It is one thing to read the range of complaints in the MobileMe Apple Discussion Group . It’s another thing to get a sense of big problems from the horse’s mouth itself.

Apple’s new Support offerings for MobileMe are listed at the end of this post.

All MobileMe services get a look in, but there is a concentration on Sync issues and how to deal with them.

Some of the items are more useful than others. For example, I didn’t know what the maximum size of a MobileMe email message was until I read that “you can send and receive email messages up to 20 MB in size with your MobileMe Mail account.”

On the other hand, the technote on “How MobileMe filters spam messages” is less useful.

It tells you that

To minimize the impact of spam on MobileMe members, MobileMe employs several methods of detecting spam before it ever reaches your inbox. Spam prevention requires filtering mechanisms that include dynamic lists, trend analysis and content filtering.

However, it continues, “Filtering spam at the server is only part of the equation. You may find it helpful to use your mail application filtering to complement the server filtering.”

The only way to deal with false-positives is to contact MobileMe support:

If you feel that a friendly message was inadvertently deleted, you may want to ask your friend for a follow up email before you contact support, if you notice that multiple messages are being delayed, bounced, or not delivered, you should contact MobileMe Support directly.

Another cracker comes in the technote on viewing Mail.app’s Notes in MobileMe Mail:

Symptoms
If you create a Note with Mail in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, then view the note with MobileMe Mail, the text of the note will appear but the background color of the note will not be yellow.

Additionally, the notes cannot be edited in MobileMe Mail, and may appear to be from an “unspecified-domain” with no “To” address.

Products Affected
Mac OS X 10.5, MobileMe, MobileMe Mail

Resolution
This is expected behavior. For the best experience with Notes, use Mac OS X Mail only.

This document will be updated as more information becomes available.

Here is the full list of new notes relating to MobileMe:

New and Updated Knowledge Base Documents

Canceling your MobileMe account
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2174

How MobileMe filters spam messages
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT1073

iDisk Syncing: Changes made directly to the iDisk may not immediately sync down to local iDisk
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1159

iDisk Syncing: iDisk may not sync if connected via a mobile high-speed connection
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1758

iDisk: iDisk Syncing takes up more hard drive space than expected in Mac OS X 10.5
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1771

iMovie and MobileMe Gallery: Some movie names may not work in MobileMe Gallery
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1038

iWeb: "This entry no longer exists" error when trying to add or remove comments on blogs published to MobileMe
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1763

iWeb: Default page fails to load & browser continuously refreshes
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1727

iWeb: In published site, Add Comment links don’t display or work correctly
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1762

iWeb: Preserving website comments when upgrading from iWeb 1.x to 2.0
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2094

Mac OS X 10.5: About viewing Mail Notes in MobileMe Mail
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1756

Mac OS X 10.5: Address Book Sharing – clicking the sync icon does not start sync with MobileMe
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1757

Mac OS X 10.5: MobileMe Sync menu icon spins constantly
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1182

Mac OS X 10.5: Resetting the SyncServices folder
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1627

Mac OS X 10.5: Syncing preference settings with MobileMe Sync
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2085

Mac OS X: Can’t connect to iDisk, get "Error Code -50"
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1429

Mac OS X: Do not remove or modify SyncServices folder
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT1865

Mac OS X: Mail – MobileMe account mailbox is dimmed
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1726

MacBook (Late 2007): iDisk, MobileMe or remote home directory sync unsuccessful
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1759

Maximum MobileMe message size
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2069

MobileMe and Apple ID passwords cannot accept some characters
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1728

MobileMe iDisk: Cannot Check Disk Space in System Preferences
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1737

MobileMe mail messages are missing
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1730

MobileMe scans email for viruses
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2076

MobileMe Sync, Mac OS X 10.5: Calendar syncing issues
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1200

MobileMe Sync: About syncing third-party Dashboard Widgets in Mac OS X 10.5
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1751

MobileMe Sync: Alert after merging contacts
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1178

MobileMe Sync: Conflict Resolver states that seemingly-identical contacts have conflicts after Mac OS X 10.5 upgrade
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1174

MobileMe Sync: iCal Group Calendar name may change when syncing in Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1188

MobileMe Sync: Initial syncing of Dashboard Widgets may result in duplicate widgets
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1750

MobileMe Sync: Non-functioning web clips may be deleted after syncing Dashboard widgets
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1171

MobileMe Sync: Removing third-party items from the MobileMe Sync pane in Mac OS X 10.5, 10.4
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1153

MobileMe Sync: RSS status doesn’t not sync between Mac OS X 10.4 and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1170

MobileMe Sync: Syncing contact addresses between Mac OS X 10.4 and Mac OS X 10.5 causes sync conflict or alert
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1754

MobileMe Sync: Syncing preferences may "hide" some application windows
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1199

MobileMe Sync: User moved via Migration Assistant does not register computer for syncing
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1183

MobileMe, Address Book Sharing: Contacts or Groups get out of sync
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1744

MobileMe, iDisk: About the invisible ".filler.idsff" file
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT1065

MobileMe, Mac OS X 10.5: "An error was returned from the server" alert after changing your MobileMe password
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1748

MobileMe, Mac OS X 10.5: iDisk Sync may not automatically sync changes
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1745

MobileMe, Mail: Copying MobileMe or IMAP email messages to your hard disk
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT1063

MobileMe: "iDisk full" error
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1764

MobileMe: "Temporarily unavailable" message when viewing a published calendar
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1658

MobileMe: "The size of the iDisk on your computer needs to be adjusted" alert in Mac OS X 10.4
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1160

MobileMe: About syncing more than one Mac to the same iDisk at the same time in Mac OS X 10.5
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1168

MobileMe: Arabic characters in file names change after iDisk sync in Mac OS X 10.4
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2079

MobileMe: Changes on an iPhone/iPod touch made to your calendars, contacts, or bookmarks while a sync is occuring may not sync to MobileMe
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1794

MobileMe: Computer has less free disk space after turning on iDisk Syncing
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1154

MobileMe: Configuring third-party email applications
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT1625

MobileMe: Email message "bounces" back after sending
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1187

MobileMe: Empty browser cache if issues occur after a MobileMe Mail service interruption
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2078

MobileMe: File contributed to a MobileMe Gallery via email doesn’t appear
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1747

MobileMe: Identifying fraudulent "phishing" email
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2080

MobileMe: iDisk Sync – Items in non-synced folders cannot be opened
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1761

MobileMe: Issues sending messages in Mail or other email applications
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1152

MobileMe: MobileMe Gallery maximum photo size
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT1071

MobileMe: Prompted for password when opening some folders on your iDisk in Mac OS X 10.5
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1749

MobileMe: Prompted for password when syncing keychains
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1181

MobileMe: Providing MobileMe support with long email headers for troubleshooting
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT1066

MobileMe: Published photos or movies may take a long time to appear on your MobileMe Gallery
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1746

MobileMe: Troubleshooting Syncing from Mac OS X
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=TS1679

MobileMe: Using SSL encryption with your email
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2082

Publishing a password-protected iCal calendar to iDisk
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2071

Some items in Outlook may cause calendars to not sync
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306757

Why was I "spammed" at my MobileMe Mail address?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=HT2073 mobileme, technotes, apple, ical, idisk, sync, contacts, iweb, mail.app, apple mail, gallery, dotmac, the week from hell

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It lists handy shortcuts to .Mac’s webmail interface, Address Book, Groups and web pages, keeps track of iDisk usage and offers quick launch links for iSync and Backup. Holding down the Option key switches to a second set of links.

A new version (2.7) released today is a universal binary, adds a “Share with Groups” menu option and the ability quickly to open the web interface to your iDisk.

Another submenu allows you to configure which options to display in the menu.

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Of course that’s hardly newsworthy. As Hawk Wings has reported in the past, the service has been plagued with outages for months.

Previously, reports about these problems have been restricted to the Apple Discussion Boards, “insider” sites like MacInTouch or little blogs. As far as I know, the C|Net report is the first mainstream site to cover the news.

And the news is not good. The report points out that,

Over the past four days, .Mac users have struggled to get its Web site publishing features, iWeb, and related file-share capabilities, iDisk, to work. Users have complained not only about the length of the outage, but also what they say is a tardy response from .Mac’s technical support team.

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At Tao of Mac, Rui Carmo takes the hatchet to Apple’s online service, and he doesn’t leave much standing after he is finished going through its features one-by-one.

Like previous recent critics (first wave and second wave), Rui is bewildered both by .Mac’s poor value for money and its lack of innovation:

My main point is that .Mac isn’t the benefit it’s touted to be, and that I can come up with a number of enhancements and added features that would make it worthwhile for me to keep my .Mac subscription and push Apple’s online services ahead of the pack where it regards mobility.

It’s not satisfying the geeky end of the Mac user market. It’s not doing too well at the other end either:

On the other hand, if Apple thinks their target market for .Mac is the I-don’t-want-to-understand-computers folk, they may be falling quite short of the mark – because it doesn’t work consistently right even for those people (if you’ve never had issues with .Mac, you’re very lucky).

Rui’s writing is dense and value-packed. I sometimes come away with my head spinning but I’m always glad I took the trouble. Try it yourself. mail.app, apple mail, .Mac, dotmac, idisk, sync, ichat, apple, usability, innovation, ouch!
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He wanted to retain the good things about the service though, “iDisk, iSync (between computers), iCal sharing, and Backup” and if possible make them even better:

Simply retaining the useful features would be an utter failure. The most value can be found in addressing the shortcomings of each feature. For iDisk, speed and disk space are the impediments to its usefulness. iSync already works quite well. iCal sharing works well but publish and subscribe updates are terribly slow. Backup is hamstrung by the iDisk space issue.

In the rest of a long and detailed post he outlines how he achieved this using WebDAV.

He even goes as far as fooling his Macs into believing that his local WebDav server is Apple’s iDisk server.

It’s a technical post demanding a fair bit of coding skill. I don’t think that I would attempt this myself, but people with the background will find it a useful guide.

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Matthew Russell at macdevcenter.com wonders why in this day and age there is no server-side spam-filtering. “My $100 a year per account should at least buy me that ability,” he says. Without it, he is open to every spammer’s email fishing attempt.

Retrophisch has decided not to renew his .Mac account. It’s not worth it. Apple no longer offers any virus protection package with its .Mac account, and Gmail offers him more space and a faster user interface at a much cheaper price.

In a post titled, “Why isn’t Apple jumping in?”, the author at atasuki.co.uk is bewildered by .Mac’s lag in picking up the new features offered by Web 2.0 services.

He lists a number of things that would make .Mac much better—tagging, deals with Web 2.0 sites like flickr, delicio.us and Last.fm to bring greater integration, making FileVault work with iDisk, and more. Lastly, he suggests, “integrate iChat with a VOIP provider like Wengo. The AIM deal was great for its time, but the world has moved on and frankly so should you.”

Finally, Steven Frank, co-founder of Panic, Inc. (Transmit, Unison, Stattoo, etc) believes that:

For the pro Mac user, the .Mac service has always been a bit of a hard sell. It’s great for the more consumer level user, but for the geeks it’s getting harder to justify by the day.

He lists cheaper, often free alternatives to many .Mac features in a useful post.

He is going to renew though. It’s syncing that has him by the short and curlies:

So, having said all that, when my .Mac renewal comes up in three days, I’m probably going to renew. Even though it sometimes acts strangely, I’ve become dependent on syncing, and I think that’s really the only reason I’m renewing at this time.

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Despite rave reviews like this recent one in the Times Record (“The best $8.25 you’ll spend this month”), I wonder if .Mac is still good value for money.

For less than half the price, USD 40, I can get a 2GB IMAP account and 1GB of WebDAV file space at Fastmail. Other providers no doubt provide deals that are just as good.

A number of apps provide synching abilities for iCal and Address Book (you can find some in the iCal and Address Book sections of the Hawk Wings plug-in and add-on list).

iWeb, Groups and other features are things my wife and I never use.

The only reason I can see for renewing her subscription is to show support for a great company.

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It would be a direct competitor to Google’s planned GDrive , which will offer users unlimited online storage. Both options leave .Mac’s iDisk looking like the 360KB floppy disk of the Internet age.

You can already make a limited storage space for yourself using your Gmail account and a tool like gDrive but it has nothing like the rumoured size of Google’s own GDrive.

Ray Ozzie, CTO at Microsoft, let slip (strategically leaked?) Microsoft’s verison in an interview with Fortune Magazine.

The article is interesting. It describes how Bill Gates is looking to Ozzie to revive Microsoft’s fortunes and reputation by jumping on the Web 2.0 bandwagon. In part it says,

Gates and Ballmer … want to put Microsoft back out in front of the industry, where it has been for most of its history. Gates says he is fed up with Google being seen as the “thought leader” of the Internet Age.

Ballmer says, “We have the birthright to lead the pack. We’ve got more technology. We’ve got more experience.”

Put simply, Ozzie’s assignment is to Webify everything: To intertwine Microsoft’s entire product line – software for consumers, software for businesses, Xboxes, all of it – with the vast and ever-growing power of the Net.

“Everything we do should have a presence on the Web,” Ozzie says.

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Designed to “help you take control of every aspect of your .Mac membership”, it covers the whole gamut — .Mac‘s online contacts, iDisk, Backup, using iSync, publishing web pages an getting the most out of .Mac’s new Groups feature.

But what interests me most is the coverage of .Mac Mail, and the many tips on how to use it best both from its web interface and through Mail.app.

Joe covers all the features of email with .Mac — autoreplies, polling other POP accounts, adding your picture, aliases, the different kinds of .Mac memberships available and how to get the right one for you.

The style is clear, direct and firmly focussed on making the use of your .Mac account better in real-world terms.

At only USD 10, it’s a bargain. The perfect companion gift to the .Mac account you are buying for the people you love this Christmas!

Check it out on the Take Control web site. Read the preview. Buy the book.Similar Posts:

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