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June 10, 2008

internet

Apple posts .Mac to MobileMe transition FAQ

Posted Jun. 10, ’08, 12:53 PM PT by Aayush Arya
Category | Internet

MobileMeSteve Jobs is good at several things, not the least of which is efficient marketing. And the first rule of marketing, they say, is to present the pros of your product without drawing attention to its cons. That’s the reason why, after every Stevenote, loose hints and obscure details keep turning up about announced products for the next couple of weeks.

However, Jobs and Co. seem to have abandoned this particular approach for at least one of the new products announced yesterday—MobileMe. On a knowledge base article published on the Apple Support website, they’ve gone to great lengths to address all sorts of questions that apprehensive .Mac users might have about the fate of the service they’re currently enjoying. Here are the major highlights:

  1. All .Mac subscriptions will automatically be upgraded to MobileMe at no extra cost, including ones that have been registered after 9 June 2008.
  2. .Mac users get to keep their @mac.com email addresses and get an @me.com address as well. They’re free to choose whichever one they wish to and emails sent to either address will be directed to the same account.
  3. All your existing .Mac related data will seamlessly be carried over to MobileMe services—iDisk files, contacts, email, website, web gallery, and so on.
  4. Features that are being discontinued: Web access to bookmarks (bookmark sync between your Macs and/or PCs is still supported), iCards, .Mac slides, and support for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther sync.
  5. You can continue using your @mac.com IDs with iChat.
  6. @me.com IDs used with iChat will be separate from the corresponding @mac.com ID and will only work as long as the MobileMe subscription is active (i.e. no more using the ID with iChat after the trial period gets over).

And point #7, which Apple doesn’t mention (for obvious reasons), is that MobileMe is a horrible name and almost makes one want to cancel their .Mac subscription (if only it weren’t for the spiffy new features). Seriously, what were they thinking?!

.Mac subscribers, what say you—will you switch to the new @me.com email address or keep the @mac.com one you’ve been using so far? Or will you use both? Let us know in the comments.


19 Comments

Dave said:

I'd subscribe again if reports show highly favorable speed increases.

June 10, 2008 2:43 PM
macgirl said:

I plan on keeping my @mac.com address...It's revenue-generating advertising (member paid), why would they abandon it?????

June 10, 2008 2:57 PM
John Guo said:

Keeping @mac.com as this way people know I'm a proud Mac user. MobileMac sounds better than MobileMe, just an opinion...

June 10, 2008 3:27 PM
craig said:

I completely understand the reason for the switch, pc users will not want to use the .mac services thinking it only applies to mac users. However, I think apple could have found something better than me.com. I will keep my mac.com address.

June 10, 2008 3:41 PM
JHerlocker said:

I've been a .Mac subscriber for several years now, and while I enjoy the service, it will be nice to have an option for home emails that doesn't scream MAC FAN! (Yes, I have GMail -- screams CHEAP!) I've had people look at my email address and ask, "I've got Windows, so will my emails get to you?"

That said, I'll miss iCards. .Mac slides have been superseded by Gallery, and I've never used the other discontinued features. But I like to send unexpected iCards to my wife sometimes.

June 10, 2008 4:42 PM
Goobi said:

While I am not floored about the new name, the new interface certainly leaves me no choice but to go for it.

June 10, 2008 4:43 PM
Thomas Carley said:

Ill keep my .mac, @me.com sucks.

June 10, 2008 5:26 PM
Doc said:

I was thinking (hoping) that the ego centric 90s was over- I mean, doc@me.com, it just SOUNDS sooo self-involved. Besides, one of the greatest things about mac.com is that it lets me advertise my platform of choice every time I send email. But enough about .me ;-)

June 10, 2008 5:32 PM
TJ Draper said:

I will be using my @mac.com address thank you very much! @me.com just sounds STUPID!

The name is pretty horrible, but the service makes it bearable.

June 10, 2008 5:34 PM
A said:

Personally I think Mobile Me was a wretched name to go with. Seriously, who would pick a name that is reminiscent of Windows ME? Give me a break! Will I keep my .Mac address? Yes!

June 10, 2008 8:08 PM
shawn.i Author Profile Page said:

I'll probably end up using both email addresses, only because it's a pain to change your email with every website that has the .Mac name.

June 10, 2008 8:39 PM
Anonymous said:

But I LIKED iCards!

June 11, 2008 4:54 AM
niclet said:

What about web hosting. Will iWeb/dotmac sites still running?

June 11, 2008 5:39 AM
David Segelstein said:

"mobile.me" sounds too much like "mini me". I'll keep using my .mac email address.

June 11, 2008 7:52 AM
Dave-O said:

@Doc, I totally agree. I don't think me.com is stupid, it's self centered. Now people with mac.com addresses will be in the vanguard :)

@niclet, your sites will work, they'll have two addresses (the current mac.com and a corresponding me.com address).

@A, no one remembers Windows ME. Seriously, the number of times I've seen stories where someone had to post a comment saying "Windows ME too" (as in such-and-such service also works with... or bug also affects... or service also discontinued for...) is ridiculous.

@ JHerlocker said:
"I've had people look at my email address and ask, 'I've got Windows, so will my emails get to you?' "
Oh. My. God.

June 11, 2008 9:51 AM
Dave-O said:

What are .Mac slides?

June 11, 2008 2:59 PM
bob said:

I gotta say that the name MobileMe is, to borrow a phrase, weapons grade stupid. And the me.com domain? Sounds like the URL for some hemp trousers, vegan (sorry Steve), self-actualization camp.

I'm keeping dotMac, thanks.

Your pal,

- bob

June 11, 2008 8:16 PM
Aayush Arya Author Profile Page said:

@Dave-O,
.Mac Slides allowed you to publish a set of photos to your iDisk as a screensaver that any Mac user could then use. You’d upload the photos and they’d automatically get converted into a screensaver. When you’d update your photos, anyone running that screensaver would see the updated photos automatically. :)

June 12, 2008 10:34 AM
Dave-O said:

@Aayush, Oh yeah. I vaguely remember that now.

June 12, 2008 2:21 PM

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