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Apple Tries to Clear Up Confusion Over MobileMe-to-iCloud Migration

Jun. 24, 2011 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

So let’s see if I can keep this straight. A long time ago, when Mac OS 8/9 was still around, Apple created a service called iTools that provided online greeting cards and other lame services. This eventually morphed into .Mac, which provided Apple fans with a .mac email address. This then morphed into MobileMe (and the change to .me email addresses), which was actually a great, great idea (Exchange for consumers, basically) but implemented badly at first (and then fixed, though no one seemed to notice). But now Apple is transitioning this service yet again, to iCloud. And my, do Apple’s fans/i.e. customers have questions.

 

hero_mobileme_icloud

 

So today, Apple started answering those questions via a helpful FAQ on its web site. Here are some of the more relevant answers…

 

What’s happening to MobileMe?

The core services provided by MobileMe have been rewritten to work seamlessly with iCloud. MobileMe will no longer be available as a paid sync service. If you had an active MobileMe account as of June 6, 2011, your service has been extended through June 30, 2012, at no additional charge. After that date, the MobileMe service will no longer be available.

 

According to the FAQ, MobileMe’s mail, contacts, calendars, bookmarks, Find My Phone, and Back to My Mac services will continue in iCloud.

 

But iWeb publishing, (Photo) Gallery, and iDisk will not. That’s actually pretty shocking: Those were major reasons to use .Mac, and two of the three were PC compatible. But there’s more: Syncing of Mac Dashboard widgets, keychains, Dock items, and System Preferences will not be part of iCloud either. Those were all Mac-only features.

 

(However, Apple notes that iCloud will also include some new services, all of which were previously known: iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, Automatic downloads and purchase history for apps and books, and Backup and Restore.)

 

Will I be able to keep my MobileMe email address when I move to iCloud?

Yes. If you have an active MobileMe account when you sign up for iCloud, you’ll be able to keep your me.com or mac.com email address and move your MobileMe mail, contacts, and calendars, as well as your bookmarks, to the new service.

 

If I use different accounts for iTunes and MobileMe, can I merge them into a single account and use it with iCloud?

No. You cannot merge two accounts into one. However, you will be able to move your MobileMe account (yourname@me.com) to iCloud and, if you choose, you can continue to use a different iTunes account for store purchases and iTunes in the Cloud.

 

I currently use more than 5GB of storage in MobileMe. Will I be able to buy more storage for iCloud?

Yes. iCloud includes 5GB of free storage for mail, documents, and backup, which should be enough for most users. Purchased music, apps, and books do not count against this 5GB of storage, nor do the photos in your Photo Stream. If you still need more storage, you will be able to buy it. Details will be provided when iCloud is available this fall.

 

Can I cancel my MobileMe subscription and receive a refund?

You can cancel your service at any time and receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of your paid subscription.

Discuss this Article 15

yoshipod
on Jun 24, 2011
I wish that for once Paul would just write an article where he outlines his irrational hatred for Apple. Just do it and get it out in the open already and move on. Paul's hatred of Apple goes so deep invents new ways to write about it. Apple posts a FAQ about a new service and Paul has to spin it into a story about mass confusion. Its a FAQ for f*** sake. Every company does this for just about every product they have.
pahollow
on Jun 24, 2011
OK I'll bite: Hang on yosipod (an Apple fan-boy?) It's OK for Paul to make tech enthusiasts aware of something that is confusing to people at the moment i.e. the cloud. I see no "irrational hatred for Apple [that] goes so deep [that he] invents new ways to write about it [& he] has to spin it into a story about mass confusion" by Paul ... in fact, it is just his style. He has some interest in Apple & calls it as he sees it. I noted that Paul has Apple devices/services/software: Apple TV, iPhones, iPods, iPad, Apple Safari, Apple iTunes 10 & Apple iTunes Store - if serious see: http://www.winsupersite.com/Paul/whatIuse.aspx. So with that, he can speak about Apple with some authority. I wonder how many PC devices/services/software you have that you can make such an authoritative claim about Paul? Apple products are OK & attractive in particular but just like the MS/Win/PC word they are not perfect - far from it! After more than ten years of working with people in both ecosystems, all I see is that that Apple & MS are just different not good or bad but end-users are a whole other thing. I am guessing you are one of the people that I spoke about at this link: http://www.winsupersite.com/article/mailbag/mailbag-for-may-9-2010#4 titled Apple Ideology which is my attempt to speak to the "rational... BTW, you saying "Its a FAQ for f*** sake" - just topped it off! I always find people who need to cuss (use four letter swear words) curious & for me does little for your online cred... I hope you & other Apple-ites one day see all the devices/services/software in the world currently & going forward are just "things" & mean little in the long-term other than to help us "do life better" in some ways. What we all use is just based on choice. Most people use PC's, many but not most people use iPhone or Nokia as a mobile (cell) phones (global) & some people now are starting to use a slate type PCs (iPad) but Win 8 is coming so things will change again.
itproisme
on Jun 25, 2011
Mass confusion? Paul's writing has always been insightful and fair, always for the benefit of the consumer. Yoshipud is the one who has the irrational hatred, so f*** sake obvious.
clickhouse
on Jun 25, 2011
I despise apple myself, also google.
Waethorn
on Jun 25, 2011
@yoshipod: it's just you and your Apple-coloured blinders. Nobody liked .Mac, and Apple has had to rebrand it - now for the second time - so that people might forget its unwanted past.
CliveRoberts
on Jun 25, 2011
Thanks for the info on iCloud. Your piece prompted a search for the Apple release to clarify the matter further. I've been 'using' .mac and .me, and paying for years. I also have a .live acct. and had been perplexed with the same awkward processes (or lack thereof) for the "Skydrive". Your recent chat with Leo offered some hope for the Skydrive to become more useful. As a result of disjointed feel of both .me and .live I've come to rely on DropBox and Wuala more often. I use both OSX & Windows at different job sites and find both work just fine.
Super2online
on Jun 25, 2011
Is it possible just for once that Paul could write an article about Apple issues that doesn't attract people that can't handle it? Paul is a PC guy but uses Apple products giving him a pretty decent perspective on both sides of the aisle. I enjoy all of his articles just for that reason. It's a rare day when he is not pegging it spot on. Might I give you a suggestion, if you don't like, move on!
Super2online
on Jun 26, 2011
Is it possible just for once that Paul could write an article about Apple issues that doesn't attract people that can't handle it? Paul is a PC guy, but also uses Apple products giving him a pretty decent perspective on both sides of the aisle. I enjoy all of his articles just for that reason. It's a rare day when he is not pegging it spot on. Might I give you a suggestion, if you don't like, move on!
yoshipod
on Jun 27, 2011
@Super2online & AussiePete Nice try but Paul barely uses any Apple products these days. He has not used an iphone since the 3GS. He used to use it and claimed it was by far the best smartphone on the market. Then MS announced Windows Phone 7 back in March 2010 and suddenly Paul began writing how he was looking to dump the iphone for over a yea (despite calling it the best), with no explanation. He does not use any Mac OS X computers either anymore. He used to at least list an older Macbook he "used for testing". Even his what I use page is full of snarky remarks for any apple product listed there. Paul made such a fuss over those who wrote reviews of Windows Phone 7 last fall who did not actually use it, yet he seems to feel just fine to "analyze" apple offering without having used those. I use Excel, Word and IM, but to claim that I use MS products so I can review Windows 8 or something is just silly. @ Waethorn I agree that .mac was a huge failure. I have never used that or any of the apple online services. They never seemed to hold that much value for me. That is not my point. Its the way Paul writes this as if there is some mass confusion in the Apple world about this. There is not. And of course he has to label every customer as a "fan". Its just more of the same. Has Paul ever written anything about Apple without putting in some derogatory remark? He writes plenty of fact based MS articles without commentary, but fails to do the same with Apple. He wrote an entire article about "religion" after someone called him an MS shill. But he feels fine calling every single apple customer "fans". That is why I wrote my post.
roncerr
on Jun 27, 2011
@yoshipod Paul's site is called "WINsupersite". He talks about Apple because Apple's products plug in to iTunes running on Windows.
pahollow
on Jun 27, 2011
The point I was making was that Paul has used Apple products - but it seems that he is not convinced that they are the best tech - if indeed there is such a thing. Apple is OK but as I said, it is a different ecosystem to Wintel and for many of us it (Apple) does not provide the same flexibility that Windows on PCs can. Apple however does well in other areas. In my opinion the end user experience for millions of (especially older) PC users with Windows is familiar and to change to Apple products would never be an option for them. You may say that Paul has an irrational hatred for Apple but I see that he has a rational love for all things Windows - hence the supersite. I find his articles interesting and current and play a part in informing me of develpoments I can use in working with my clients. Most of the people I work with use PCs with Windows and a very few use iMac or Macbook. Those very few that have Apple computers have opted to use bootcamp with Windows 7 because they could not get used to iOS and found it hard to get training. However, that is here in Australia. Apple tech support is very good and they can help with any complexities to do with iTunes and other small devices. Overall I would say that it is a waste of time to worry about what Paul thinks because it does represent his world view where most people use PCs.
Anonymous
on Jun 28, 2011
Don't you find it presumptuous making statements about what Paul uses or not without knowing him personally? Just observing: you take an awful lot of time out of your day writing snarky remarks about Paul's snarky remarks. Just a friendly tip: if you disagree with something, do it on a professional level and stick to the facts. That way maybe you'll be taken seriously ...
MaxHeadroom
on Jun 28, 2011
Don't you find it at least a little bit presumptuous to make statements on what Paul uses without knowing him personally? Just an observation: you obviously take a significant amount of time out of your day to make "snarky remarks" about Paul's supposedly snarky remarks (that goes for "the other guy" as well), by which you show you are just as biased as you proclaim Paul to be. Friendly tip: if you disagree with something, do it in a professional manner and stick to the facts. That way you just might be taken seriously ...
yoshipod
on Jun 28, 2011
"Don't you find it at least a little bit presumptuous to make statements on what Paul uses without knowing him personally?" No, I am just going by what he lists on his "what I use" page. He has made a real effort to move away from all non MS products over the past few years. The last iphone he wrote about owning was the 3GS. It would not be an issue, but he made such a stink about less than favorable Windows Phone 7 reviews last fall from people who did not actually use the product, which is a fair argument. However, he does the same thing now with Apple products. "You may say that Paul has an irrational hatred for Apple but I see that he has a rational love for all things Windows - hence the supersite." I agree he loves all things Windows, he even had an "I Heart Windows Phone 7" headline for a while :) But if you don't see his distain for Apple, and other MS competitors, you are not paying attention. One can write favorably about Windows without bashing Apple at every single opportunity. You can also write favorable about Windows while applying a uniform set of criteria to your reviews. Paul does neither. He calls out Apple for something then praises MS for the exact same thing. Like his comments on sales figure reports as an example, where parroted and gushed over Windows 7 sales figures everytime MS did a press release, but bashed Apple for issuing press releases at the first few million ipad sales.
Anonymous
on Jun 29, 2011
Yes, there is no doubt Paul has a hate of Apple and also hates when someone calls him on it.

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