it may take up to 10 days before the additional space is reflected for all users. An email will be sent out to all .Mac subscribers ahead of the service change.
Once upgraded, users will be under no obligation to stop using their .Mac email address or their .Mac email aliases, both of which will continue to function indefinitely, as will .Mac iChat login IDs. In addition to their mac.com email address, users will also get an address at me.com with the same username and an iChat ID at me.com with the same user name.
Similarly, .Mac website URLs and Web Galleries URLs will continue to function as they do today, but will also be accessible from me.com. For example, both web.mac.com/john_smith/ and web.me.com/john_smith/ will both point to the same web directory. Users who have their own personal domain name pointing to their .Mac web directory will also not need to make any changes.
Emails stored on .Mac, as well as files on a .Mac iDisk and Backups to a .Mac iDisk will all be accessible from MobileMe and continue to function as they do today. Some other features, however, will be discontinued such as iCards, .Mac slides, and support for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther sync.
Apple will also discontinue Web access to bookmarks on June 30, 2008, after which users will no longer be able to access or update their bookmarks at .Mac. To avoid losing any existing .Mac Bookmarks, Apple recommends that .Mac users sync them with Safari on a Mac before June 30.
Bookmark sync between Macs and/or PCs will not be discontinued, as MobileMe will continue to sync bookmarks across computers as well as push them to the iPhone and iPod touch.
On a Mac, MobileMe will require the latest versions of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and either Safari 3 or Firefox 2. Windows PCs will be able to access MobileMe from Safari 3, Firefox 2 or Internet Explorer 7. iPhone features will require iPhone Software 2.0.
Additional information is available via Apple's .Mac Transition Overview and the MobileMe Guided Tour. Prospective subscribers can also sign up to receive a notification email when the MobileMe service goes live.
Update: Readers in the AppleInsider forums ask if they can purchase the current editions of .Mac at the discount price of $69.99 ($124.99 for the Family Pack) from Amazon.com and then have their account upgraded to MobileMe.
Apple say, "Yes. Just go to www.mac.com/activate and enter your code to get started. Your account will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe when it becomes available."
For starters, anyone with a .Mac subscription will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe and see their iDisk storage doubled from 10GB to 20GB at no additional cost -- though Apple warns that it may take up to 10 days before the additional space is reflected for all users. An email will be sent out to all .Mac subscribers ahead of the service change.
Once upgraded, users will be under no obligation to stop using their .Mac email address or their .Mac email aliases, both of which will continue to function indefinitely, as will .Mac iChat login IDs. In addition to their mac.com email address, users will also get an address at me.com with the same username and an iChat ID at me.com with the same user name.
Similarly, .Mac website URLs and Web Galleries URLs will continue to function as they do today, but will also be accessible from me.com. For example, both web.mac.com/john_smith/ and web.me.com/john_smith/ will both point to the same web directory. Users who have their own personal domain name pointing to their .Mac web directory will also not need to make any changes.
Emails stored on .Mac, as well as files on a .Mac iDisk and Backups to a .Mac iDisk will all be accessible from MobileMe and continue to function as they do today. Some other features, however, will be discontinued such as iCards, .Mac slides, and support for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther sync.
Apple will also discontinue Web access to bookmarks on June 30, 2008, after which users will no longer be able to access or update their bookmarks at .Mac. To avoid losing any existing .Mac Bookmarks, Apple recommends that .Mac users sync them with Safari on a Mac before June 30.
Bookmark sync between Macs and/or PCs will not be discontinued, as MobileMe will continue to sync bookmarks across computers as well as push them to the iPhone and iPod touch.
On a Mac, MobileMe will require the latest versions of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and either Safari 3 or Firefox 2. Windows PCs will be able to access MobileMe from Safari 3, Firefox 2 or Internet Explorer 7. iPhone features will require iPhone Software 2.0.
Additional information is available via Apple's .Mac Transition Overview and the MobileMe Guided Tour. Prospective subscribers can also sign up to receive a notification email when the MobileMe service goes live.
Update: Readers in the AppleInsider forums ask if they can purchase the current editions of .Mac at the discount price of $69.99 ($124.99 for the Family Pack) from Amazon.com and then have their account upgraded to MobileMe.
Apple say, "Yes. Just go to www.mac.com/activate and enter your code to get started. Your account will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe when it becomes available."
Comments
Some other features, however, will be discounted such as iCards, .Mac slides, and support for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther sync.
Apple will also discontinue Web access to bookmarks on June 30, 2008, after which users will no longer be able to access or update their bookmarks at .Mac.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
I think I've been in the camp of over-paying for my .Mac service, but I was happy to do so. One of the warm-fuzzies that kept me from abandoning the pricey service, ok 2 of them, were the iCards and the web-access to my bookmarks.
The iCards were simple to use and unique to Mac. No ads, no BS, just an easy benefit to use. No other site to go to when I read an email online and wanted a more cheerful reply than simple email would be. Why remove? They must cost almost nothing to maintain, since the cards rarely changed and, oh nevermind. Just a big FU to Apple for ruining my day on that one.
The bookmarks I don't understand. Why dictate how I'm mobile? I don't have an iPhone or other computers that I own. But I'm on all sorts of machines at work, on the road and with friends/family. I loved always having access to the sites I use. Am I missing something in how this has been torn away?
I guess I should reserve any real passion in this reply for when service launches. But I don't like the sound of all this....
EDIT: Holy Crap, I got first post!
I have been writing a lot of code using AJAX and it performs well on all of the browsers mentioned.
Could I buy the .Mac product from Amazon today, for the advertized $69.00....and use it to activate the Mobileme account later, say after the 60 day demo period?
Sure, why not...
The bookmarks I don't understand. Why dictate how I'm mobile? I don't have an iPhone or other computers that I own. But I'm on all sorts of machines at work, on the road and with friends/family. I loved always having access to the sites I use. Am I missing something in how this has been torn away?
Apple is not removing the bookmark syncing service. You cannot sync your bookmark using .MAC after June 30th. When MM goes online during the following weeks, any bookmark changes will automatically be pushed to all of your machines. At least that is my understanding.
Interesting. I'm liking what I see in MobileMe. Now if only you could access your MobileMe pictures and stuff form AppleTV..
EDIT: Holy Crap, I got first post!
No you didn't. Edit FAIL!!!!
Could I buy the .Mac product from Amazon today, for the advertized $69.00....and use it to activate the Mobileme account later, say after the 60 day demo period?
That's exactly what I'm going to do. My first 14 months of Mobile Me for $69
iCards are going to be missed but perhaps we'll se more mail stationary and better mail stationary.
Could I buy the .Mac product from Amazon today, for the advertized $69.00....and use it to activate the Mobileme account later, say after the 60 day demo period?
The answer to this is yes, right now. After Mobile Me launches, I do not know.
Best,
K
Interesting. I'm liking what I see in MobileMe. Now if only you could access your MobileMe pictures and stuff form AppleTV..
And a step further... It'd be nice if Apple allowed iPhone Apps to easily be ported to the AppleTV.
ps. How closely related is the iPhone Dev kit's Xcode to Apple's DashCode?
Thanks!
and the web-access to my bookmarks.
Never used the iCard or Bookmarks, but was always glad to know that if I did need them there were available. What makes no sense to me about the Bookmarks is that it is such an easy option to add.
<iCard—image>
HAHA Nice!
Apple is not removing the bookmark syncing service.
He is referring the web option to VIEW your bookmarks from a machine that you do not own. That is being removed, yet they still store them.
Interesting. I'm liking what I see in MobileMe. Now if only you could access your MobileMe pictures and stuff form AppleTV..
EDIT: Holy Crap, I got first post!
You can...the photos but not the other "stuff" (watch the MobileMe demo video on Apple's web site)
You didn't!
My .mac account expires in 90 days. After seeing me.com i will be upgrading to the family pack for my wife and kids emails etc.
I have been writing a lot of code using AJAX and it performs well on all of the browsers mentioned.
As an AJAX programmer, can you shed some light as to why it requires those browsers (ie, can it be written to offer limited functions on other browsers? I know nothing about it)? I'm stuck using IE 6 at work, and that's 99% of my use of .Mac's online apps. I understand that the current .Mac photo Gallery is an AJAX application. It will run on IE 6 after you click through the warning about "runs best on modern web browsers." The interface is slightly different than on a fully supported browser, and it runs slowly; but it runs. Also, veiwing the current .Mac Gallery on Firefox 2 on Window was significantly slower than Safari on my Mac.
Would you hazzard a guess as to whether MobileMe might allow modified access from IE 6 (like Gallery does today) or no access at all? If no access, MobileMe will become useless to me as I have no option to upgrade the browser on my work machine. The main reason for getting .Mac was online access to my calendars and contacts. Due to a bug I've never been able to view my contacts online, but I assume MobileMe will make the bug irrelevant. And MobileMe is a massive improvement to the calendar functionality. But now it appears I'm going to be denied access due to browser requirements!
In addition to their mac.com email address, users will also get an address at me.com with the same username and an iChat ID at me.com with the same user name.
Darn... I was hoping this wouldn't happen as I wanted to grab my first name @me.com
As an AJAX programmer, can you shed some light as to why it requires those browsers (ie, can it be written to offer limited functions on other browsers? I know nothing about it)? I'm stuck using IE 6 at work, and that's 99% of my use of .Mac's online apps. I understand that the current .Mac photo Gallery is an AJAX application. It will run on IE 6 after you click through the warning about "runs best on modern web browsers." The interface is slightly different than on a fully supported browser, and it runs slowly; but it runs. Also, veiwing the current .Mac Gallery on Firefox 2 on Window was significantly slower than Safari on my Mac.
Would you hazzard a guess as to whether MobileMe might allow modified access from IE 6 (like Gallery does today) or no access at all? If no access, MobileMe will become useless to me as I have no option to upgrade the browser on my work machine. The main reason for getting .Mac was online access to my calendars and contacts. Due to a bug I've never been able to view my contacts online, but I assume MobileMe will make the bug irrelevant. And MobileMe is a massive improvement to the calendar functionality. But now it appears I'm going to be denied access due to browser requirements!
What about the Outlook functionality? You can sync your Outlook Calendar with Mobile Me as well.