MobileMe
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

MobileMe (branded iTools between 2000 and 2002; .Mac until 2008) is a discontinued subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
All services were gradually transitioned to and eventually replaced by the free
iCloud iCloud is a Personal cloud, cloud service from Apple Inc. launched on October 12, 2011 as a successor to MobileMe. , the service had an estimated 850 million users, up from 782 million users in 2016. iCloud enables users to sync their data to t ...
, and MobileMe ceased on June 30, 2012, with transfers to iCloud being available until July 31, 2012, or data being available for download until that date, when the site finally closed completely. On that date all data was deleted, and email addresses of accounts not transferred to iCloud were marked as unused. Originally launched on January 5, 2000, as
iTools iTools or ITools may refer to: *MobileMe#iTools, iTools, an online service from Apple Inc., Apple (later known as MobileMe#.Mac, .Mac then MobileMe, before evolving into the current iCloud service) *ITools Resourceome, a computer image tool for dis ...
, a free collection of Internet-based services for
Mac OS 9 Mac OS 9 is the ninth major release of Apple Inc., Apple's classic Mac OS operating system which was succeeded by macOS, Mac OS X (renamed to OS X in 2011 and macOS in 2016) in 2001. Introduced on October 23, 1999, it was promoted by Apple as "T ...
users, Apple relaunched it as
.Mac MobileMe (branded iTools between 2000 and 2002; .Mac until 2008) is a discontinued subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. All services were gradually transitioned to and eventually replaced by the ...
on July 17, 2002, when it became a paid subscription service primarily designed for
Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
users. Apple relaunched the service again as MobileMe on July 9, 2008, now targeting Mac OS X,
Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
, iPhone, and
iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music pl ...
users. On February 24, 2011, Apple discontinued offering MobileMe at its retail stores, and later from resellers. New subscriptions were also stopped. On October 12, 2011, Apple launched iCloud to replace MobileMe for new users, with current users having access until June 30, 2012, when the service was to cease.


Services

iTools and .Mac were designed primarily to provide Internet services for Mac owners. All members of iTools and .Mac received a @mac.com
email address An email address identifies an email box to which messages are delivered. While early messaging systems used a variety of formats for addressing, today, email addresses follow a set of specific rules originally standardized by the Internet Engineer ...
, showing the services tied to the Mac hardware. However, with the release of the
iPhone 3G The iPhone 3G (also known as iPhone 2) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc.; it is the second generation of iPhone, successor to the original iPhone, and was introduced on June 9, 2008, at the WWDC 2008 at the Moscon ...
in 2008, the renamed service, MobileMe, began providing Internet services for OS X,
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
, and
Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
. Members of MobileMe were given a @me.com email address (though users of the current @mac.com email address could also continue to use those, with both domains being interchangeable with the same email account), were also no longer restricted to OS X software such as
Mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
and
iCal Calendar is a personal calendar app made by Apple Inc. that runs on both the macOS desktop operating system and the iOS mobile operating system. It offers online cloud backup of calendars using Apple's iCloud service, or can synchronize with ...
, and they could access personal data from any computer connected to the Internet using the web interface a
me.com
or a number of supported applications, including
Microsoft Outlook Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager software system from Microsoft, available as a part of the Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 software suites. Though primarily an email client, Outlook also includes such functions as Calen ...
, as long as the user used version 2003 or later. Apple support for MobileMe was available via chat and telephone (the latter restricted to US/Canada users only).


Backup

Backup was a
backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...
utility made by
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
for
Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
. It was available through Apple's MobileMe (formerly
.Mac MobileMe (branded iTools between 2000 and 2002; .Mac until 2008) is a discontinued subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. All services were gradually transitioned to and eventually replaced by the ...
) collection of
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
services. Backup can be used in connection with either a user's online MobileMe
iDisk iDisk is a file hosting service offered by Apple Inc. to all Mac OS 9.X users, and later on MobileMe members that enabled them to store their digital photos, films and personal files on-line so they could be accessed remotely. All Mac OS 9.X ...
or the
Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
's
CD-RW CD-RW (Compact Disc-Rewritable) is a digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, storage format introduced in 1997. A CD-RW compact disc (CD-RWs) can be written, read, erased, and re-written. CD-RWs, as opposed to CDs, require ...
or
DVD-R DVD recordable and DVD rewritable are optical disc recording technologies. Both terms describe DVD optical discs that can be written to by a DVD recorder, whereas only 'rewritable' discs are able to erase and rewrite data. Data is written ('burne ...
drive to make safe, archival copies of critical files and folders. With the release of iCloud, Backup is no longer available, and, with the release of macOS Sierra, it no longer works. The initial versions of Backup were regarded as feature-sparse and frequently unstable. However, on November 5, 2003 Apple released Backup 2.0, which added new features and offered greater reliability than its predecessors. While Backup 2 allowed for the creation of archive copies of important data, overall it only had a basic feature set for
backup software Backup software are computer programs used to perform a backup; they create supplementary exact copies of files, databases or entire computers. These programs may later use the supplementary copies to restore the original contents in the event of d ...
. Apple introduced Backup 3 at the Paris Expo on September 20, 2005 along with other upgrades to .Mac. This version offered more backup settings, such as the ability to back up mail databases. At the 2006
Worldwide Developers Conference The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is usually held at Apple Park in California. The event is usually used to showcase new software and technologies in t ...
, Apple announced the development of
Time Machine Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
, a new backup application which is included in
Mac OS X v10.5 Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) is the sixth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. Leopard was released on October 26, 2007 as the successor of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and is available in t ...
"Leopard". Time Machine is a complete backup solution, thus it has the ability to completely replace Backup as a general backup solution for most Mac users.


Find My iPhone

MobileMe allowed users to track the location of their iOS devices via the web portal at me.com. A user could see the device's approximate location on a map (along with a circle showing the radius of inaccuracy), display a message and/or play a sound on the device (even if it is set to silent), change the password on the device, and remotely erase its contents. An app was also released by Apple which allowed users to locate their iPhone from another device running
iOS 4 iOS 4 is the fourth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iPhone OS 3. It was announced at the Apple Special Event on April 8, 2010, and was released on June 21, 2010. iOS 4 is the fi ...
. The feature was first announced on June 10, 2009 and was included in iOS 3.0 as a feature for MobileMe users. Find My iPhone was made free of charge with the release of iOS 4.2.1 software update on November 22, 2010 for devices introduced in 2010.


Storage

MobileMe had two different plans. The ''Individual'' plan included 20 GB of email and file storage and 200 GB of monthly data transfer. The ''Family Pack'' plan included 40 GB of storage split among one 20 GB individual (primary) and four 5 GB sub-accounts, each sub-account having its own email address, online storage, and being able to use all the MobileMe features. Family members also had a Shared folder in their
iDisk iDisk is a file hosting service offered by Apple Inc. to all Mac OS 9.X users, and later on MobileMe members that enabled them to store their digital photos, films and personal files on-line so they could be accessed remotely. All Mac OS 9.X ...
with which they could share access to data among themselves. Both the primary account and sub-accounts had read/write access to this folder and were limited to the free space available in the primary user's iDisk. ''Individual plan'' was priced at $99, ''Family Pack''—at $149. Members could buy additional storage in 20 GB or 40 GB allocations, however, sub-account storage could not be upgraded. In a family account, the amount of storage is designated per account. Notes (from the Mail app on a Mac computer, and the Notes app on the iPhone) were synced via the MobileMe service, however were unable to be viewed or edited online. To Do lists (controlled from the Mail app and the iCal app on a Mac computer) were viewable and editable through the MobileMe website (under the Calendar tab), but were not viewable or editable on an iPhone. With the announcement of iOS 4 the sync for Notes over IMAP (including MobileMe) was implemented.


Address book and calendar

MobileMe maintained a synchronized address book and calendar feature using
Push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...
functions. When a user made a change to a contact or event on one device, it was automatically synced to the MobileMe servers and, by extension, all the user's other devices. Supported devices included the iPhone,
Address Book An address book or a name and address book is a book, or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields (for example: first name, last name, company name, address, telephone num ...
and iCal on OS X, or Microsoft Outlook 2003 or later on Microsoft Windows. Subscription calendars in iCal on a Mac computer were not viewable on the online MobileMe service (although "Birthdays" was viewable online; as it gathered its information from
Address Book An address book or a name and address book is a book, or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields (for example: first name, last name, company name, address, telephone num ...
, rather than
CalDAV Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV, or CalDAV, is an Internet standard allowing a client to access and manage calendar data along with the ability to schedule meetings with users on the same or on remote servers. It lets multiple users in differ ...
or iCalendar (.ics) subscription calendars). Conversely, on the iPhone "Birthdays" from Contacts on the iPhone were not viewable on the Calendar app (nor any other method; except looking them up individually in Contacts. Birthdays Calendar was added on iOS 4.3), but subscription calendars were available to view in Calendar by adding them through Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calendar>Add Account.


MobileMe Gallery

MobileMe had a public photo and video gallery feature. Photos and videos could be uploaded in the
web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...
at me.com, synced by
iPhoto iPhoto is a discontinued digital photograph manipulation software application developed by Apple Inc. It was included with every Macintosh personal computer from 2002 to 2015, when it was replaced with Apple's Photos application. Originally so ...
or
Aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...
on OS X, or uploaded from the iPhone and iPod Touch. Users could also upload movies from within applications available on the Mac, including iPhoto and
iMovie iMovie (known at times as iMovie HD) is a preinstalled video editing application developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices. It was originally released in 1999 as a Mac OS 8 application bundled with the first FireWire-enabled ...
. MobileMe also provided the user with an email address that is used only for uploading photos and videos. All uploads by viewers of the Gallery (either by the iPhone or iPod Touch, me.com, or sent by the dedicated email address), were synced back to iPhoto or Aperture. Galleries could be made public or private, or could be password protected (but only through iPhoto or iMovie on OS X).


iDisk

MobileMe featured iDisk, an online storage repository accessible via a web browser at me.com, Finder on OS X, various apps for iOS devices, or as a remote disk in Microsoft Windows. It also allowed sharing of files by selecting a given file using me.com/iDisk or the iDisk iPhone app, and then clicking a Share button that generated a unique link to this file, protected by password, that could then be shared by email. Another way to use iDisk to share several files easily was by placing them in the iDisk Public Folder, which could also be password protected.


iWeb Publish

Users of Mac OS X v10.5 or later could use the iLife '08, iLife '09, or iLife '11 application
iWeb iWeb was a template-based WYSIWYG website creation tool developed by Apple Inc. The first version of iWeb was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 10, 2006 as part of the iLife ’06 suite of digital lifestyle applications. i ...
to publish websites hosted on their MobileMe account, either to a
domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...
that they controlled or to a page on the me.com website. Users without iWeb could also publish websites by placing files to the Web/Sites folder in iDisk. However, the web host didn't support any server-side language such as
PHP PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group ...
.


Web applications

MobileMe used
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
and
Dynamic HTML Dynamic HTML, or DHTML, is a term which was used by some browser vendors to describe the combination of HTML, style sheets and client-side scripts (JavaScript, VBScript, or any other supported scripts) that enabled the creation of interactive ...
to simulate the look and feel of desktop applications within the user's web browser. Applications on me.com included Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Gallery, Find My iPhone, and iDisk access, plus an Account section. Most of the me.com web applications were built on top of the open source
SproutCore SproutCore is an open-source JavaScript web framework. Its goal is to allow developers to create web applications with advanced capabilities and a user experience comparable to that of desktop applications. When developing a SproutCore applicati ...
Javascript framework. Users could also configure features such as email aliases or
domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...
s for the
iWeb iWeb was a template-based WYSIWYG website creation tool developed by Apple Inc. The first version of iWeb was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 10, 2006 as part of the iLife ’06 suite of digital lifestyle applications. i ...
Publish feature. Supported browsers for me.com on both Mac and Windows were Safari 3.1 or later, and Firefox 3.5 or later, while
Internet Explorer 8 Windows Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is a web browser for Windows. It was released by Microsoft on March 19, 2009, as the eighth version of Internet Explorer and the successor to Internet Explorer 7. It was the default browser in Windows 7 (later def ...
and
Internet Explorer 7 Windows Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) (codenamed Rincon) is a web browser for Windows. It was released by Microsoft on October 18, 2006, as the seventh version of Internet Explorer and the successor to Internet Explorer 6. Internet Explorer 7 is par ...
were Windows-only. Safari 3.0, and
Firefox 3.0 Mozilla Firefox 3.0 is a version of the Firefox web browser released on June 17, 2008, by the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox 3.0 uses version 1.9 of the Gecko layout engine for displaying web pages. This version fixes many bugs, improves standar ...
would run the web applications, but were not fully supported. MobileMe was accessible from
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
using Firefox 3 despite a warning that would be presented to the user upon entry. Success was also reported using the
Konqueror Konqueror is a free and open-source web browser and file manager that provides web access and file-viewer functionality for file systems (such as local files, files on a remote FTP server and files in a disk image). It forms a core part of ...
browser on Linux, however this was not confirmed by Apple.


iChat/AIM

MobileMe users could connect to the AIM service with their @mac.com or @me.com accounts. MobileMe connections were secured by SSL encryption. In addition,
iChat iChat (previously iChat AV) is a discontinued instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. for use on its Mac OS X operating system. It supported instant text messaging over XMPP/Jingle or OSCAR ( AIM) protocol, audio and video ...
users using a MobileMe account could encrypt their chats with other MobileMe members using iChat. Users could also access the MobileMe Chat account on iOS devices using the free or paid-for versions of the AIM app provided by
AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017 ...
, or any other iOS app that supported the AIM protocol.


PC syncing

Users who wished to sync their MobileMe data with a PC had to download and install Apple's MobileMe Control Panel. To install, the user first had to download and install the latest version of
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
, and then install MobileMe Control Panel. After installation, the user signed into the control panel using their username and password, and could control sync settings for contacts, calendars, bookmarks, and iDisk settings such as public folder access, in a similar manner to the MobileMe preference panel built into .


MobileMe Mail Beta

The MobileMe Mail Beta was released on May 13, 2010. It included many new features such as photo inserting, font changing, wide screen views and much more. It was released as a final version on June 18, 2010.


MobileMe Calendar Beta

MobileMe Calendar Beta was released on July 6, 2010. MobileMe Calendar Beta included a new web application at me.com with redesigned day, week, and month views, as well as a new list view to make scanning events easier. Performance was also improved. It also featured new sharing options that allowed invited users to edit a shared calendar. It supported invitations through RSVPs, which sent an email to invited persons, which they answered by clicking a simple link (they didn't have to be MobileMe members). It also supported CalDAV standard for compatibility with multiple devices. However, with these updates came some decreased functionality. The capability to publish iCal calendars as publicly viewable web pages was removed. Users wishing to view a public calendar had to then manually subscribe with a CalDAV compatible calendar device. Compatibility with Microsoft Outlook suffered too, since Outlook users could not sync their primary Outlook calendar to a MobileMe calendar anymore; the only way to integrate MobileMe with Outlook was then to have a MobileMe calendar linked in through CalDAV. This meant that a MobileMe calendar was always seen by Outlook as a secondary calendar, and alarms and notifications did not work.


Pricing

The table below illustrates the pricing structure previous to Apple discontinuing purchases on June 6, 2011 as part of the move to iCloud. Current users were encouraged to use MobileMe services inside iCloud (account migration happening automatically anyway), but could continue to use their MobileMe services and access the me.com website until it was shut down on June 30, 2012 (although limited access beyond that date was available to download content). Users wishing to cancel MobileMe—thus immediately end all services—could gain full refunds if purchased within 45 days of June 6, 2011, or partial refunds if purchased 46 days or more; however, it was unclear whether this refund policy applied when the iCloud service launched in Fall 2011.


Integration


Mac OS X

MobileMe, like .Mac and iTools before it, was closely integrated with . Having a MobileMe account extended the functions of many programs, mostly within the iLife suite. Most notably, any
iDisk iDisk is a file hosting service offered by Apple Inc. to all Mac OS 9.X users, and later on MobileMe members that enabled them to store their digital photos, films and personal files on-line so they could be accessed remotely. All Mac OS 9.X ...
could be mounted as any other volume on the desktop. Furthermore, it was possible to mount the public portion of another user's iDisk. This mechanism was one of the early ways to receive free software as part of .Mac. It was possible to queue files for upload to an offline iDisk, though they were only uploaded when the iDisk was mounted. iDisk commands were located in the "Go" menu of the Finder. Additionally, any Address Book entries, iCal events and to-do entries, Safari bookmarks and keychains, mail accounts, mail rules, mail signatures, and smart mailboxes could be synced with the iDisk, allowing easy synchronization between multiple computers. iWeb allowed users to create web pages that could be uploaded to iDisk and published.
iPhoto iPhoto is a discontinued digital photograph manipulation software application developed by Apple Inc. It was included with every Macintosh personal computer from 2002 to 2015, when it was replaced with Apple's Photos application. Originally so ...
could be used for one-click web-publishing of photo albums. iCal could be used to publish calendars to the web. Also,
Backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...
software could be used to make backups to
iDisk iDisk is a file hosting service offered by Apple Inc. to all Mac OS 9.X users, and later on MobileMe members that enabled them to store their digital photos, films and personal files on-line so they could be accessed remotely. All Mac OS 9.X ...
or local media. With the prior .Mac service, the iPhoto, iMovie,
GarageBand GarageBand is a line of digital audio workstations developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or podcasts. GarageBand is developed by Apple for macOS, and was once part of the iLife software s ...
and iTunes libraries could easily be uploaded to any iDisk (subject to various licensing agreements).


iOS

MobileMe integrated with various applications on iOS devices. This included iCal syncing with
Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
, Address Book syncing with Contacts, Mail syncing across devices, Safari Bookmarks syncing across devices. Apple later introduced the MobileMe iDisk app on July 29, 2009, the MobileMe Gallery app on January 14, 2010, and the Find My iPhone app on June 18, 2010, that allowed mobile access to the Find My iPhone feature (initially only available for MobileMe users, later made free to all iOS device users). While initially only iPhone and iPod Touch apps, following updates, they were made ''universal'' app (compatible for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad). In August 2010, Apple introduced a feature that allowed users to stream music that's stored on their iDisk in the background from their device.


URL access points

There were subdirectory (private) and
subdomain In the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, a subdomain is a domain that is a part of another (main) domain. For example, if a domain offered an online store as part of their website example.com, it might use the subdomain shop.example.com . Ov ...
(public) access points to each MobileMe user's individual account functions. These provided direct web access to each MobileMe user's account, via links to each function directly. See list: Private: *''www.me.com'' – user login. *''www.me.com/gallery'' – user photo/video Gallery albums. *''www.me.com/mail'' – user Mail access. *''www.me.com/contacts'' – user Contacts access. *''www.me.com/ical'' – user Calendar access. *''www.me.com/idisk'' – user iDisk folders access. *''www.me.com/find'' – user Find My iPhone access. Public: *''gallery.me.com/'' – user's photo/video Gallery albums access (used with
iPhoto iPhoto is a discontinued digital photograph manipulation software application developed by Apple Inc. It was included with every Macintosh personal computer from 2002 to 2015, when it was replaced with Apple's Photos application. Originally so ...
and/or
iMovie iMovie (known at times as iMovie HD) is a preinstalled video editing application developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices. It was originally released in 1999 as a Mac OS 8 application bundled with the first FireWire-enabled ...
). *''public.me.com/'' – user's Public folder (in iDisk) access. *''web.me.com/'' – user's Website access (used with
iWeb iWeb was a template-based WYSIWYG website creation tool developed by Apple Inc. The first version of iWeb was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 10, 2006 as part of the iLife ’06 suite of digital lifestyle applications. i ...
). *''homepage.mac.com/'' – user's file sites access. *''ical.me.com//'' – user individual calendar publishing. (Originally, many calendars could be published at the same time, but the later final iteration of MobileMe removed calendar publishing.)


History


iTools

The original collection of Internet software and services now known as iCloud was first called iTools, released on January 5, 2000, and made available free of charge for Mac users. Services offered by iTools included the first availability of @mac.com email addresses, which could only be accessed through an email client (e.g. the Mail app); iCards, a free
greeting card A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthday ...
service; iReview, a collection of reviews of popular web sites; HomePage, a free web page publishing service; the first version of
iDisk iDisk is a file hosting service offered by Apple Inc. to all Mac OS 9.X users, and later on MobileMe members that enabled them to store their digital photos, films and personal files on-line so they could be accessed remotely. All Mac OS 9.X ...
, an online data storage system; and KidSafe, a directory of family-friendly web sites. iTools was primarily a Mac-only offering and provided only limited, discussion board-based technical support. However, some features of iTools were accessible via non-Mac platforms although a Mac was required to create an account. For example, modifying HomePage content was possible using a web browser on Windows or via Linux. Although the original version of iDisk used AppleShare IP for transport and required , it was eventually updated to use
WebDAV WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is a set of extensions to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which allows user agents to collaboratively author contents ''directly'' in an HTTP web server by providing facilities for concu ...
technology and therefore opened up access to non-Mac operating systems, including Windows XP.


.Mac

As costs rose, most particularly due to iDisk storage space, the wide demand for @mac.com email accounts, and increasing support needs, iTools was renamed .Mac on July 17, 2002, as a subscription-based suite of services with a dedicated technical support team. .Mac offered several tools to subscribers, including upgraded versions of HomePage, the personal web hosting service; iDisk, the online disk storage service; @mac.com, the email service provider offering both POP and IMAP protocols; and iCards, the online greeting card service. New services offered by .Mac included Backup, a personal backup solution that allowed users to archive data to their iDisk, CD or DVD; and
McAfee McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company head ...
Virex McAfee VirusScan is an antivirus software created and maintained by McAfee (formerly known as Intel Security, and Network Associates prior to that). Originally marketed as a standalone product, it has been bundled with McAfee LiveSafe, McAfee An ...
, a
virus scanner Antivirus software (abbreviated to AV software), also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware. Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses, hence the nam ...
given to .Mac subscribers until June 15, 2005. Apple announced on September 17, 2002 that more than 100,000 people had subscribed to .Mac since its launch earlier that year. Existing iTools accounts were transitioned to .Mac accounts during a free trial period that ended on September 30, 2002. This move generated a mixed reaction among Mac users, some believing .Mac was overpriced. .Mac occasionally received new features. In October 2006, Apple launched an update to its .Mac Mail service whose interface was close to that of Mac OS X Mail. The new functionality was built on top of Ajax and provided drag-and-drop, a live-updating three-way split view, and the ability to resize panels. v10.5 Leopard used .Mac to provide
dynamic DNS Dynamic DNS (DDNS) is a method of automatically updating a name server in the Domain Name System (DNS), often in real time, with the active DDNS configuration of its configured hostnames, addresses or other information. The term is used to desc ...
services for its Back to My Mac feature, a
remote desktop In computing, the term remote desktop refers to a software- or operating system feature that allows a personal computer's desktop environment to be run remotely off of one system (usually a PC, but the concept applies equally to a server or a ...
service. On August 7, 2007, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs announced new features for .Mac, including a new Web Gallery feature, similar to a combination of the features of
Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
and
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. Each .Mac account now came with 10 GB of storage space that could be divided between email storage for an @mac.com email address and the user's iDisk. An account preference allowed the user to decide how much storage space to allocate to either service as they see fit. Users who wanted additional storage capacity could buy up to a total of 30 GB for a higher annual fee. The storage space for both email and an iDisk could be used in any way the user wanted, subject to the terms of the .Mac
license agreement A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
. .Mac was also offered in a boxed version, available at stores and online (as a physical product). The box contained an activation code that was entered when registering or renewing a subscription.


MobileMe

Initial speculation about a new service to replace .Mac came in early June 2008, when Apple bought the me.com domain name. On June 9, 2008, Apple announced that .Mac would be replaced by MobileMe, which was launched on July 9, 2008: mac.com was taken offline from 08:00 to 12:00 that day, and the MobileMe service went live between 20:00 and 02:00 (both
Pacific Time The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00). ...
). MobileMe was taken offline a short time later, leaving customers redirected to the MobileMe information page, where there was no option to log in. After several hours of infrequent service, MobileMe officially went live during July 11, 2008. Several .Mac features were removed after the transition to MobileMe: *Support for Mac OS X 10.4.10 or earlier (some features require Mac OS X 10.5 or later, such as iLife integration). *iCards. *Web-access to bookmarks. *.Mac slides. *.Mac Groups (with files uploaded to Groups being transferred to group owners' "Group Archive" folder). The launch of MobileMe was plagued by various issues. MobileMe, as a .Mac successor, was initially criticized during its launch for being unstable and for having syncing problems. There were reports of users being unable to access any of the Mail functions of MobileMe. This was suspected to be related to the .Mac to MobileMe switch-over. The free trial of MobileMe inadvertently charged some Australian and European customers’ credit cards, leading Apple to issue refunds and extend the free trial to four months. Because of the problems with switching over .Mac accounts and other issues, Apple created a status news page and revamped their support page. Initial versions of the Windows MobileMe Control Panel allowed synchronization of corporate Outlook accounts with MobileMe. A mid-2008 update to the Control Panel removed the ability to synchronize Outlook to MobileMe when Outlook is using
Microsoft Exchange Server Microsoft Exchange Server is a mail server and calendaring server developed by Microsoft. It runs exclusively on Windows Server operating systems. The first version was called Exchange Server 4.0, to position it as the successor to the related ...
Calendars and Contacts. According to Apple Support, this is by design and is not a bug that will be fixed. There was no support for synchronizing even standalone Outlook Tasks and Notes to MobileMe. In May 2011, ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' magazine reported that during the summer of 2008, after MobileMe had launched to mostly negative reviews, Apple's
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...
summoned the MobileMe team to a meeting in the Town Hall auditorium at 4
Infinite Loop In computer programming, an infinite loop (or endless loop) is a sequence of instructions that, as written, will continue endlessly, unless an external intervention occurs ("pull the plug"). It may be intentional. Overview This differs from: * ...
. After asking them "what MobileMe is supposed to do", when someone answered, Jobs reportedly shot back, "So why the fuck doesn't it do that?" In an internal email sent to Apple employees on August 4, 2008, Jobs admitted that MobileMe was launched too hurriedly and “not up to Apple’s standards”. He wrote that “it was a mistake to launch MobileMe at the same time as iPhone 3G, iPhone 2.0 software, and the
App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the co ...
”. On August 18, 2008, it was announced that MobileMe subscribers would be offered a 60-day extension in addition to the one-month extension previously offered.


iCloud

From early 2011 onwards, MobileMe retail boxes began being removed entirely from sale at all Apple Stores, with stock slowly being discontinued from other stores, and from June 6, 2011 users were prevented from subscribing or renewing to the MobileMe service via Apple's website. On June 6, 2011, at WWDC 2011, iCloud's release was announced for sometime in fall 2011, entirely replacing the MobileMe service which would be discontinued, however both would continue to be run concurrently for current MobileMe subscribers through June 30, 2012. Because of MobileMe's perceived public failings, Steve Jobs anticipated skepticism to his claim that iCloud "just works", and asked rhetorically, "Why should I believe them? They're the ones that brought me MobileMe!". On October 12, 2011, alongside the release of
iOS 5 iOS 5 is the fifth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 4. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 6, 2011, and was released on October 12, 2011. ...
and iPhone 4S, iCloud was released to new users, with current MobileMe subscribers being able to move over to iCloud either immediately or anytime before June 30, 2012 when MobileMe would be permanently discontinued (except for limited download abilities). In addition to MobileMe's email and calendar services, iCloud syncs files across multiple devices. As promised at WWDC 2011, Apple began the service during fall 2011, giving every user of either or both iOS 5 or
Mac OS X Lion OS X Lion, also known as Mac OS X Lion, (version 10.7) is the eighth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Mac computers. A preview of OS X 10.7 Lion was publicly shown at the "Back to the Mac" Apple Speci ...
5 GB of
cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...
data storage for the basic service free at the point of usage, with additional paid-for tiers for more data storage also being available. @me.com was retained as the default email domain address for new iCloud users. A year later, around
fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...
2012, Apple started to sign-up new users to free @icloud.com email addresses, with previous @me.com users also able to continue using that email domain concurrently; as done on previous service changes.


Discontinuation

As a first step, Apple sent "30 days left" emails to all existing users of MobileMe on June 1, 2012, which they then followed with "7 days left" emails on June 23, 2012, advising users "Download your photos and files. MobileMe ends June 30. Remember to download your Gallery photos, iDisk files, and move your iWeb sites before that date." Then as previously advertised by Apple following the announcement of iCloud a year earlier, the main MobileMe service was discontinued on June 30, 2012, as most services were moved to iCloud and users were expected to have moved themselves over to the new service already by then, given they had a year's notice to do so. One exception was for MobileMe's Gallery and iDisk services, which still had limited downloading abilities remaining, with the online portal showing the banners "MobileMe has ended", with either "You can still download your files for a limited time." (on the iDisk page), or "Download your photos now." (on the Gallery page). The complete shut-down of MobileMe occurred on July 31, 2012, with a "MobileMe is closed" banner showing on the homepage, and a redirect link to iCloud. The iOS apps for Gallery and iDisk also ceased operating from June 30, 2012. MobileMe was later removed from the System Preferences in OS X on release of
OS X Mountain Lion OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8) is the ninth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Mountain Lion was released on July 25, 2012, for purchase and download through Apple's Mac Ap ...
on July 25, 2012.


References


External links

*
''PC Magazine'' review of MobileMeApple - iCloud
- The new way to store and access your content {{DEFAULTSORT:MobileMe Apple Inc. services Calendaring software Cloud applications Cloud storage Webmail File hosting Internet properties established in 2008 Personal information managers Image-sharing websites Internet properties disestablished in 2012