12/07, 4:40pm
Old me.com, .mac accounts not getting messages
Some emails sent to me.com or .mac addresses are going missing, according to complaints on Apple's support forums. In particular messages sent from Comcast but predominantly RoadRunner domains are either arriving as much as a day late, or disappearing entirely. The affected domains are also scattered across the country rather than located in a particular region. Unexpectedly, forwarding a message from one account to another may work without issues.
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04/28, 7:45am
Apple said buying iCloud domain
Apple may have bought iCloud.com [redirect] in a sign it's getting closer to launch its rumored cloud media locker service. Swedish online storage firm Xcerion is rumored to have sold the web address to Apple for $4.5 million and moved over to CloudMe.com on April 5. GigaOM hadn't independently confirmed the deal, but a WHOIS check Thursday morning confirmed Xcerion was for now still officially listed as the iCloud domain owner.
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10/08, 12:15pm
Could foreshadow iLife '11 rollout
As of November 8th, Apple is bringing an end to viewing photos, videos and other files shared using .Mac HomePage, an e-mail notice says. HomePage itself was disabled as a way of publishing new pages roughly a year ago. Apple points out that files are not being deleted, but rather moved to customers' MobileMe iDisks.
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04/09, 9:25pm
Apple shutters HomePage
Apple has announced that it will shut down its .Mac HomePage app and Groups as of July 7th. Users will no longer be able to create new pages or edit existing pages using the web-based tools, although content that is already published will remain at the current address until the customer's subscription expires. The company recommends that any changes should be made before the the service is terminated.
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08/19, 3:55pm
iDisk, Mac trademarks
Apple has applied for two new additions to its trademark pool, filings show. The first is simply entitled iDisk, and covers the online file storage system first debuted through .Mac, and more recently continued with the advent of MobileMe. A successful trademark would be listed under International Class 042, and Apple cites its iDisk website as evidence of commercial use.
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07/24, 12:25am
MobileMe email issues
Apple has acknowledged the continuing MobileMe outages for some users and confirmed that the previously reported (and still ongoing) email outage is due to problems with its mail servers. Last week, a third wave of issues with MobileMe surfaced with Apple's email, sync, and web-based internet service offering. The scope, which Apple still claims is very limited, appeared to affect both US and international users, severely limiting users' access to email access via the Web and via email software. Users report that account access is intermittent at times, but for many the service has been completely out.
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07/08, 12:25am
dotMac down MobileMe up
Apple has officially announced its launch of MobileMe – the service it intends to replace its platform-specific .Mac – by setting the launch date at midnight July 10th (Pacific), following a short downtime from 6PM PT the preceding day, July 9th. The note, posted in the .Mac service bulletin, informs users that while the update will cause users to lose access to almost all operations, they will be able to access their email through a desktop application, or an iPhone/iPod touch.
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07/02, 10:35pm
dotMac web bookmarks
Apple is extending access to .Mac Web Bookmarks past itsJune 30th end date to July 6th, which will make it impossible for users to access or update bookmarks located on the web portion of the service. Users are still able to synchronize bookmarks for the purpose of keeping consistency between several computers, but will not be able to access those bookmarks through the .Mac website or the .Mac Bookmarks application. Apple's transition from .Mac to Mobile Me – first announced at WWDC 2008 – is expected to be completed this month.
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06/30, 9:50pm
Mobile me FAQ
As Mobile Me nears its unveiling, Apple has written an FAQ support document for current .Mac customers who are curious about the impending transition, while a user has informed MacNN some unofficial good news regarding "@me.com" email addresses. The FAQ addresses many questions from users regarding whether or not services will be available, or whether user input is required for the process, most of which is revealed to be automatic.
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06/24, 12:45am
dotMac outages
As Apple draws closer to unveiling Mobile Me, concerns echo throughout the .Mac community that the new service is compromising the current service's user experience, as .Mac suffers its 15th recorded outage for June. On Monday, .Mac saw outages for both the email service and homepage service, with the latter issue to be restored "as soon as possible". Apple has not commented on the problems, which are most likely occurring as the company lays down the Mobile Me architecture.
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06/17, 9:05am
.Mac service down
Apple's .Mac online service is experiencing extended worldwide outages, according to accounts. The main website is currently unavailable, and users have reported being unable to access features such as e-mail, backup or web galleries. The service is said to have been down for several hours in at least the United States and the UK, although UK customers may already have normal functions back.
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06/16, 4:30pm
iDisk browser support
Apple has begun restricting the supported browsers for the iDisk storage component of .Mac, reports say. Where the service once supported virtually any standard browser, public iDisk access is now officially limited to Safari 1.3 or Firefox 1.0.4 or later, though people can still visit using the likes of Camino (which uses Firefox's Gecko technology) or Opera 9.5. Browsers blocked by iDisk include OmniWeb, and more crucially, the recent Firefox 3 release candidates, The MacObserver noted. The final version of Firefox 3 is due to release on Tuesday.
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05/30, 2:15pm
.Mac name change confirmed
Earlier reports of .Mac receiving a major makeover appear to be all but confirmed, as developers and enthusiasts find proof of a .Mac name change to Mobile Me. The Coding Robots blog reveals that the new iPhone SDK also contains information specific to the .Mac restructuring. Deep in the SDK, in a file entitled "Main.strings", a definition at the beginning of the file states "MOBILE_ME_SERVICE_NAME", while a PNG graphic file called "mobileMeAlbum.png" sits within the PrivateFrameworks directory.
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05/30, 10:15am
.Mac o be renamed?
Apple's .Mac online service -- which provides functions such as web hosting, file storage and data sync -- may be nearing a substantial revision, code exploration indicates. Buried within the new v10.5.3 update for Mac OS X are several strings of code which imply that the .Mac name will be dropped, although a new name has not yet been chosen. In iCal's Localizable.strings file, for example, code can be found that reads: "/* Label of .Mac button in iCal’s General preferences. %@ is the new name of Apple’s online service (was .Mac) (remove -XX02)."
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05/12, 3:50pm
Thieves caught via Mac
Two thieves have been caught in White Plains, New York as a result of Mac hardware and software, the New York Times reports. Edmon Shahikian and Ian Frias are accused of having stolen thousands of dollars' worth of items from an apartment, including TVs, iPods, DVDs and car rims; their arrest however is tied to the theft of two notebooks, one of which belonged to Kait Duplaga, an employee at an Apple Store in Westchester. Clues to the suspects' identities developed when a friend told Duplaga her Mac notebook was online.
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04/08, 9:40pm
LifeAgent 2.2 adds Flickr
Memeo today unveiled LifeAgent 2.2, a new version to its automated software backup solution, that introduces support for Flickr and .Mac iDisks. Using LifeAgent, users can automatically back up data to a network folder, external hard drive, removable media, the internet, and now Flicker and iDisk. By securing multiple backup locations, LifeAgent helps ensure that data will be safe in the event of an emergency. LifeAgent is available for $30 from Memeo's website.
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04/07, 10:00am
Flow FTP client released
Extendamac has released the first version of Flow, an original FTP program. The software is designed to streamline certain tools that normally fall outside of FTP clients; predominant is the inclusion of a code editor, which is used to write the likes of HTML, and includes features such as tabs, colored syntax and live previews. Along these lines Flow also boasts integrated QuickLook support, letting users preview the content of various files before formally downloading them.
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03/12, 10:55am
Back to My Mac, no .Mac
The Back to My Mac remote networking option, normally only available with a paid subscription to Apple's .Mac service, can in fact be imitated for free, writes one columnist. Users begin by enabling File and Screen Sharing under System Preferences, and then clicking the Options button to expand file sharing to FTP. After some router configuration, users must run the distant computer's Screen Sharing app, located under "System/Library/CoreServices" in Leopard, and enter the external Internet address of the home/work computer.
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02/26, 4:15pm
iBank for iPhone, Leopard
IGG Software today released iBank 3, a major update to its financial management application, adding support for the iPhone and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard technologies. iBank for iPhone is a web-based iPhone application that allows users to enter transactions on their iPhone, and through .Mac, sync them to the desktop application on their home computer. IGG Software is selling iBank 3 through its website for $60, while current users can upgrade for $30.
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02/22, 1:45pm
Fruxx sync services
Fruux, a cross between social networking and .Mac's sync service, is currently in beta testing and looking for people to help test the service. Fruux synchronizes address book, bookmark, and calendar files with each computer someone owns, and also gives the user the ability to synchronize contact information with others. This allows users to stay in contact with friends, business partners, and family, even if the contact information changes.
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02/13, 2:20pm
.Mac Web Galleries, more
.Mac subscribers have received an email describing recent changes to Apple's support for .Mac Web Galleries, Aperture post-production software, and Apple TV device. Apple TV owners who update to the company's latest software can view public photos and movies of .Mac members, and a new entry in the Photos menu allows users to navigate to any .Mac member's account, according to Macworld.
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01/23, 4:15pm
DoCoMo and .Mac, 10.5.2
In brief: Japan's NTT DoCoMo telecommunications company is reportedly adding .Mac mail access, while Apple let slip a potential feature in a future revision of Time Machine. When DoCoMo launches its ConnectMail service next month, it will be adding .Mac email compatibility as well. According to Akihabara News, the service will allegedly act as an IMAP mail account, leaving the copy on the .Mac server proper. DoCoMo's ConnectMail service carries a yearly cost of ¥4800.
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12/31, 8:05pm
First Look: BusySync
Apple's .Mac is a service based on a paid yearly subscription of $100. It offers users many different functions, such as calendar and mail syncing, backup, email, online storage, among others. Many users only require one portion of the service, however, and can not justify the yearly cost for things that they feel they have no use for. BusyMac looks to address one of those needs with BusySync, an application that is designed to synchronize iCal calendars across a local area network. This makes it an idea candidate for office situations, since the one-time cost of the application (minus any major version upgrades in the future) is more manageable than maintaining several yearly subscriptions.
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12/24, 12:10pm
Mozilla Weave sync service
Mozilla, developers of the popular Firefox web browser, have launched a new related service, Weave. Currently available only as a test version associated with the latest Firefox 3 beta, it should allow users to carry history and bookmarks from one computer to another, as well as share the information with select friends and family; users need only create a Weave account to download the add-on and get started. To prevent the natural threat of privacy invasion, Weave accounts are password-protected, and encrypted as a client sends or receives information.
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12/12, 2:15am
.Mac is no. 2 seller
Apple's second hottest seller this year has been little more than an empty box, since the company's retail stores are selling large amounts of the .Mac packages – largely due to the integration of the service with Mac OS X and iLife. Computerworld reports that the .Mac retail box, which contains a serial number on a slip of paper and empty space for the most part, has been leaping off shelves at the Apple stores. According to NPD research analyst Chris Swenson, this could indicate a growing trend with software developers, offering a boxed idea or service, rather than distributing software for users to install on their machine.
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11/30, 8:15pm
.Mac Web Gallery boost
Apple has worked to rectify dismal speeds for the .Mac Web Gallery in recent weeks, though the changes have not been enough to satiate some users who still report uncomfortably long pauses between images displayed in slideshows and other performance pitfalls. A statement issued from Apple said "we have implemented a number of enhancements that should make your Web Gallery pages load noticeably faster. Actual page load times will vary depending on your connection speed and specific setup, but most customers should notice an immediate improvement."
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