MobileMea Culpa, Redux
by John Paczkowski
Posted on August 19, 2008 at 5:00 AM PT
If, as Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently said, the launch of MobileMe was not Apple’s finest hour, then what can be said of the more than 800 hours that followed? Because they haven’t exactly been Apple’s finest hours either.
So, how about “here’s another free extension to your MobileMe subscription–now let’s forget this ever happened”?
In yet another attempt to make amends with dismayed MobileMe subscribers, Apple (AAPL) is granting them a free 60-day service extension. And that’s on top of the free 30-day extension it offered in July.
In an e-mail to MobileMe subscribers announcing the extension, a humbled Apple acknowledged that the Web services suite still doesn’t live up to Apple standards. “We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make,” the email reads. “… We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe’s launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around.”
Comments
It’s the performance that’s nebulous.
Well, I wish I had a chance to read these reviews on Amazon before I bought it. I have had a macbook pro since 2006. It worked so well, i decided to go for a iMac and mobile me. The downdraft of Vista and the problems with that system motivated me to try something different from the Microsoft monopoly.
Let me preface this by saying the staff were patient and courteous. Truly, their patience and courtesy set a bar. The same way one can be against a war and support the troops, one can be less than thrilled with a product and still support and appreciate the staff. Availability of staff with whom one can actually communicate also functions as a significant advantage to Windows. Try to find someone from Microsoft who will even talk to you and you know what I mean. Monopoly power gives them a lot of leverage. Buy their products and you become a “Microserf.” You spend so much time into its maintenance they draft you into the company. That way you support their profits.
I cannot sync mobile me. I don’t know why. I am a meat and potatoes user. I do little extravagant or experimental on this computer. Syncing is the heart of mobile me. If you can’t sync files and settings, it falls far short of it’s promise. After six hours of very patiently working with customer support, they tell me the only chance of getting the product to work is to totally reboot the iMac system. That means archiving all the data, reinstalling all the software, then hoping it actually works because you don’t repeat a mistake already made. They did find out I am missing a file on my hard drive. Somehow mobile me keeps erasing it. To keep life interesting, the application iSync won’t work either. The missing com.apple.iSync file does count.
Bear in mind that in my personal experience, I have already had to do two reboots which save the applications and data that require an hour each. This is just since I purchased the computer in July, 2008. Today was the third.
It’s like having a high maintenance significant other.
If you want a unified platform that’s easy to use and links your PDA, your desktop, and your laptop, if you want something that works well, and if you are crunched for time and don’t have the energy for all this, I suggest you wait a few years until they get this past the testing stage and have an easier to use product. Once you commit, they will not refund your money. You are trapped. They did give 60 days “free” to all Mobile Me users because of all the bugs in August 2008, but at that price, you’re underpaid. How much is your time worth? Do you want to change from a microserf to a bit(e) out of the apple?
By the way, the iMac, except for Mobile Me, can be a honey. And it does boot up quicker than Windows computing, but Apple’s success at cloud computing is nebulous at best.
I have not tried it personally, but I have heard about SugarSync across Windows and Mac platforms. That may be the product to try, particulary if it’s month by month and does not lock you into a two year contract.
I am not sure ATD will allow this to post, but goodness only knows, there are a lot of negative reviews out there across multiple boards. Take heed.
Posted by Fernando Ordaz at September 7th, 2008 at 12:59 pm