MobileMe to iCloud: You Have 5 Days!

If you have been putting off the move from MobileMe to iCloud, now is the time to make the move.

The most common reason for delay is procrastination, followed in quick succession by "having a Mac that does not yet, or can't, run OS X 10.7 (Lion).

If you've simply been procrastinating, now's the time to make the move. I can't do much more for you than point you to the Apple page to get you started.

Now is also the time to download your Gallery photos and any iWeb pages that may still be lingering on MobileMe.

And, don't forget your iDisk files! They all disappear when June becomes July. (See my previous post on DropBox and other free services for alternatives to iDisk that are actually better than iDisk ever was!)

If, on the other hand, you have a non-Lion compatible Mac, there's still hope. It's easy to keep your email@mac.com or email@me.com email. Here's what Apple has to say:

If you want to keep email working on your devices, go to me.com/move from your computer, choose the option to keep using your email after MobileMe ends, and follow the steps. If your devices meet system requirements, you'll also be able to access all of the iCloud features after June 30, 2012, but only on your compatible devices.

• Mail

Mail continues to work on devices that don’t meet iCloud requirements.

• Calendars

Calendars continue to sync with your devices until June 30, 2012. After MobileMe ends, if your devices are not running iOS 5 or OS X Lion, Calendars no longer sync (Calendar data still resides locally on your devices). Once your devices are updated to iOS 5 or OS X Lion, your Calendar data will be able to sync with iCloud.com, and you can access all of the iCloud features.

• Contacts

Contacts continue to sync with your devices until June 30, 2012. After MobileMe ends, if your devices are not running iOS 5 or OS X Lion, Contacts no longer sync with iCloud.com (Contacts data still resides locally on your devices). Once your devices are updated to iOS 5 or OS X Lion, your Contacts data will be able to sync with iCloud.com, and you can access all of the iCloud features.

Keeping your Calendars and Contacts synched up after June 30 will take a bit of finagling, and some third party software and services. If you need help, give me a call. I'm a good finagler.

Backup... And Backup the Backup

Today I got a message from my Mac Time Machine that it couldn't verify my backup, and wanted to start over. Since all is working fine on my computer right now, no big deal, right?

Well, no big deal, comparatively. I lose all the versions of all my documents and files, dating back many many months. Not a killer, I guess. But what if something goes wrong (or is wrong but I don't know it yet) while that new backup is being made? If my hard drive dies or my computer crashes before I have a new backup, that would be a problem.

Think of your backup as a safety net. Think of your data as you on a high wire. There you are, a few hundred feet up in the air, when your assistant hollers up, "Hey! The safety net just frickin' disappeared! I'm going to go get a new one. I'll be back in a few hours, maybe a day or so."

It would be nice to have a spare safety net, no? You didn't even know your thesis, dissertation, priceless photos and rare bootleg recordings were engaged in regular death defying feats!

Hard drives are big and cheap these days. That's good and bad. Good because they're affordable, bad because they aren't as dependable as they used to be and because you can store so much stuff on one of them that the loss of a drive is almost always catastrophic.

Develop a daily backup strategy. On a Mac, Time Machine is good. Then, backup the backup on a regular basis. Carbon Copy Cloner, Crash Plan, and Mozy are all excellent ideas. And don't forget Drive and Dropbox. They are both excellent places to stash your documents. Don't forget that photos and music can take a lot of space.

The best backup strategy is the one you use. Don't wait. If you don't have a backup plan, do it now. If you need help, I can set up one that you will use, in about an hour.

Keep Your Feet on the Ground and Your Stuff in the Clouds…

The cloud... the cloud... everybody's talking about the cloud. What's the deal?

The cloud is basically a short way to say, a big hard drive that somebody else takes care of, located somewhere I don't know, that I connect to through the Internet but it kind of feels like it's right on my computer or phone (and it kind of sort of might be).

Much easier to say the cloud. What's so good about the cloud?

• you can use it from anywhere there is Internet
• it doesn't take up space at your place
• it is always backed up so you won't accidentally lose your stuff
• it is never fills up (although you might have to pay for more space)
• a whole lot of it is free

Free, you say? Absolutely. Google Drive and Dropbox are two of the leading providers of cloud services whose basic package is free. Just click on the links above to start the sign up. Apple's iCloud is also a cloud service (duh) but works a little differently.

Both of Drive and Dropbox will install special folders on your computer. What's cool about the folder is that anything you put in it is automatically copied to the cloud. You can install this special folder on your home computer, your office computer, your phone... and automatically, you'll have access to everything that's in the folder. Change a file at the office. Open it up later on your home computer, make more changes, and find the changes waiting for you at the office the next day. You can also share whatever is in your folder with any one else! No more e-mailing giant picture or music files!

Apple's iCloud, although free, is only useful to people who use an iOS5 device, or an OS X 10.7 Computer. You can install iCloud on a Windows 7 or Vista computer as well, but if you don't have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, there's not much point. Not a storage option like Dropbox or Drive, iCloud is the little bit of Apple magic that keeps all your contacts, calendars, music, and photos synced between all of your computers and iDevices. iCloud replaces MobileMe, which will disappear for good on May 30. If you use MobileMe, now is the time to move to iCloud or consider some other alternative.

Setting up Dropbox and Drive are fairly straightforward. I encourage you to give it a try. If you need help transitioning from MobileMe to iCloud, the Apple tutorials and assistants will lead you through it step by step. It is almost always smooth as silk, but there have been some snafus. As always, if you would feel better having a professional take care of any of this, or your having a hard time deciding just what to do, I'm just a phone call or e-mail away.