KEY POINTS:
Apple has announced a 60-day extension to MobileMe accounts to make up for problems users experienced since the rebranding of the service previously known as DotMac.
This is a second such extension that Apple has offered; in mid-July, the company offered a free 30-day addition. While this represents a saving of nearly $40 for New Zealand users, it's relatively uncharacteristic of Apple to make such a gesture and reflects CEO Steve Jobs' displeasure at problems the MobileMe roll-out, which coincided with the launch of the iPhone 3G, caused. Jobs sent an internal memo to Apple employees calling the service "not up to Apple's standards." Ouch.
Apple has posted a support page with details on the 60-day supplemental extension.
I love MobileMe, but I'm always a little hesitant to recommend it to people who then have to stump up $140 every year. That's because I worry people won't get full use for the price - that it might be like recommending buying Photoshop to someone who just wants to sharpen images. MobileMe offers a hell of a lot, so my feeling is if you are going to sign up, be sure you're going to reap the dividends. (Note that MobileMe is another $40 cheaper in the first year for New Zealander buyers of new Macs, at the moment.)
So, what do MobileMe users get? Custom email addresses accessible via Apple's Mail, but also via websites from other locations and computers like Gmail or Hotmail. A website address and easy web publishing using the free iWeb software that comes pre-installed on every Mac (it's part of iLife).
File sharing tools and syncing technology that works with Macs, PCs - and iPhones and the iPod touch. The ability to boot podcasts straight into the iTunes Store for dissemination without jumping through hoops, and to post image galleries online straight out of iPhoto.
MobileMe users also get certain elements backed up if they choose (contacts, preferences, bookmarks etc) and 20GB of space on a distant Apple server, online movie publishing and access to some additional features on Apple's website.
The iWeb and hosting feature is pretty comprehensive in itself - my pretty large 'mac.nz' site is built entirely in iWeb, for example. Because you can build Apple-theme-based sites with a minimum of web experience, this has allowed New Zealanders like artist Linda McFetridge and photographer Peter Denniston (and hundreds of thousands of others worldwide) to present their efforts to international audiences.
The only problem is the web addresses themselves are a little convoluted - you can get around this by assigning your own domain address to deflect to the MobileMe service. I can't even remember my address, it's too long. I just tell people to type in 'mark webster mac.nz' in Google.
Apple launched MobileMe at the same time as the introduction of iPhone 2.0 software and the App Store, and the whole exercise was fraught with difficulties - some users could not access email, there were issues related to syncing and other problems. With my own site, I couldn't update it for three or four days without using work-arounds; since I update this site nearly every day, I have to admit it was irksome.
Since the launch coincided with the worldwide euphoria of the iPhone launch with the resultant media attention, Apple found the MobileMe issues quite an embarrassment.
Apple took the unprecedented step of launching a blog specifically as an apologia for MobileMe shortcomings (this has just been halted). Steve Jobs publicly admitted his disappointment in the launch, and what this really points out is the strange fact that Apple's team is so - erm - concise, let's say.
Apple can't seem to allocate sufficient resources to propel two major initiatives at once. As Macworld magazine says, "In five years, it [Apple] has gone from being the company that makes weird non-Windows computers to the company that makes all kinds of cool products ...."
But as a result, the public perception may be that Apple is a technology juggernaut with immense power at its disposal. This is false. Compare it to Microsoft, for example. Between April and June 2008, Microsoft turned a US$4.3 billion profit on US$15.8 billion in revenue. This is more than twice as much revenue as Apple turned, with nearly four times the profit.
Microsoft employs 91,000 people worldwide, Apple 21,000. Steve Jobs reputedly likes to keep his top team at 100 - I have read that if anyone else needs to be appointed to the top 100, somebody else has to leave. While Apple remains big on innovation, turning those ideas into reality can be difficult when several things are on the go at once. Even the new operating system OS 10.5 Leopard was delayed several months due to the release of the first iPhone last year.
Personally, I'm pleased that Apple admits its mistakes then tries to do the right thing. I just hope the firm draws up doable release schedules in future. I'm sure a lot has been learned - and besides, MobileMe is a great service I could not exist without.
- Mark Webster mac.nz
