By Mark Forsyth  |    mark.forsyth@fndtn.com 

In mid-July Apple officially released its new MobileMe service as a replacement for the outdated .Mac service.  Any .Mac subscribers will be able to keep their .Mac e-mail address, but their account will be upgraded with the new MobileMe features.  MobileMe is much more useful then .Mac, but it’s still not for everyone.  

Business users that already have exchange accounts will want to keep them instead of using MobileMe.  However, anybody that is self employed, or that uses an iPhone with their personal accounts may find MobileMe useful.  Without MobileMe or an exchange server changes made to the address book and calendar on the iPhone won’t be reflected on your computer until you plug the iPhone in and sync the two.  MobileMe allows your iPhone or your computer to send changes to your other devices wirelessly over the Internet.  Changes made in one place show up in the other after only a few seconds.  This can save a lot of time and frustration.  

The release of MobileMe has had several bumps along the way.  Some have gotten all of its services to work, while others are having problems with individual features.  Since MobileMe is a subscription based service that must be renewed every year it may be a good idea to wait a month or two to give Apple some more time to work out all the bugs.  That way you will be able to use everything that you pay for all year.  

The bottom line is MobileMe has the potential to be a useful tool for busy professionals that don’t have the resources or desire to have an exchange server.

If you would like a more in-depth look at MobileMe, or think that it’s time to upgrade to an exchange server, feel free to contact The Foundation at (612) 465-0700, and ask for The Depot.