Set up was truly a breeze. This is one of those programs that just seem to work. I have it installed on my Mac and on my Windows XP Desktop. From receiving the beta invitation to uploading files was 3 steps. I’d write a tutorial, but really, it’s just that easy.

The best part is that the software is designed, specifically, to sync one folder on your computer to the web. Whatever you put in the folder, syncs to the online service and in turn to your other computers that are linked to your account. Change that file at work, and it’s changed online and at home as well.

The one negative, I suppose, is that it only watches and syncs one designated folder on your computer. If you want it to be in sync, it has to be in that folder. I know they are working on more advanced ways to designate what syncs, but I would prefer not move stuff out of my folder/naming scheme to get it to sync.

Dropbox will also let you share folders of pictures as slideshow albums. I think Flickr (or other comparable service) would probably be a better tool for that particular feature, but might be useful for some people. It also lets you share public folders and individual files. Just think about the next time you need to email that 100 MB file. Just drag it to the public folder and email the link instead.

The timing on this is probably what I like the most. I’ve been debating about Mobile Me since the announcement, but with the bugs their facing and a $100 per year cost, I just haven’t convinced myself its worth it. And this is just one more free option that takes the place of one of Mobile Me’s features. (It looks like after the beta, 1 GB accounts will still be free).

Currently, Dropbox works with Windows Vista/XP or Mac OSX Tiger/Leopard. There is a Linux version soon to be released in Alpha. The program is still an invite only Beta, but I have invites available for the first 10 comments.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Could this, with a few other free tools, replace Mobile Me?

Post from: EveryJoe

Dropbox is File Back Up and Cross Platform Sharing, without the hassles

Sure, there are free solutions as well. There’s Gmail with IMAP. That should help you sync your emails. There’s free file storage for sharing big files such as Senduit. There’s Flickr for photo sharing, etc.. You get the drift. So why pay $99 a year for things you can get free?

Well… The main reason I’m considering forking over $99 is the integration. Mobile Me just makes life simpler. Everything is integrated plus everything works well together. I only need to login to one service to access all of the features such as email, file and photo sharing. I don’t need to create accounts for different services.

Have you seen the web interface of Mobile Me? It’s crazy! It’s like you’re just working on your desktop.

I like the way it works well with the iPod Touch, iPhone and your computer. Whether it be a Mac or PC.

I know if I look hard enough I can find a setup that’s free and that will work similar to Mobile Me. It will however not be as elegant, harder to manage and won’t be as easy. So in essence I will be paying for convenience plus the comfort that everything works well together.

So, is Mobile Me for me? I’m thinking maybe it is. How about you?

Post from: EveryJoe

Is Mobile Me For Me?

The Old Features

The greatest thing about the old .Mac service was the natural behind the scenes integration with your Mac software. The iLife suite, system preferences, and many independently developed applications all had ways to either publish straight to the .Mac service or synchronize across computers through your .Mac service.

The problem was speed and reliability. I quit using the features of my .Mac acocunt long before they expired because they were simply too much of a pain to use. iDisk was slow and I wouldn’t always be able to connect.

The New Features

Of course the new name is because of the new features. Instead of a set of tools that helps you keep your Mac synced, it is now a set of tools that helps you integrate your mobile self.

They have doubled the amount of storage you get for mail and iDisk Storage. Instead of a manual or scheduled sync, your calendar, email, and contacts push their changes from device to device. They’ve also included web versions of all of the applications so you can access your mobile stuff any time and any where you have web access.

The Obstacles

My biggest complaint about the .Mac service was speed and reliability. $99 wasn’t too much for a service that worked, but for something that didn’t quite work, even free would be too much.

One of the other possible problems for iPhone users is going to be battery life. With a constant IP connection, what kind of battery life is the phone going to be left with. The Keynote only lists 5-6 hours of high-speed internet surfing. If perpetual connection only takes 25% of the battery life of surfing, that is still only leaving 20-24 hours of use. Of course this sounds like all day, but as anyone with a cell phone knows, an hour of talking not only reduces the talk time but the standby time as well.

I guess we have to wait and see some real life numbers. Personally I would like to see that "Exchange for the rest of us" line actually apply to the rest of us. I would love to have the option of having MobileMe to sync my multiple computers and have it push contacts, calendar, and email to my Blackberry or Windows Mobile Phone just like exchange.

What do you think? Are you already a .Mac subscriber looking forward to the free upgrade? Do you think they left something out?

Tags: .mac, MobileMe, Mobile Me, iPhone

Post from: EveryJoe

Is MobileMe the .Mac Replacement We All Hope It Will Be

Elbert wrote:

I’m coming from a 12-inch PowerBook G5 1.5GHz. Although that’s just 100MHz less than this MacBook Air, the fat PCI lanes, the Core 2 Duo proc and the 2GB of RAM make this MBA a speed demon compared to the 12-inch.

First off, I have to say that Apple did a good job with enhancing Migration Assistant in 10.5.2 to go around the limited connectivity options of the MBA. However, this still didn’t provide the solution I was looking for.

The challenge:
To get my new MBA up and running as if it was my old computer, as simply and as quickly as possible.

The limitations:
- My old Powerbook has more data than will fit into the MBA, with around 100GB worth of data inside my Home folder alone.

- I don’t have a Wireless N router, nor is the PowerBook wireless N capable. So the wireless Migration Assistant, a new feature made just because of the MBA, is going to be a really long process

- The MBA has no FireWire port, and I would’ve liked to use Target Disk Mode as well as my trusty old FireWire drive to move stuff around, as well as to install my fave apps.

The answer: .Mac

I’ve set my PowerBook’s system preferences to automatically sync my .Mac account, so I know my sync is up to date. On the MBA, I went into System Preferences > .Mac and entered my username and password. In about 15 minutes, everything was done. It was like I didn’t leave my old computer. After a restart, to fully effect the changes (although a lot of the preferences had already come in), I had the following:

- Bookmarks
- Calendars
- Contacts
- Dashboard Widgets (except the 3rd party ones I installed in the PowerBook)
- Dock Items (excluding the apps I had not yet installed)
- Keychains (the best part, I don’t need to recall any of my passwords)
- Mail Accounts
- Mail Rules, Signatures and Smart Mailboxes (except Mailboxes that are “On My Mac”)
- Notes (the ones in the Mail.app)
- Preferences

In addition, since I’ve been using .Mac’s iDisk syncing to store important and current documents and projects online, those too are now within easy access on my MBA.

The next thing I did was to use an external USB2 HD to transfer the rest of the stuff manually (i.e. Applications, iPhoto Library, my iWeb domain, Documents), and I’m transferring stuff as I need them since I’m a cyber pack rat and most of the files in the PowerBook, I really don’t need anyway.

Within an afternoon, I had the MBA up and running like I was on my old computer. I can now leave my PowerBook at home and should I need anything from its hard drive, I can simply use .Mac’s Back to my Mac feature, where I can access files or screen share from anywhere I am as long as I’m online.

.Mac is really cool.

Thanks to Elbert for this workaround. If you have any workarounds yourself for upgrading to the MacBook Air or upgrading in general please share it with us here.

Post from: EveryJoe

Using .Mac To Migrate To A MacBook Air