MobileMe

So the iPhone 3G was all over the news this past week, and people just can't wait to get their hands on one. Along with that, Apple announced that the new firmware 2.0 for iPhone and iPod touch will go live June 27th. But I want to talk about the other announcement Apple pumped out: MobileMe.

At it's core, MobileMe is "Exchange for the rest of us". The .Mac rebrand will keep your Mac, PC, iPhone, and iPod touch all synced wirelessly through an Exchange-like server. Add a contact to your iPhone and it will be pushed to Address Book on your Mac and Outlook on your PC. Update your calendar in Outlook at work, and iCal at home will reflect that, as will your iPod touch. This all happens automatically (after the initial setup, of course) and within seconds.

I'm so excited about MobileMe that I switched from using Windows Live Mail, Windows Calendar, and Windows Contacts to Outlook 2007. Having never really used an address book or calendar program much before a few months ago, I always thought Outlook was a bit bulky of a program for me. Now, it will make total sense as I do keep track of my work schedule and contacts on my laptop. Windows Calendar and Contacts are great little programs, but wrapping it all up into one program that will be able to be worked with from any computer with an Internet connection is perfect.

Also new and of note is the new web interface. Here, you will have access to all the MobileMe features, including Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Gallery, and iDisk. When I had to switch to Vista from Mac OS X last month, I lamented the loss of iLife. I loved the feature of iPhoto and Aperture to post dynamic galleries to .Mac. Well, now I will have that ability again through the web interface for MobileMe. The Gallary section allows you to upload, label, and organize multiple galleries that look just like they came from iPhoto. I don't expect this to be as zippy as iPhoto or Aperture, but I have yet to find a gallery builder that I like the results as much. Through the web interface, you can also access your iDisk with a drag and drop interface, much like Finder. This is a HUGE improvement over the web access for iDisk as it stands now. You will also be able to access iDisk through Finder (as you always have) and Windows Explorer (which you can do if you use the iDisk utility every time you start up) without having to run any programs. Again, another huge improvement.

.Mac was never intended to be used with Windows, and with the advent of the iPhone (and iPod touch), it needed to be changed. Obviously, as I just had to switch from Leopard to Vista, I'm very excited about the functionality that I will regain. I did just sell my iPod touch (it was a great tool, but one that was proving to be more of a distraction than an asset), but when I eventually get an iPhone (and it will happen), MobileMe will be waiting.