MobileMe is Meshing With Me

While the great 3G iPhone did not lure me in and cause me to spend even more on a device I really need to use less, I was looking forward to the enhancements to MobileMe. All I should be saying is I can now backup most of my current pictures in the cloud...however, I will add that I have been greatly disappointed.

You can sync calendars...but only Outlook and iCal...even though I have iCal subscribing to my GMail calendar, it will not include that sync...And, of course, now that I moved from Outlook on our lone PC to Windows Live Mail, no consistent and supported calendar is available...So, no appointments made easy...

After successfully logging in to the MobileMe sync portion on the PC, an error occurred everytime I tried to activate a sync. After checking a few blogs and Apple's support site, the answer was simple..log in with all lowercase letters in your user name...I know, I know, it has been like that for a long time...if that is really known than why can you login in the first place...anyone? Anyone? Apple? OK, nevermind...move along, nothing see here...

Speaking of seeing, or rather syncing...You can sync emails...but there are days that the Mail.app is the only way to go...I am getting IMAP from Google on my Tilt and using my MacBook Air for complete functionality...

The storage...I am so happy that this was increased. I struggled with renewing this 6 months from now for $100...this helps...however, since the Air's harddrive is so small, many files are on the still on the PC or a network storage device. iDisk on the Air works well, drag and drop, how much easier can it get? On the PC, well, there is the web app and uploading multiple file is scary...and, you can forget about syncing...I know that you can add a network place and such, but for some reason it takes an incredibly long time to upload items...longer than other cloud uploads, especially compared to ftp.

So, what about the Meshing Me in the title? I am glad you asked...As you may be able to tell from previous posts, we move between platforms...So, Windows Live Mesh, while in public beta now, offers a meager 5GB, but hey, it is free. You can upload multiple files by a sync from a Windows machine...but, you guessed it, only one file at a time can be uploaded from the Mac...so far.

We are syncing basic folders on Mesh.com using our Live ID and accessing them on our mobile devices, Macs, and PC at home and on the road.

Lastly, the greatest thing that made me happy and my little tech world align is the ability to connect to the PC, drag and drop files between machines using only Windows Live Mesh. To get the full effects, right now, you have to use Internet Explorer and, yes, Windows..Mac and Mobile versions are on their way. So, whether we use the seamless VMWare Fusion running XP from the MacBook Air, or need to grab certain files while at the day job without violating corporate internet policies, Mesh links our worlds together through the cloud instead of being lost within it.

Neither MobileMe nor Mesh has everything our hybrid teams need. However, with both of them competing and growing, that iPhone or Tilt, Air or corporate PC, can be more connected with data available at a literal click...OK, a couple of clicks, but much easier than carrying around 20 floppies, an external drive, or a little keychain dongle that gets lost and washed...Good luck in connecting your worlds...enjoy...