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Replacing iDisk with online storage of your own
With the June 30, 2012 death of Apple's MobileMe service looming just a little over two months away, some Mac users are still wondering what to do to replace one of the keystone pieces of the service -- iDisk. Macworld's Glenn Fleishman provided some tips today on how to replace iDisk with your own online storage using some common Mac apps that let you treat a remote FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, or Amazon S3 server like a Mac volume. The trick, says Fleishman, is to get file-sharing access via a hosting company or a storage system like Amazon S3, Google Storage, or Rackspace Cloud Files, and then use either Nolobe Software's Interarchy (US$30) or Panic's Transmit ($34) to create a Mac-mountable volume. Of the two Mac apps, Fleishman notes that Transmit works most like the default mode of iDisk. It provides a glimpse into the remote server's file structure, but doesn't download or sync files locally. As such, if you need to open a large remote file to edit it on the Mac, you must first wait for the file to be downloaded. After an edit is made, saving the file requires the file to be uploaded back to the source. That can definitely take some time. Interarchy's Net Disk feature is more like iDisk with synchronization enabled, allowing a Net Disk to synchronize changes to your computer, from your computer to the server, or in both directions. This ends up working more like Dropbox, where files are stored locally instantaneously, but then synchronize with the server behind the scenes. Fleishman includes instructions on how to create a mountable disk using either Transmit or Interarchy. Just remember to get your iDisk replacement into place prior to June 30th!
Apple allegedly 'open' to restoring discontinued MobileMe features
As part of the MobileMe transition to iCloud, several of MobileMe's features are being discontinued, including iWeb hosting, Gallery, iDisk, and a handful of syncing services. An AppleInsider reader emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook to complain about the deprecation of iDisk and syncing services for application preferences and keychains. Instead of receiving an email response, the reader allegedly received a phone call from Cook's office saying that while those services aren't currently planned to be making the transition to iCloud, "Apple is open to it if there's enough feedback on the subject." There's no way to verify the legitimacy of this phone call, but it does align nicely with a trend we've been noticing since Tim Cook took over as CEO -- Apple seems a bit more open to serious consideration of user suggestions and criticisms than it's been in the past.
Apple confirms iCloud web apps, impending death of iWeb and iDisk
MobileMe's complete disappearance is still a good ways off, but it's safe to say that the transition to iCloud is well underway at Cupertino (and Maiden, North Carolina, for that matter). A brief FAQ has emerged today over at Apple's site, detailing answers to a few burning questions about the future of MobileMe. As stated before, all MobileMe users who had an account prior to June 6, 2011 will see their service extended through June 30, 2012 at no extra cost, but what's new here is the amount of functionality that'll also be available from a website. Starting at an undisclosed time "this fall," icloud.com will allow users to access Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks, Find My iPhone and Back to my Mac, relieving fears that iCloud was severing ties with the browser altogether. Unfortunately, iWeb, Gallery and iDisk aren't making the cut, and while it seems that previously stored files will still be accessible, we wouldn't count on being able to add anything new a year from now. Hit the source for the rest of the nitty-gritty.
New iCloud FAQ: Yes, there will be webmail
Since iCloud was announced by Apple on June 6, the TUAW inbox has been filled to capacity with questions about the many features of Apple's cloud computing platform of the future. Unfortunately, we have been just as much in the fog as you have about what features are moving from MobileMe to iCloud, and how the transition between the two services will take place. Today, Apple published an online document titled "Frequently asked questions about the MobileMe transition and iCloud" to clear away the confusion. As it turns out, I was wrong in my speculation that Apple was going to be getting rid of web-based versions of Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Find My iPhone (as was our friend and former Engadget colleague Josh Topolsky, who apparently got some bad intel from a misinformed or confused Apple PR staffer). Fellow TUAW editor Chris Rawson disagreed with me on that speculation, and it turns out that he was correct. Apple has publicly stated on the FAQ page that "Web access to iCloud Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Find My iPhone will be available at icloud.com this fall." Apple notes that "The core services provided by MobileMe have been rewritten to work seamlessly with iCloud." That being said, the FAQ shows that three services of MobileMe aren't going to make the transition -- iWeb hosting, Gallery, and iDisk. If you use MobileMe to host your iWeb-created site, be sure to read our posts on replacements for MobileMe hosting and WYSIWYG HTML editors for Mac. Apple has also posted a knowledge base article about transitioning your iWeb sites to another host. Of course, new features -- iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, auto-downloads and purchase history for apps and books, and backup and restore of mobile devices -- are to be added with iCloud. That may be cold comfort if you're a longtime iWeb user, have complex iDisk workflows or extensive MobileMe galleries... but it's something. For those of you with .mac or .me email addresses, Apple is going to let you keep that address into the future. The company states that you can "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." Apple also provides knowledge base articles on how to save MobileMe Gallery photos and iDisk files. Other highlights of the document include info on merging MobileMe accounts (not possible), using multiple iTunes account for store purchases and iTunes in the Cloud (possible), what to do if you will be using more than the free 5 GB of iCloud storage (you can buy more), and submitting a refund request for unused or partially used MobileMe licenses. Be sure to take a look at the Apple document and associated knowledge base articles as they're sure to ease your mind about some iCloud questions -- and possibly raise other questions about your life in the cloud.
MobileMe: Some speculation about the transition to iCloud
I'll start this post off by stating the obvious -- there's a lot about how MobileMe services will transition to iCloud that we don't know yet. But I'm going to take a stab at some of the most pressing questions we've received from TUAW readers regarding the transition. As more facts come in, we'll update this post and/or let you know in a new article. First, let's talk about what's available in MobileMe as it stands today. The details are in that graphic above, which is taken directly from the web-based MobileMe service. There are web-based versions of Mail, Contacts (Address Book), and Calendar (iCal); there's Find My iPhone, which has already become a free service; there's iDisk, a "cloud-based storage" solution; and then there are things like Gallery and iWeb hosting. Speculation #1: Web-based versions of Mail, Contacts, and Calendar will be de-emphasized I'd speculate that the web-based versions of Mail, Contacts, and Calendar will get less attention going forward, and might even disappear on June 30, 2012. Seriously -- who needs them? If you have a Mac or three, you'll sync Mail, Address Book, and iCal through the free iCloud service. The same with your iOS devices, which will send Mail, Contacts, and Calendar changes to the iCloud, where they'll all be echoed to the rest of your digital world. For Windows users, you'll be using Outlook 2010 or 2007 to sync to the iCloud. The only scenario in which you might not be able to get to your "stuff" is when you're using a public computer of some sort at a hotel, on a cruise ship, or at a cybercafé in Spain. Of course, you don't want that to happen, so you'll have your iOS device with you. Hook up to Wi-Fi or use your 3G data service, and the problem is solved. That's why they call them mobile devices. [The counterargument would be that dropping web-based access to PIM and email from iCloud would be a pretty big competitive disadvantage for the service, compared to Google and Microsoft offerings. It's equally likely that the web components will simply flip over from MobileMe to iCloud without any new features or engineering effort -- since Apple is already doing a passable job on them. –Ed.] Speculation #2: iDisk disappears Apple's already stated that iCloud will back up your content -- music, photos, apps, and documents. But there's nothing out there about what will happen to your other stuff. I personally have about 15 GB of iDisk storage available to me on MobileMe, of which I've actually used about 3 GB. All of my important data is sitting out in my Dropbox, syncing between my Macs and iOS devices. I personally don't see the need for iDisk in this world of Dropbox, but there are others who may be using iDisk since they either don't know about Dropbox and similar services or don't want to migrate to them. I think iDisk is going to go extinct, but that Apple will provide iDisk users with a variety of third-party cloud storage solutions and warn them to migrate their data well in advance. There is a full year to prepare. Speculation #3: Gallery is toast Gallery was Apple's way of creating web-based photo albums of your photos for sharing with friends and relatives. Once again, I can't see a need for it in the post-MobileMe world. Apple has already provided an "out" to those who want to share their photos to the world -- iPhoto supports sharing pictures to both Flickr and Facebook. I don't know what Flickr's membership is these days, but Facebook has well over 600 million users, and a good number of them may be former or current MobileMe subscribers. Those two services are perfect for photo sharing, and I'd be willing to bet that the current number of photos hosted in Gallery is a tiny fraction of the number out on Facebook or Flickr. Another reason I think Gallery is going away is the tendency for people to use iOS devices as a sort of electronic photo album. I don't know how many times I've seen my wife show off photos of our trips to friends or complete strangers using either her iPhone or iPad. It's a lot easier than telling them to go out to some long-winded MobileMe URL to see a gallery of pictures. Speculation #4: So long, iWeb hosting As the author of several editions of a book on iWeb, I have a vested interest in the future of this Apple product. However, the future just doesn't look all that bright for iWeb. The software hasn't been updated recently, and there is a lot of rumbling out on the Apple Support Forums about what will happen when MobileMe disappears. My guess? Apple will once again tell MobileMe users that they need to find their own hosting. iWeb can publish websites to a number of hosts, so it's no big deal to republish on a new one. I even wrote a post almost two years ago about how to use free Dropbox space to host an iWeb site, so there's a solution. Finally, a significant portion of the people who set up iWeb sites initially were putting together personal sites. Many of those people have probably gone the easy route and are either letting friends know about their lives via Twitter and Facebook, or have set up sites with free services, like Blogger or WordPress.com. Nevertheless, judging by the frustration and concern on Apple's support boards, this may be one of the trickiest transitions to manage. Conclusion Before some of our readers who are adverse to change go all ballistic on me in the comments, remember what I said at the beginning -- we don't really know what's going to happen to some of these services between now and the demise of MobileMe on June 30, 2012. All of this is speculation about what will happen, based on my personal perspective. If you have an alternative idea, or you're a disgruntled MobileMe employee who wants to spill the beans, please let us know about it in the comments or send us a tip via the "tip us" button at the top of the page.
.Mac Homepage shutting down today
In April of 2009, Apple announced the pending discontinuation of its .Mac Homepage service. A formal date was set in October, and that date is today. Your sites won't be gone for good, however. To find them, open your iDisk and navigate to the Sites folder. There you'll find all of the HTML pages that made up your Homesite. Likewise, pictures and movies will be found in the Pictures and Movies folder. Note that publishing with iWeb will not be affected by this change. So long, Homepages! Thanks for all the fish.
Apple will discontinue .Mac HomePage viewing Nov. 8
Apple has given final notice to those publishing content through the old .Mac service. A note was sent to MobileMe members today stating that as of November 8th, Web pages published using the obsolete .Mac service will become unavailable. Those publishing via iWeb will not be affected. If you're one of those still going about things this way, fret not. Your content will not be deleted. Instead, you'll find your content stored on iDisk and, should you wish, you can republished your content through MobileMe tools, like Gallery. Apple first warned of shutting down its legacy .Mac services over a year ago. A FAQ page pertaining to this can be found on Apple's support forums here. It's certainly the end of an era, but bigger and better things have arrived. Mark your calenders for November 8th and take a minute to remember just how far things have come. [Via TheLoop]
Apple's MobileMe News details how iWork for iPad works with iDisk
iWork for iPad was updated yesterday with many changes, one of those being that the mobile app suite now includes integration with the MobileMe iDisk. What does that mean for iPad users who use Pages, Numbers, and Keynote? You can save your documents to the iDisk and then open them either from the iPad or any other internet-attached Mac or Windows machine. The details were posted on MobileMe News, the blog of the MobileMe team. Windows users can point a browser to me.com/idisk and upload existing Microsoft Office documents. Once the documents are in the cloud, they can be opened from the iPad for viewing or editing. Once work has been completed on the documents, they can be saved back to the iDisk as iWork, Microsoft Office, or PDF files. It would be nice if iWork for iPad also supported Dropbox or Box.net, but for the time being, it's good to see that Apple has added support for their own cloud storage solution. [via TiPB]
MobileMe iDisk app and Find My iPhone updated with bug fixes
If you've been having problems with the Apple MobileMe iDisk app, or even if you haven't noticed anything weird, it's a good idea to get the latest update. The newest version (1.21) fixes a problem opening Keynote files in some circumstances on the iPad. Rotated images now show in the correct orientation, and there are the usual unspecified 'stability and performance improvements.' Meanwhile, the Find My iPhone app has been bumped to version 1.01. The updated app supports the new iPod touch and fixes some translation issues in French, German and Japanese. There are also 'various bug fixes.' The apps work on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, so check the app store for the free updates pronto.
Apple slyly enables background iDisk music streaming in iOS 4
Well, would you look at that? The v1.2 update to MobileMe iDisk that Apple pushed out last month has a secret -- er, did have a secret. One of the concealed new features of the app is background streaming, or as Apple puts it, the ability to "play audio from your iDisk while using another app." For starters, it's pretty fantastic just to have this functionality in-hand for your own garage jams, but what's more is that any licensed music on your iDisk still streams perfectly fine. Only time will tell if any record labels (or that mean, mean RIAA) step forward with a grievance, but this could very well be the beginning of iTunes in the cloud. Or a reason for buying Lala. Or a mysterious combination of the two.
MobileMe iDisk app updated
Apple has updated the MobileMe iDisk app (free) with several new features, including full iPad compatibility. Now universal, MobileMe iDisk looks great on an iPad and offers full iOS 4 multitasking support. It saves its state like other multitask-optimized apps, so it'll present the last file you were browsing at launch. Also, you can open compatible documents for iBooks, Pages, GoodReader, or other apps that support the "Open in..." feature. The iPad's split screen display also makes it very easy to view documents while browsing folders. If you have audio files stored on your iDisk, the app will let you listen to them in the background while you do other things. MobileMe iDisk is free, but it requires a valid MobileMe account. The app was first released last year for the iPhone, and this is its first significant upgrade since last December.
Apple's MobileMe iDisk App updated for iPad, redesigned Calendar goes beta
Too lazy to cancel your $99 MobileMe automatic subscription renewal and make the jump to one of the many free alternatives? Don't worry, your lethargy has paid off this morning as Apple introduces its new MobileMe iDisk 1.2 app and a beta version of its new MobileMe Calendar. iDisk is pretty much the same app you know and ignore only now it's optimized for the bigger iPad screen, tweaked to support iOS 4 multitasking, and offers the option to open iDisk documents in compatible apps -- like using iBooks for PDFs for example. The faster loading MobileMe Calendar beta (login to MobileMe to request an invite) features redesigned day, week, and month views; calendar sharing amongst friends, family, and predators (if you like); the ability to publish a calendar to a team or group; and event invitations to anyone holding an email address (me.com or not) with RSVP support and automatic change notifications. Best of all, the Calendar beta uses the CalDAV standard, you know, just like that free Calendar from the company that rhymes with frugal.
Rumor: MobileMe may soon be free
MacDailyNews reports an unconfirmed rumor that Apple may soon make MobileMe's services free to all users. MobileMe currently costs US$99 per year for a subscription; it provides cloud storage, email, photo galleries, and syncing of contacts/calendars/bookmarks across Macs, PCs, iPhones, and iPads (not to mention Find My iPhone). While the service has many useful features (some implemented better than others: I'm aiming my stinkeye at you, iDisk), many have balked at the price tag. Similar storage and email services from competitors like Google and Microsoft come either free of charge or at reduced cost compared to MobileMe; even MobileMe's distant ancestor, iTools, was a free offering back in the day. Of course, MobileMe delivers more iPhone & Mac-friendly syncing than Google does, but at $99 per year, it's a fair bet that few people are taking advantage of everything MobileMe has to offer. MacDailyNews' source says MobileMe will become free of charge "sooner than later... depends on certain facilities going operational." This almost certainly refers to Apple's new server farm in North Carolina. Aerial footage of Apple's server farm, released in February, showed that the complex's buildings were either mostly or entirely constructed, so the facility may be ready to go online at any time. I hope this rumor is true, especially the "sooner than later" part -- my MobileMe subscription is due for renewal at the end of this month.
Can the Cloud replace the Finder?
Sachin Agarwal, cofounder and CEO of Posterous, and former Apple employee who worked on Final Cut Pro, thinks that the Finder is dead. I wouldn't break out the sackcloth and ashes (or the champagne, depending on your feelings towards the Finder) just yet. He has two main points: We will no longer interact with applications or files on a desktop PC The central point of syncing your data will no longer be your PC, it will be MobileMe (the cloud) Let's address his second point first: bwahahahahahaha. OK, I feel much better. As anyone who has used iDisk knows, iDisk is terrible in its current form. It's slow, it's easily corrupted, and it does not handle sync errors well. I've been waiting for Apple to get MobileMe and especially iDisk in shape for years, and every year I ship off my $100 for MobileMe hoping that this will be the year. We are no closer to it than we were three years ago. Or five years ago. Sachin says that "the Finder hasn't been updated with anything sexy in years." That may be true, but the same thing can be said of Apple's use of "the cloud" through MobileMe. Read on for more thoughts...
Apple files official app icon trademarks
Apple has filed trademark motions on a number of its official app icons, and none of them are new (though the trademarks for the iDisk app and the MobileMe gallery app threw me a bit, not having MobileMe myself). Apple appears to be shoring up its official iPad and iPhone app icon library, and trademarking all of the official icons that it's put together. Each icon is marked not only by description (the Camera app icon is described as "rounded corners depicting a stylized camera lens"), but by its colors as well, which is standard for a logo trademark. It's also interesting that all of these icons are submitted at a gigantic size of 955x955 pixels, but iPhone icons are shown at 57x57, and iPad icons are displayed at 72x72. Clearly, though, Apple makes its icons Texas-sized and then scales them down to display them.
MobileMe and Dropbox, a study in opposites
I have been using 1Password to move from "less secure" to "more secure" passwords. Like many people, I got into the bad habit of reusing a (relatively weak) password - let's call it "pa$$word" - on many different sites. I recently made a "New Smart Folder" in 1Password tasked with finding any site where my password is "pa$$word," and have been browsing the results. That's when realized I was using the same password for both MobileMe and Dropbox. I was surprised how easy it was to change one of them, and what a complete pain it was to change the other. To change my Dropbox password, I logged in, clicked a link labeled "Account" and then another labeled "Account Settings." Even a web novice could manage that. Next, I entered my old password, control clicked the "New Password" field, chose the 1Password submenu, and selected "Strong Password Generator," which produced nice random string of letters, numbers, and symbols. I then clicked "Change Settings" and that was it. I expected that I would have to update all of my Dropbox clients (iMac, MacBook Pro, and iPhone) and change the password on each of them. I didn't. Dropbox automatically told all of the clients, "Hey, the password changed, and since you're an authorized client, here's the new information." Even the iPhone client automatically updated. It was smooth as could be. In fact you could say it "just worked." MobileMe, on the other hand, "just didn't" -- at least not easily.
Scanner Pro updated, still powerful, still complex
Scanner Pro is a US$6.99 iPhone app by Readdle which will let you easily take a picture with your iPhone. We've looked at Scanner Pro before and now a new 2.0 version has been released with page edge detection, image stabilization, and German, Spanish, French, and Italian localizations. Unfortunately, it doesn't do much to address the UI issues that Erica pointed out in her original review. The UI is complicated, and it took me several attempts to even figure out how to take a picture. The screen shot at the right shows the "workflow" for creating a new document (tap the icons at the bottom, working left-to-right, to step through the process). After I took a picture of a page of text, another menu offered to let me "crop" the scan down to particular sizes. it took a bit of effort to get the margins lined up, and eventually I just hit the "Select All" button instead. Scanner Pro does offer a few advanced features such as the ability to create PDF files with passwords, landscape orientation, manual light/contrast adjustments, Dropbox support, and integration with Print n Share to print your scans. It also supports iDisk (or other WebDAV servers) and Evernote. I tested the Dropbox support and it worked very quickly and smoothly. However when you initially save a document, you are only offered the option to send the file to Evernote, your photo library, or Google Docs. Dropbox is inexplicably missing from the "Send to" menu, which means that you have to step back out of the process and go to another menu to upload it. Frankly I think the whole idea of using your iPhone as a scanner is flawed in the first place, akin to using a wrench as a hammer. If you don't have a hammer but need to whack something, a wrench will do in a pinch, but no one with any serious hammering to do would ever choose a wrench for the job. Likewise, the ability to use your iPhone to capture a piece of paper and send it to someone else or yourself could come in handy in an "emergency" but I wouldn't do it very often. For occasional, light use I still don't see any reason not to use something like Evernote which is free, or just take a picture from the iPhone camera app and email it to yourself later. If you find yourself wishing that you could print and password protect PDF scans from your iPhone, you're much more of a power user than I am, and may find Scanner Pro worth the price. I still wish that the App Store supported time-limited demos so that people could download an app and test it for themselves before buying. I suspect that there are plenty of power users who would be willing to learn Scanner Pro's UI and benefit from what it has to offer. For the average iPhone user, $7 is probably more than they are likely to spend on an app they'll seldom use.
TUAW Review and Giveaway: Here, File File!
Back in December we got an early look at an app that allowed you to view and share your Mac's files while on the go. Put simply, Here, File File! [iTunes link] aimed to be the cure to what ailed the file-forgetters among us. Yesterday, the crew behind the very promising preview video announced that HFF was officially available from the App Store. Read on for our full review of Here, File File!, and be sure to read all the way down to the bottom of the post for news of a Valentine's Day special (because we just love files that much) as well as your chance to win one of five copies of the app for your very own. %Gallery-85170%
Apple updates MobileMe iDisk app for iPhone
Apple has updated its MobileMe iDisk app [iTunes link]. Besides a new (much cooler) icon, version 1.1 features: Auto-complete email addresses when choosing recipients for a shared file File sharing emails are automatically saved to your Mail account's Sent folder When viewing an image, tap and hold to save it to your photo roll or copy it to another app Maximum setting for cache size is now 500MB (up from 200MB) Faster downloads Various bug fixes Localizations for Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish The MobileMe iDisk app requires iPhone OS 3.0 and a MobileMe membership. When you give the new version a go, let us know what you think and tell us any other things you've found different about it in the comments!
First Look: JotNot Scanner for iPhone updated to version 2.0
There's certainly no shortage when it comes to iPhone apps that turn your device into a pocket-sized scanner. At various times, TUAW bloggers have reviewed or discussed Readdle ScannerPro [US$6.99 (currently on sale for US$4.99), iTunes Link], DocScanner [US$8.99, iTunes Link], and JotNot [US$4.99, iTunes Link]. Of course, there is also a flock of business card scanners, but what I'm discussing in this post are the apps that say that they'll replace that flatbed scanner on your desk with a device you already have in your pocket or purse. MobiTech 3000 just released version 2.0 of the JotNot scanner app, and the update appears to be quite useful. I've owned the app for a while and have successfully used it to capture documents for posterity. The update provides a few additional features that I had been hoping for: Multipage support Automatic edge detection WebDAV/iDisk support Camera stabilization (requires OS 3.1) Automated backup of scans Reordering pages An extensive web-based help In app support Of the new features, I am most happy about two of them; multipage support and camera stabilization. Multipage support means exactly what it implies; you can scan multiple page documents and have them saved into one PDF document. Previously, JotNot would create one PDF file for each and every document you scanned. That meant that combining PDFs required that you export the files to a Mac or PC, then use something like Adobe Acrobat Pro to merge the files.
