“When Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs took the stage on Monday at Apple Inc.’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the focus of attention was on the new iPhone 3G and iPhone 2.0 — the coming firmware update for all iPhones that will bring with it a slew of new applications,” Michael DeAgonia writes for Computerworld.
“But one of the most important announcements concerned Apple’s new suite of online services, called MobileMe. Think of it as a revamped .Mac with an eye on tying the iPhone to what has until now been largely a syncing/storage/Web-based tool. Oh, and say goodbye to .Mac, which will disappear next month, replaced basically by ‘.me.’ Old .Mac e-mail accounts and Web pages will still work fine. But the emphasis will be on ‘Me.’ In fact. .Mac e-mail addresses can be converted to .me addresses once .Mac users are upgraded to MobileMe,” DeAgonia writes.
“What’s new now, and what’s important, is the emphasis on the push technology unveiled in the upcoming iPhone 2.0 software update. On the business front, that software adds direct integration for Microsoft’s ActiveSync technology out of the box. This eliminates the added server, software and licensing costs inherent to the BlackBerry and simplifies the job of IT support. By licensing Microsoft’s ActiveSync technology, Apple is making the iPhone a real alternative to the popular BlackBerry, which offers similar ‘push’ functionality. For those without access to an Exchange server and Active Sync, MobileMe offers a solution,” DeAgonia writes.
“Put simply: Exchange enables push technology for business users; MobileMe means push technology for the rest of us,” DeAgonia writes.
“It’s also a replacement for Apple’s current .Mac Web services, which currently include online storage, e-mail addresses, contact and calendar syncing across multiple computers, Back to my Mac and photo sharing. While the majority of functions in MobileMe are similar to those in .Mac, one of the big differences is that Apple is making MobileMe accessible to iPhones and iPod touches — and it has made the service entirely cross-platform. Once MobileMe rolls out, Windows users will be able to sign up for Apple’s previously Mac-only Web services,” DeAgonia writes.
Full article here.
How many glasses of ice water is Jobs gonna give those suminabitches?
“I just started a new business and have a .Mac email address for the business. “
Some advice, get your own domain name. Any use of a public(yahoo,google,mac,msn, whatever) domain marks you down as small time and probably not too tech savvy. I wouldn’t employ any company for any IT job who hadn’t figured out how, or spent the small amount of time and money to set up a companyname.com email address.
absolutely agree.
the .me address feels unprofessional and immature. I will stick with .mac
I think you guys nailed it: .me is meant to appeal to switchers more than current users.
Oh well, looks like time for a new identity (again).
I’ll join the chorus of those who think .me sounds unprofessional compared to .mac. Apple must have done their homework on this re/ targetting switchers over current users.
If you are out and about regualrly (like me – im a freelance design consultant) then Mobileme is fantastic.
Im self-employed and dont have the money or luxuary to have an exchange server so this is great for people like me who need everything upto date instantly.
I am always adding meetings on ical on my iphone, always need to send emails and view attachments too – so this is ideal!
And the price is good too and as I have .mac anyway the transition will be painless and instant.
Thanks SJ and Apple for being the 1st company in the world to bring exchange to the masses!
“dont have the money or luxuary to have an exchange server “
Use a hosted exchange server, approx $12/month, provided by Microsoft through partners since 2005 (the real first people to bring Exchange to the masses). I’m sad to hear your business doesn’t generate $4/mo in profits, the difference in cost between .Mac and exchange hosting. It’s probably because people don’t take you seriously because you use a kiddy/home email address.
Apple should keep .Mac available to choose for email addres. I definitely don’t want a .Me email – so Winblows!
For business use, I agree, .me isn’t great. But for personal use – and for those of us who embrace our childishness, the .me presents an opportunity to create an interesting email alias… how about smile@me.com, or lookingback@me.com? …while I do like using .mac (to let poeple know I am a mac user) – I’ll switch over in July.