iPad coming to northern Europe, iOS 4.2 hints at free MobileMe accounts - Page 2

I'm one of those (possibly?) rare MobileMe users. I've used it since it was .MAC, I've always paid for it, i've never had any trouble with it (excepting the brief problems during the cutover to MobleMe) and I don't have any issue with the price.

The things that it does for me (push, sync, storage, semi-secure file sharing, basic website and photo sharing) are all available elsewhere, sometimes even for free. But those other solutions rarely work together, and are rarely trouble-free. For me, the yearly cost is trivial vs. the value of my time in setting up a hodge-podge of other stuff that may or may not work as well (and almost certainly doesn't work together and with my iOS devices).

All that said, I've always felt there was more they could do with the service. I've really come to look at this as a sleeper product - something Apple built and maintains while they build/buy/develop the other pieces needed to complete whatever their vision is. I expect that vision will eventually include streaming music (or at least server-backed up music), DropBox-like file sync, and maybe even a backup service like a Mozy/Time-Machine mashup (Time Machine really does rock, it'd be crazy good if it worked with online storage).

I don't expect that these services will be anywhere close to free.
But free push-mail and cloud storage for iTunes to act as a hook - that I'd believe.

"Apple will launch the iPad in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark"

Just in time for those long winter day-nights with nothing better to do than drink Vodka, sit in hot tubs and shag tall, hot blondes. Now, add iPad to the list!

They surely could do more, but I cant complain since the service has become better while the price has stayed constant, and there is nothing else that comes close to offering all the services I use at any price.

Are you paying full price each year? You can find some good deals. Usually about $60/year if you plan ahead. It doesnt matter if the box is for MobileMe or .Mac, they will work. The versions on the .Mac are pointless marketing which helps us by allowing us to buy the older versions which are likely overlooked by less savvy buyers.

A few years ago I found a company selling .Mac Family Packs for the price of their .Mac Individual Plan. I bought several boxes, inputted all the codes at once, and didnt have to pay again until this year.



That sounds a lot like my time spent in Philly, though with less blonde, but Im partial to brunettes so its a win for me.

Why do you need to wait for winter to do all that?

I've been on board since mstone@eworld.com which I was disappointed to lose.
I find MobileMe indispensable for the single feature of back to my Mac.

If you don't have multiple Macs then it wouldn't be a compelling reason but for me the service is well worth the money.

Sounds good. It is raining today in SoCal, does that qualify?

I use the Exchange surport to sync my iPhone and iPad with Gmail. Calendar, Email and contacts are all kept in sync.

Apple will debut a phone with NFC next year. It will be your wallet. Your credit card. Your Oyster card. etc.

If stolen it needs to be deactivated, so mobile me needs to be free.

Hmm I can see an argument for that, but I would counter with only select services of MobileMe would be made free, not the entire suite.

Also, I hope Apple makes MobileMes Find My iPhone more secure. Currently there are no passcode barriers when disabling MobileMe or Find My iPhone.

free could just mean syncing or streaming services (not email, idisk, etc)..

itunes already has the code to limit sharing libraries to 5 machines (those authorized or tied to your account). I'm sure the RIAA/MPAA wants to impose limits on streaming content - so Apple needs to limit that as well..

why build something separate into mobile me?

It needs to register the device with a unique user ID ( appleID/ mobileMeID) for sure. Will the rest be free? Why not - given Apple's size mobile me is a tiny cost.

Do you remember Apples poorly executed change from .Mac to MobileMe? The perfect storm of trying to release a new iPhone, a new iPhone OS, and MobileMe all at the same time as if they could still use "boutique shop logistics with a million iPhone 3G devices being activated in a few days, many million more updating to iOS 2.0 and the free MobileMe trial they were pushing?

It was just for a weekend that the services were so overwhelmed, but the damage was done and you still here people yammer that MobileMe doesnt work. Now, if you want to try out MobileMe you have to input a valid CC and then cancel before the trial date is up. This is something I mentioned before the change over, as well having them give the option to test the new service to longtime users of the .Mac service. Now they are doing this, but it was a hard lesson.

I mentioned these things because you can simply open up a service like MobileMe to the over 100,000,000 iOS devices and expect it to work smoothly. Sure, they are just about finished with their data center, but they still cant responsibly flip a switch and have any all get access to all of MobileMe services while assuming it will go to plan. When they open up MobileMe it will likely have many barriers in place. This is a good thing.

On top of that, I dont want the whole of MobileMe to be a free product. I dont want this to be a service that is run like Googles free services. I dont want ads popping up, I dont want a bottomless pit to send complaints/concerns to. I want a service that is responsible to its userbase. I want a service that allows a useful recourse if I do have issues.

I'm also a paid member and a member for eight years or more now (I think I joined on the second day they started offering email accounts), and I find it worth it even though competing services are often free. People make too much out of the price. It costs less than treating yourself and a friend to a coffee once a month. If you are that cheap, you probably don't own a Mac and have a lot of other problems more pressing that what online services you use no doubt.

Google and Googles services and applications are also completely over-rated in my view. Gmail is pretty awful actually, and Picassa and the online document editing thing is similarly awkward and poorly done. Most everyone I know that uses Google docs, does so because it's pretty much the *only* online solution (besides Microsoft's business stuff), not because it's so great.

All Apple has to do is offer a smoothly operating, integrated competing solution and you will see how popular Google's offerings are *not*.

Another thing to consider re: MobileMe possibly going free, is that it's all about users in today's world. Facebook is powerful and popular because of the unique accounts and the information they collect on the people that use it. Google is the same. If every AppleID with a credit card, all of a sudden became part of an online community called "MobileMe," Apple would instantly have the biggest, most valuable community online.

It's no surprise that they started building that data centre, right after accusing Google of playing in their sandbox. I think it's a counter-strike of sorts. MobileMe being free would be a giant spear thrust right into the heart of Google. With Facebook getting messaging/email, the accounts which are the main strength of Google, could easily just evaporate.

Could you explain this? It makes no sense to me.

There are *many* password barriers to changing anything on MobileMe and "findMyiPhone" as far as I can see. You can't do anything without logging in to MobileMe (twice!) on the web, and you can't use find my iPhone on the phone or iPad without signing in to the service at least once. There is no toggle that I can see that turns it off.

I don't see how you can argue that there is any kind of security problem there. It's pretty standard stuff and implemented quite securely AFAICS.

its not all about you :-) The logistical problem can be solved, possibly that is what the data centre is for. What I am saying is that they need to get people using Find my iPhone etc. for NFC. it will be free, i guessed that anyway and - more to the point - these localised strings are a giveaway, right?

EDIT: select services would do it for me too.

Go to the other end. I’m talking about from the device itself.

If your don’t have a PIN/passcode setup to protect your device, or have it set to some interval, if someone gets into the device they can, from Settings » Mail, Contacts, Calendars, delete your MobileMe account or disable Find My iPhone without any PIN or password protecting the user.

If you want to change your iDevice’s PIN/passcode you need to renter your PIN/passcode so the system knows you have legitimate access. This should be required to change any aspect of MobileMe that would disable or enable Find My iPhone on the device.



I know you added an emoticon, but note that I go out of my way to look at companies from their point-of-view, not mine.


They are. Note that they list a limit per device, aren’t open to all devices or devices in all countries. There is even a string that states, "This Apple ID cannot be used for MobileMe Mail, but you can use it for other MobileMe services.”, which tells me exactly what I stated about it making the whole of MobileMe a free for all.

You are exactly right there. I would imagine it's not hard to implement this. Why not require your MobileMe login any time you enable/disable MobileMe or find my phone? With all the talk about the new data center leading to more cloud services and more ubiquitous MobileMe implementation, I'd like to see this done sooner rather than later. I'm one of those careful people who is unlikely to lose my phone so I prefer to use it without a pin but if the dreaded does happen, I don't want the person finding it easily disabling the find my phone feature before I even have a chance to log into to MobileMe. The MobileMe acct/find my phone feature needs it's own passcode--the same way a sensitive file/app needs one.

Me too, and I have nothing on my device that is itself so confidential that I need to have it locked, but I do (and have it set to 1 minute) because of the MobileMe hole allowing anyone with access to the device to disable it.

Free MobileMe = Same as now, maybe minus some storage (5GB instead of 20?).
Premium paid MobileMe = Same as now + more storage + streaming music/movies + other new features being worked

Good idea. Also this is why I haven't bought a MM acct yet. Figured a free one might be available shortly.

Because in the summer he shags goats.

As they sell them faster than they can make them, this is not really a huge motivation. If they do anything at all, it will be a limited and/or ad supported free solution.


This is absolutely possible, as providing additional services that could lower the profit margin of devices already accounted for could be in conflict with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Any ad income would have to at least cover the cost of operation and maintenance to stay clear of such complications (as far as I understand it).


??? MobileMe mail beats Gmail by miles, at least it is 100% IMAP compliant, while Gmail's label mess is causing conflicts with most mail clients (and do not even get me started on the handling of contacts with Gmail - it is so bad, there should be a law against it). And comparing Picasa to the current iPhoto... Picasa looks like a freak accident. Google could not design a decent GUI if their life depended on it.


No idea what it will be, if anything. But one thing is for sure: the streaming rights that companies like LaLa, Spotify, etc. have obtained are not transferable... so, Apple basically only bought human resources. I hope they at least use them to make iDisk performing anywhere near what a free Dropbox account provides. While I love almost everything about MobileMe, the iDisk feature is so poor, it is a mere joke.

How about Apple figure out why all of my MobileMe sent e-mails are ending up in everyone's spam folders?

I used to use MobileMe for everything, now I can't trust it to get my e-mails out.

You may have that one backwards: The razor and blades strategy subsidizes the initial discount, not the other way around. The handle is cheap; the blades are expensive.

Do you use a me.com or a mac.com address for sending mails? I happily still use my old mac.com address and I have no such problems.

Anyhow, there is nothing Apple can do about it, as the logic and blacklists of the spam filters are maintained by the receiving providers and users, not Apple.

Yeah, yeah. we heard that about the iPhone 4. Never happened.

Apple will need partners to pull that off.

Why can't you move the history to Gmail??

I personally can't stand gmail. The web interface is very very klunky. I had it be unavailable about 1 every 2 weeks for a period of time (10-15 minutes). I can't get its sent mail to sync properly across devices and I still don't have a standard push service on the iPhone.

I've had zero problems with mm mail. it just works, for me and other family members. and the syncing of everything else just works as well. Well worth < $6/month (as has been pointed out elsewhere is the third-party cost). Add to that the rest of the services which also seem to just work these days.

The only reason I still have a gmail account it to play around with the new features that I never end up using. Also, forwarding of non-standard e-mail address I play with. If it cost anything I would be gone from gmail.

I use a me.com address. I never had a mac.com address.

But yeah, I understand it's not Apple's fault, but it's frustrating as crap. Apple has so much clout in the tech world. I would think they could strong arm some of these other providers.

the whole "we heard this before" is not an argument. It doesnt need partners on launch, just a nfc capable device. Google have this now, if Apple wait until 2011 it is curtains.

This from the guy whose sig is:
Prevent Apple from tracking your iDevice activity. Visit oo.apple.com.

This service is provided by... Apple.

Free Mobile Me? No thanks. Google Buzz? Microsoft Security? Free?

Turn off Google or MS tracking?

Free in the corporate world does not exist. Don't pay in dollars you pay some other way. This seems to be widely, very widely, misunderstood. Corporations quoted on the stock markets can't give stuff away their primary duty is to protect the financial interests of shareholders, they can only 'give' something away for 'free' if the return is greater.

Free in dollars costs you some other freedom. Apple won't give you free stuff, they may bundle extra services in with the cost of the device.


Schmidt responded, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/48975

http://www.networkworld.com/communit...nts-arent-read


Free?

http://www.businessinsider.com/huaxi-air-fleet-2010-11

You would have to be pretty narrow minded to come to that conclusion.

While what you're saying is true, that doesn't mean it's right. The concept of "right and wrong" is difficult to wrap our capitalist minds around, I know.

They are charged to make a profit, not to be stupid. It can make sense to offer some things for free because of the network effect. The network effect causes something to become much more valuable as it becomes more ubiquitous. If there is an increasing probability that iOS and OS X devices are actually using the cloud services that come with Mobile Me then it becomes more likely that developers will enhance products with those cloud services making Apple devices more desirable. This is similar to what boosted the popularity of the iPod. Apple made iTunes free for the Mac and the PC (a free app for the competing OS) and built a low margin service to fuel the rise of the iPod. That use of "free" made stock holders huge profits.

There is also the issue that Apple is competing against free. If Apple chooses to stick with its current $100 per year model they will simply not be in the game for the possible next great thing that could come from cloud computing. Of course the optimistic thinking might prove wrong and not participating might be the right choice (remember the demands that Apple had to be in the netbook market?). But the size of Apple's investment in the North Carolina data center implies a free service is on its way.

Hehe, is that your image of us Nordic people. Guess what, we do not drink vodka and I guess 99.99% dont have ever been in a hot tube What comes to the blondes......

Ah, your first statement implied that there was a security hole in MobileMe, this is a different thing altogether.

MobileMe can be disabled if you delete the account but that leaves the criminal only in physical possession of your phone. Your MobileMe data is still safe, as is your email.

You can't use find my iphone anymore, but that isn't the same as a security hole. The same thing happens when you wipe the data. The wiping saves the security of the phone, but it leaves you unable to ever contact the phone again remotely.

I understand what you're saying about the PIN and I agree it should probably be changed, but this is not a security hole in MobileMe. You lose your phone in this situation, but the MobileMe information remains intact and secret.

If I'm in physical possession of your iPhone and you don't have a screen lock PIN set up, I can go into settings and disable find my phone WITHOUT deleting your MobileMe account and all of the data that resides on your phone. I've just turned off your ability to find... and remote wipe... your phone. I believe the 'find my phone' feature is worth the MobileMe subscription just by itself... IF it can't be disabled so easily by anyone in physical possession of your phone. I agree with the original poster that changing the 'find my phone' settings on your phone should require your MobileMe password to proceed.

Exactly,

I use Google to sync all of my ontacts and calender betweem my iPad, Macbook Pro, Mac Mini, Androind Droid Phone ( I have to use Verizon ) and my company Dell laptop. It is a great feature that google provides for free. I also use Google Docs and I am trying the beta iWork.com site as well.

So, Why pay for Moble ME, when Google sync is free and does everything I need it to do....?

You answered you own question, which was good enough for you. But not for me. You get what you paid for. So do I.

edit: Pipped by Onhka.

What PIN do you expect the thief put in in this case? You haven't set one up. how do you expect the system to know a pin?

The phone probably needs to re-ask for the PIN, for the cases where a PIN is set and the thief steals it unlocked and had time to disable Find My Phone, but it cant do anything for the user who doesnt set his PIN. All that Apple can do is force people to set their PIN if they are using the phone as a wallet.