Apple has published the following FAQ about the MobileMe transition and iCloud:
iCloud is Apple’s new cloud service, which stores your music, photos, apps, calendars, and documents and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices. iCloud integrates seamlessly with your apps, so everything happens automatically. iCloud will be free for iOS 5 and OS X Lion users. More information is available at www.apple.com/icloud.
MobileMe Services
What’s happening to MobileMe?
The core services provided by MobileMe have been rewritten to work seamlessly with iCloud. MobileMe will no longer be available as a paid sync service. If you had an active MobileMe account as of June 6, 2011, your service has been extended through June 30, 2012, at no additional charge. After that date, the MobileMe service will no longer be available.
Following is a list of MobileMe services and whether they will be available or not in iCloud this fall:
In addition, the following new services will be available in iCloud:
• iTunes in the Cloud
• Photo Stream
• Documents in the Cloud
• Automatic downloads and purchase history for apps and books
• Backup and restore
Will I be able to keep my MobileMe email address when I move to iCloud?
Yes. If you have an active MobileMe account when you sign up for iCloud, you’ll be able to keep your me.com or mac.com email address and move your MobileMe mail, contacts, and calendars, as well as your bookmarks, to the new service. When iCloud becomes available this fall, Apple will provide details and instructions on how to make the move.
Will I be able to access iCloud services on the web?
Yes. Web access to iCloud Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Find My iPhone will be available at icloud.com this fall.
What happens to the iWeb sites that I’ve published to MobileMe?
You will be able to continue publishing iWeb sites to MobileMe through June 30, 2012, even after moving to iCloud. With iWeb you can easily move a site published to MobileMe to another web hosting service and you should do so before that date. Please read this article for details.
What happens to the pictures that I’ve posted to my MobileMe Gallery?
You will be able to continue using MobileMe Gallery through June 30, 2012, even after moving to iCloud. You should save copies of all photos published to your Gallery before that date. If you have a Mac, it is likely that most of your Gallery photos are already in iPhoto. If not, you can sync the Gallery photos to your iPhoto library. You can also download your photos and movies from the web. Please read this article for details.
What happens to the files on my MobileMe iDisk?
You will be able to continue using MobileMe iDisk through June 30, 2012, even after moving to iCloud. You should save copies of all files stored on iDisk before that date. Please read this article for details.
What happens to the other sync services I use for my Mac?
Syncing of Mac Dashboard widgets, keychains, Dock items, and System Preferences will not be part of iCloud, but will continue to be available for you to use until you move to iCloud. After you move to iCloud or after June 30, 2012, whichever comes first, those sync services will no longer be available. Other MobileMe services that are not transitioning to iCloud (iWeb publishing, Gallery, and iDisk) will continue to be available through June 30, 2012, even after you move to iCloud.
MobileMe Accounts
If I use different accounts for iTunes and MobileMe, can I merge them into a single account and use it with iCloud?
No. You cannot merge two accounts into one. However, you will be able to move your MobileMe account (yourname@me.com) to iCloud and, if you choose, you can continue to use a different iTunes account for store purchases and iTunes in the Cloud.
I currently use more than 5GB of storage in MobileMe. Will I be able to buy more storage for iCloud?
Yes. iCloud includes 5GB of free storage for mail, documents, and backup, which should be enough for most users. Purchased music, apps, and books do not count against this 5GB of storage, nor do the photos in your Photo Stream. If you still need more storage, you will be able to buy it. Details will be provided when iCloud is available this fall.
Can I upgrade my MobileMe account to a Family Pack or buy more MobileMe storage?
You can no longer upgrade your individual account to a Family Pack account or buy additional MobileMe storage. However, if you already have a Family Pack subscription, you can still create new family member accounts.
Can Family Pack members move their MobileMe accounts separately to iCloud?
Yes. The master account holder and each family member can move their individual accounts whenever they like, as long as they do so before June 30, 2012.
I purchased a MobileMe box and have not used the activation code inside. How do I get a refund for it?
If you have an unused activation code from a MobileMe box, you can submit a a href=”http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4445″ target=”_blank”>refund request.
Can I cancel my MobileMe subscription and receive a refund?
You can cancel your service at any time and receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of your paid subscription. The free extension will not be included in the proration. When you cancel, all MobileMe services, including mail and syncing of contacts and calendars, will stop working, and your data will be removed from MobileMe.
Source: Apple Inc.
I am still not clear on what terrible things I can expect with more than one MM accounts. Am I understanding we will not be able to integrate the various email addresses from three different MM accounts (as an example) into a single account once MM is discontinued?
I have a lot of time and energy invested in iWeb pages, and galleries. I also depend on iDisk.
I have no idea why anyone in his right mind would move serious work to iCloud knowing that in a few years a capricious Apple will through all your work in the trash.
Apple is becoming what we all hated about Microsoft – capricious, self-centered and totally disregarding the needs of its customers.
Here is one longtime fan (since 1985) who feels totally dissed!
I have an @mac email address and an @me email address. Will there be a new @icloud or some such new suffix available when iCloud is up and running?
Apple has no direction other than to support it’s the phone and pad market. Right now the numbers support making this a primary concern. They apear to be abandoning small, medium sized business needs in the short run. Their iCloud solution is just a buzz word they should go back to using the term iSync. I was hoping and even looking forward to paying for a true Cloud computing system built on lessons learned from MM. I have supported this company through thick and thin let’s move to real cloud computing please.
what about making changes to an existing homepage created on iweb once it is hosted by another company.
I am very confused about that and would hate to loose all that work I put into my homepage over the last years. Any ideas on that?
iWeb, Keychain Syncing, iDisk filesharing all of these features were what made MobileMe worth getting. Anyone can use GoogleDocs.
Apple has proven again that it often half commits. MicroSoft SkyDrive is way better than iWork.com has turned out to be (is it still in Beta?), Why was iWork.com not merged into the iCloud?
Frankly I’m glad apple has made this set of services free because no one is going to pay for an email address and calendar service.
I am baffled by what Apple I’d doing. iCloud roll our did not go well. Being able to back phone up to cloud is nice, but they offer nothing else that is compelling. Found address and calendar is nice but nothing that can’t be don’t just as well elsewhere. The tight integration of iDisk is a loss. I have found nothing to replace Gallery. I make extensive use of it for sharing with friends and displaying on apple tv. Photo stream is a way to get photos off but nothing more. I’ve found it to be a mess and don’t want all pics synced and keep it off. Us apple going to open apple rv up to display pics from other services? The apple walled garden is beginning to stink.