MobileMe vs Alternative

[DannyNguyener]

I'm wondering what all you guys use out there as an alternative. I'm new to Macs, I absolutely love Mac, however I'm not a fan boy. I still use Windows from time to time and Windows Mobile as well. I tried Live Mesh but its still in the beta process and does not have much to offer. I understand MobileMe offers Windows support but are there any alternatives?

 

[tersono]

Depends on what features are important to you.

You can do bookmark synching with Xmarks. Email and calendaring with Gmail, idisk with any cheap web space provider.

What mobileme does is package everything together in a cohesive package. Personally I find it very convenient despite having access to all of the alternatives as well.

It's down to your needs. If you think you'll use a good percentage of the features available (and it's not good value unless you will), then I'd suggest doing the 30-day trial and see how it goes...

 

[317342]

I've been slowly, slowly moving everything away before the subscription expires on my account. I've been a MM subscriber for about two years and it's "ok" but nothing spectacuular... I wouldn't say it's overpriced, but there is some inherit mediocrity in some things. Mail, for instance, doesn't have server-side filtering and the webmail function is dog slow if you have a lot of mail. iDisk is integrated right into the OS but can be finicky (ie. Error -14, or random "iDisk not in sync" errors) and is not SSL secured.

I switched my e-mail, calendar, and contacts back to Yahoo, and use Dropbox for cloud storage.

Dropbox is f***ing awesome. I've been using it for the past few weeks and it I think it is a lot better than iDisk. LAN Sync is the real iDisk killer for me b/c I keep all of my crud on there, and don't have to wait for it to sync up/down from the cloud, but straight across to all my other Macs. SSL is nice, too.

Push e-mail is already done through Yahoo. Calendaring doesn't do Push but has full CalDAV access via the iPhone so it syncs up right away any time I open it. Contacts is the only thing that is missing but I don't update my contacts all that often to start with so it doesn't affect me on a daily basis like e-mail or calendar does.

I haven't really missed bookmark sync--it's nice to have still but not anything I've cried over. You guys would probably laugh but I actually use the bookmarks thing on my yahoo homepage for some stuff.

Other than that, the only thing I miss from my MM account is the Back to My Mac and the Find My iPhone which were both nice to have but I'm still debating if they are worth $99/yr (or $70 through Amazon).

If you'd like a Dropbox referral, PM me.

 

[QCassidy352]

IMO there is no acceptable alternative because nothing else will find your iPhone. But as others have said, you can replace many of the components with assorted other services such as google calendar, dropbox, etc.

 

[DannyNguyener]

Dropbox better than idisk?

 

[nate13]

i wouldnt say so, since iDisk is integrated into the Mac OS. The biggest problem with alternatives is keeping everything working/ up to date, which software update does very smoothly and reliably for MobleMe users. Honestly for 100 bucks a year its quite helpful (for those with iphones or multiple computers, of course!).

That said, Dropbox kicks some major butt when trying to keep a small business all synched instead of a single user

 

[317342]

IMO there is no acceptable alternative because nothing else will find your iPhone.

$99/yr just to find your iPhone?

 

[angusmcfisher]

Check out Undercover if you want a service to find your phone.

http://orbicule.com/undercover/iphone

 

[flynz4]

Dropbox better than idisk?

In some ways dropbox is better. In particular:
1 - It syncs much faster
2 - It is better at multi-vendor platform support
3 - It is easy to share data between family and friends

I think that iDisk is better for:
1) Better integration within Macs
2) Better integration with iPhone
3) Expected benefit for iPad data w/iWork

The last item is still an unknown.

In any case, I think the combination of the two works well for me. I keep my volumes of data on Mobile Me... and I keep very frequently used and updated information on dropbox.

/Jim

 

[317342]

In some ways dropbox is better. In particular:
1 - It syncs much faster
2 - It is better at multi-vendor platform support
3 - It is easy to share data between family and friends

I think that iDisk is better for:
1) Better integration within Macs
2) Better integration with iPhone
3) Expected benefit for iPad data w/iWork

The last item is still an unknown.

In any case, I think the combination of the two works well for me. I keep my volumes of data on Mobile Me... and I keep very frequently used and updated information on dropbox.

/Jim

What are you talking about... The Dropbox app for Mac OS X is much more prolific when it comes to functionality. (ie. LAN Sync, throttling, folder location, etc.)

The Dropbox app for the iPhone is also much, much faster than the iDisk app.

 

[flynz4]

What are you talking about... The Dropbox app for Mac OS X is much more prolific when it comes to functionality. (ie. LAN Sync, throttling, folder location, etc.)

The Dropbox app for the iPhone is also much, much faster than the iDisk app.

You are confirming what I said... in a confrontational manner. I stated that dropbox has better performance than mobile me.

I stand by the fact that mobile me integrates better into an Apple platform. Simple things like publishing a web site or photo album into MM is simple.

I use the combination of both Mobile Me, and Dropbox. I especially use dropbox for files that I use constantly and therefore sync often. It just works better than Mobile Me.

As I have stated other times on this forum... I think that individually, the mobile me features are mediocre. However, as an entire set of functions, I find it compelling... and worth the money. I think the fact that with the addition of iWork being able to directly access Mobile Me folders from an iPad... that it will offer functionality that will not be easy to duplicate.

/Jim

 

[QCassidy352]

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IMO there is no acceptable alternative because nothing else will find your iPhone.

$99/yr just to find your iPhone?

Lol is that what I said?

First, it's $60 or so from amazon.
Second, find my iPhone is the one feature I can't replace with any other service, but it's not the only reason I use mm. While I could replace the other aspects of mm in some respect, I'd have a cobbled together bunch of solutions rather than one integrated and elegant solution all in one place. And some of the replacements are not as good.

 

[317342]

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Lol is that what I said?

First, it's $60 or so from amazon.

No, but you didn't say that either. The full MSRP is $99/yr

Second, find my iPhone is the one feature I can't replace with any other service, but it's not the only reason I use mm. While I could replace the other aspects of mm in some respect, I'd have a cobbled together bunch of solutions rather than one integrated and elegant solution all in one place. And some of the replacements are not as good.

Well, to each their own but I don't think the ability to find my phone is worth $60-$99/yr.

 

[flynz4]

No, but you didn't say that either. The full MSRP is $99/yr



Well, to each their own but I don't think the ability to find my phone is worth $60-$99/yr.

Finding the phone has some value. Remote erasing the phone, and getting verification that it was performed is more valuable. For some of us, our data is much more valuable than the devices.

/Jim

 

[unixfool]

Finding the phone has some value. Remote erasing the phone, and getting verification that it was performed is more valuable. For some of us, our data is much more valuable than the devices.

/Jim

I definitely agree with this. Everything about me is considered sensitive (so says me). I'd like the option of erasing the phone and being able to locate it. This alone isn't why I'm using MobileMe, though...its powerful enough to catch my interest. We'll see if I stick with it after the trial is over. I'd say it IS useful...to each his/her own, though.