Apple Devices Are Now Interconnected Thanks To MobileMe

In the technological world, few other phenomena are receiving as much attention as "cloud computing". The concept pertains to files and programs that are stored in places beyond the hard drive, existing exclusively in the air around us (or in "clouds"). In actuality, this secured data is stored on some kind of encrypted Internet server.

All of us have had at least one previous experience with cloud computing. Anytime you use an Internet-based backup service, an online word processor, or send an email using Windows Live Hotmail you are clouding.

Microsoft has been staying ahead of their competitors by delving into cloud computing through its Windows Live software suite. The company is clearly ahead of Apple in terms of "clouding" advancements.

Apple has since responded to Microsoft, implementing many of their resources in cloud computing and simultaneously muscling Microsoft out of the very market they were once leading.

The new MobileMe service by Apple is a suite of Internet features that were once called .Mac. MobileMe, unlike .Mac, promises to conquer one feat that no other service currently offers: synchronization (in real time) of all emails, calendars and address books shared between a Mac, Windows PC, iPhone and iPod. (Source: iht.com)

What does that mean?

A user can now send an email on their iPhone and have the message appear instantly in the "sent box" of their home computer. A user who pens an important date on their iPhone will have their address book instantly updated on Outlook.

Whenever the devices are connected to the Internet, they will update their content wirelessly and automatically.

MobileMe costs $100 for an annual plan, which includes 20 gigabytes of online storage. A family pack is also offered for $150 including five accounts totaling 40 gigabytes of online storage. Both packages come with an iDisk, which is essentially a virtual hard drive where you can store, back up, and transfer files that are too large to send as an email attachment. (Source: topix.com)

Think of the iDisk as having your very own "cloud".

Apple is intent on muscling out Microsoft. MobileMe requires the latest versions of Firefox and Apple's Safari Web browser to access all of the features. Apple is excluding Internet Explorer from the list because, as the company so smugly stated, the Internet Explorer browser has "known compatibility issues with modern web standards".

Ouch!