Apple’s “MobileMe offers a reduced set of services [vs. Apple’s .Mac service that MobileMe replaced] for the same $99 per year, but promised Microsoft Exchange-like synchronization for contacts, e-mail and events, as well as snappy and modern Web applications for a far better experience when away from your desktop or iPhone/iPod touch applications,” Glenn Fleishman reports for The Seattle Times.
“Instead of a clean launch, I and reportedly hundreds of thousands of .Mac subscribers had days of problems. And even when resolved, the problems left what Apple describes as 1 percent of its e-mail users adrift from e-mail for 10 days,” Fleishman reports. “The company’s MobileMe stumble resulted from its increasing busyness and business.”
“Apple has evolved from a has-been to an also-ran to a niche-but-pervasive force in computers, smartphones and digital movie rentals, and it continues to be a dominant force in digital music purchase and portable music and video playback,” Fleishman writes. “This has stretched its resources.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple has always been a pervasive force in personal computers. From the Apple I right on through to today. We all use “Macs” today – whether they’re the real thing or the upside-down and backwards, incoherent fake Mac that Microsoft calls “Windows.”
Fleishman continues, “Apple scheduled four events for July 11: the release of iPhone 2.0 software for existing iPhone owners; completion of the switchover of .Mac to MobileMe (which began disastrously two days earlier); the release of the iPhone 3G; and the opening of the App Store, a marketplace for iPhone and iPod touch software.”
Fleishman writes, “Perhaps that was a little much… Apple needs to take a long, hard look at how hard it’s pushing its employees — and how little polish seems to be left on the company’s image right now.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Tim D.” for the heads up.]
All the bickering amazes me. Yes, the launch was bungled. But is this all it takes for Apple to lose its shine?
By next year, everyone will be complaining about the next latest-and-greatest issue. They’ll use it to build an argument about how Apple no longer is living up to their personal expectations anymore and how this is a harbinger of things to come. People will excoriate Apple as the next Microsoft. Some will issue warnings that this is certainly end of the once great innovator. Others will say they are on the verge of jumping ship– after all, how could Apple disappoint ME like that?
Whatever. It makes a great story on some level because it’s about the fall of the mighty, and we all get off now and then on some shadenfreude. But it’s a manufactured story nonetheless. Mistakes happen. It’s an imperfect world. Apple abides by the same laws of physics and humanity that everyone else does, so when they make a mistake every now and then, it should be expected and understood, not blown out of proportion and personalized.
It’ll all be ok. Apple’s strong. Has been, will be.
“we would rather jerk off looking at a woman using Apple hardware”
I’m sure you all use your Apple hardware to jerk off while looking at woman. The chances of you seeing a live one naked are small.
“Only faggots use the word ‘fanboy’.”
I love how someone needs to get on this site and get racist. To the asshole who left that post, go back to your fucking prehistoric world of shit and off yourself for the benefit of all of mankind. You don’t deserve to be part of the human race.
From a straight guy with a family that is intolerant of racist remarks, no matter how small and foolish.
Freudian Slip,
“I’m sure you all use your Apple hardware to jerk off while looking at woman. The chances of you seeing a live one naked are small.”
That’s true. My wife hasn’t let me see her naked for several years. They get older and put on a few pounds and that’s the end of a guys voyeuristic jollies. Bummer.
R,
“All the bickering amazes me.”
It would amaze me even more if we didn’t, because that would mean that the trolls agreed with us. If that happened, it would mean that all mankind is capable of living in total peace and harmony. Now wouldn’t that be boring?
Disagreeing ≠ bickering.
I rely on MobileMe for one thing, Back to My Mac. Of course it can also Sync Contacts up my iPhone, so I was super dismayed when my wife logged into our home computer when I was on the road last week and MobileMe sync’d her contacts back to my laptop and iPhone. That was mighty distressing on the road.
the MobileMe launch was a PR disaster!
Looks bad for a company like Apple with more profit in the bank than it seemingly could ever spend (unless saving up to buy Microsoft) this venture appears either cash starved or just very low priority!
Still get buggy messages on sync even now!
It should have gone public Beta until Autumn and kept existing services running.
Only faggots use the word intolerant.
@@Ferf,
Only assholes who call other people faggots are really gay but refuse to come out.
I’ve been trying for 2 weeks to renew my .Mac account with a boxed product registration #.
After numerous “an error occurred” results and far too much time searching Apple support I thought my luck had changed when the Apple MobileMe support chat button was hot and I got in.
Waited 20 minutes for a rep, spent another 25 minutes going through all the steps and the final result is…
my registration # is good but the system just won’t accept it.
If I didn’t have family all over the world using iDisk I’d demand a refund and tell Apple to stuff the new MobileMess they’ve created.
Oh yeah, and I want the damn iCards back too!!!!!!!!
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We are worked too hard and underpayed!
1. Apple had problems w/the launches for too long, yes. Jeez, a slip and suddenly they suck?
2. This economy isn’t exactly ripe for big raises everywhere. No matter how a company is doing, they’re always going to be looking to shave costs.
3. I too worked in an Apple store at one time. We were underpaid when I started, and much more so when I left. But, it’s on par or slightly less pay than other retail jobs. Why? Cause lots of folks want to work there.
4. Hopefully this dude is still criticizing MS for Vista and its crap nearly 2 years into its release.
I am really annoyed at losing so many services from .mac. Hopefully they add them back. I can’t believe they did things this way. Other than this mobile me fiasco I have no problem with Apple. I love their products.
“Does not work if you’re a government worker”
True dat, brotha.