To celebrate, we are giving you a $25 off our normal rates when you purchase consulting time at the Fiesta.  This offer is good for both Home and Business, but it is only available at the Fiesta Del Sol booth.  Come on out, have a great time, and save 20-33% off your next consultation.

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Thank You for EVERYTHING!

MobileMe is dead.

iWeb is dead.

And your pathetic excuse for a website is mortally wounded.

The days of holding mommy Apple’s apron strings are over. From now on, there will be no post to MobileMe button. You will no longer be able to ignore things like DNS, and FTP.  You will have to educate yourself on all your website options, and deploy those which make sense.

It is a big scary world out there.  Are you going to run home and cry to mama, or are you going to put up the best site on the Internet?

Sir! Yes Sir!

The purpose of boot camp is to weed out the crybabies, dilettantes, and whiners from those who are serious about joining the military. I titled this post “Website Boot Camp” for the same reasons. Since the introduction of iWeb and the MobileMe websites Apple has insulated you from many of the nuances of posting a website. While this allowed you to post websites with little or no thought on your part, it also severely limited your options. Now that Apple has discontinued iWeb and MobileMe you are no longer going to be able to bury your head in the sand. While this means that you’re going to have to learn new things, it also means that you are going to have access to new options that you never knew existed.

A Fork In The Road

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler…”  Like Robert Frost, you are at a fork in the road. It is time to decide whether a website makes any sense at all for you. This is not a trivial decision. In the world of 2011 there are many good reasons NOT to make a personal website. Options like Facebook, Picasa, Flickr, and YouTube can be functionally equivalent to some of the basic MobileMe websites I have seen. Even if you do need more options than something like Facebook provides, you may not need a full-blown, hosted website. You may be able to use options such as WordPress.com or tumbler.com.   So, how does one decide which path to take?

The Essential Question, And It’s Four Answers

As anyone with a two-year-old can tell you, one of their favorite words is “why.” While this one word can drive an adult crazy, asking why is essential to learning. Now that we are at a crossroads it is time for us to ask why. Why do I need a website? And just as importantly; why would anyone bother to come to my site? Without the answer to these two simple questions your efforts on the Internet will be like a ship without a rudder.  When you pull away all the fluff, and jargon, you’ll find that there are four reasons 99% of websites are on the Internet.

1. To Sell Something ( i.e. a camera, a book, a CD, Photos)
2. To Sell Your Abilities/Knowledge  (i.e. your resume, consulting, a service you can offer)
3. To Inform Others on Some Topic  (i.e. global warming, politics, an organization)
4. To Inform Others About You.  (i.e. what you are doing, who you are doing it with)

Take a moment to think about what you wish to do with your website using these four answers. It’s very likely that you will find that your website will use some of each of these four answers. Also, be aware that it is likely your site will evolve over time.

Let’s pretend that you’re unemployed. In an effort to become employed you create a website with your résumé and some basic information about you (reasons two and four). As the weeks go by you decide to show off your knowledge by starting a blog (reason three). This blog attracts even more attention to your site which results in a consulting opportunity. The opportunity shows you that there is a need for a training DVD in your area of expertise. So you develop a DVD and begin to sell it (reason one). As we progress from one reason to another the type of website that we need, potentially changes. A site that will work perfectly fine for reasons two and four will start to fall apart when reason three and one are added to the mix.

A Look Ahead

In the coming weeks we will look at these four answers in more detail. We’ll also look at how these four questions are addressed by different web solutions. In the meantime, repeat after me, This is my website. There are many like it but this one is mine…

iCloud is Apple’s new cloud service, which stores your music, photos, apps, calendars, and documents and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices. iCloud integrates seamlessly with your apps, so everything happens automatically. iCloud will be free for iOS 5 and OS X Lion users. More information is available at www.apple.com/icloud.

MobileMe Services

What’s happening to MobileMe?

The core services provided by MobileMe have been rewritten to work seamlessly with iCloud. MobileMe will no longer be available as a paid sync service. If you had an active MobileMe account as of June 6, 2011, your service has been extended through June 30, 2012, at no additional charge. After that date, the MobileMe service will no longer be available.

Following is a list of MobileMe services and whether they will be available or not in iCloud this fall:

In addition, the following new services will be available in iCloud:

• iTunes in the Cloud
• Photo Stream
• Documents in the Cloud
• Automatic downloads and purchase history for apps and books
• Backup and restore

Will I be able to keep my MobileMe email address when I move to iCloud?

Yes. If you have an active MobileMe account when you sign up for iCloud, you’ll be able to keep your me.com or mac.com email address and move your MobileMe mail, contacts, and calendars, as well as your bookmarks, to the new service. When iCloud becomes available this fall, Apple will provide details and instructions on how to make the move.

Will I be able to access iCloud services on the web?

Yes. Web access to iCloud Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Find My iPhone will be available at icloud.com this fall.

What happens to the iWeb sites that I’ve published to MobileMe?

You will be able to continue publishing iWeb sites to MobileMe through June 30, 2012, even after moving to iCloud. With iWeb you can easily move a site published to MobileMe to another web hosting service and you should do so before that date. Please read this article for details.

What happens to the pictures that I’ve posted to my MobileMe Gallery?

You will be able to continue using MobileMe Gallery through June 30, 2012, even after moving to iCloud. You should save copies of all photos published to your Gallery before that date. If you have a Mac, it is likely that most of your Gallery photos are already in iPhoto. If not, you can sync the Gallery photos to your iPhoto library. You can also download your photos and movies from the web. Please read this article for details.

What happens to the files on my MobileMe iDisk?

You will be able to continue using MobileMe iDisk through June 30, 2012, even after moving to iCloud. You should save copies of all files stored on iDisk before that date. Please read this article for details.

What happens to the other sync services I use for my Mac?

Syncing of Mac Dashboard widgets, keychains, Dock items, and System Preferences will not be part of iCloud, but will continue to be available for you to use until you move to iCloud. After you move to iCloud or after June 30, 2012, whichever comes first, those sync services will no longer be available. Other MobileMe services that are not transitioning to iCloud (iWeb publishing, Gallery, and iDisk) will continue to be available through June 30, 2012, even after you move to iCloud.

MobileMe Accounts

If I use different accounts for iTunes and MobileMe, can I merge them into a single account and use it with iCloud?

No. You cannot merge two accounts into one. However, you will be able to move your MobileMe account (yourname@me.com) to iCloud and, if you choose, you can continue to use a different iTunes account for store purchases and iTunes in the Cloud.

I currently use more than 5GB of storage in MobileMe. Will I be able to buy more storage for iCloud?

Yes. iCloud includes 5GB of free storage for mail, documents, and backup, which should be enough for most users. Purchased music, apps, and books do not count against this 5GB of storage, nor do the photos in your Photo Stream. If you still need more storage, you will be able to buy it. Details will be provided when iCloud is available this fall.

Can I upgrade my MobileMe account to a Family Pack or buy more MobileMe storage?

You can no longer upgrade your individual account to a Family Pack account or buy additional MobileMe storage. However, if you already have a Family Pack subscription, you can still create new family member accounts.

Can Family Pack members move their MobileMe accounts separately to iCloud?

Yes. The master account holder and each family member can move their individual accounts whenever they like, as long as they do so before June 30, 2012.

I purchased a MobileMe box and have not used the activation code inside. How do I get a refund for it?

If you have an unused activation code from a MobileMe box, you can submit a refund request.

Can I cancel my MobileMe subscription and receive a refund?

You can cancel your service at any time and receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of your paid subscription. The free extension will not be included in the proration. When you cancel, all MobileMe services, including mail and syncing of contacts and calendars, will stop working, and your data will be removed from MobileMe.

More Info: Apple has officially answered all of the outstanding questions since this was posted.  Please see this post for additional info.

It’s been about a week since the Worldwide Developer Conference came to a close, and the entire Apple community is still sifting through all the information, and new toys that Apple has dropped on us. Each day brings new discoveries and insights into the future of Apple devices. Over this week new information about MobileMe and iCoud has come to light.

Websites and iWeb

As I discussed in my first post, the  web hosting component of MobileMe has been discontinued. This week we seem to have confirmation on the loss of iWeb (see story here) as well. As I said In my last post, don’t panic. The iWeb you are using today will continue to work for the forseeable future.  In the end, I see this as just another reason to transition to a WordPress or Drupal site.

Back to My Mac

In my last post I speculated that Back to my Mac was likely to be removed. I’m delighted to report that I guessed wrong. I have since found that Back to My Mac is in the System Preferences on the developer preview of OSX 10.7 Lion. I still think that Back to My Mac’s utility will be replaced by other iCloud functionality. But, for now, those who are using this service can breathe a sigh of relief.

iDisk

I have still not seen anything official on the fate of iDisk.  That being said I can also find no mention of it in OSX 10.7.  So my previous comments on iDisk still stand.

My Advice

It is quite clear that Apple is getting out of the website business.  If you use Apple website development tools or deployment services you are going to have to transition to non-Apple solutions.  Honestly this is not as scary as it sounds. You are going to have to learn some new things, but it also means that you are going to have whole new worlds of opportunity open up to you as well.  Since you still have a year to transition I feel that my initial advice is still valid.  Don’t Panic, think about what you want to do in the future, and prepare to transition in manageable steps.  Keep an eye on this site as the weeks progress for more on how to get through this transition.

More Info: Apple has officially answered all of the outstanding questions since this was posted.  Please see this post for additional info.

MobileMe Is Dead!

Long Live iCloud!

On June 6, 2011, Steve Jobs formally announced the death of MobileMe and the birth of iCloud. This announcement has sent a shockwave of panic, and anger through the MobileMe community. While this initial knee-jerk reaction is to be expected, it’s time to stop acting like Chicken Little and take look at what the post-MobileMe world is going to look like.

The Same, Just Improved

Mail, Calendar, and Address Book on iCloud are essentially the same as they were on MobileMe. The only difference is that you will be able to control these services from your iOS 5 device. For example, if you wish to create a new folder for e-mail messages, you will now be able to do that on your iOS 5 device instead of having to wait until you can login from a computer. This simple change while not earth shattering, will be greatly appreciated.

What’s Different

Backing up is the first area of major change between MobileMe and iCloud. Under the old MobileMe paradigm you had a set amount of disk space included in your annual subscription that could be used to back up anything on your computer. On iCloud you’re now limited to 5 GB. However, there is an interesting catch, that 5 GB does not include your music, eBooks, pictures, or apps. That only leaves your documents, settings, and app data to back up. A significantly smaller amount of data.

In addition Apple is positioning the backup on iCloud for iOS devices only. This is not surprising when you think about it. Apple has provided Time Machine and Time Capsule as the backup solution for desktop machines, neither of which will backup an iOS device. With Apple no longer requiring a computer to configure and deploy an iOS device it becomes possible that a user wouldn’t have a back up for their iOS device; since the device might never be synced with iTunes. iCloud solves this problem.

So what do you do if you are like me and wish to have an off-site backup mechanism in addition to your Time Machine/Time Capsule? Simply use another service. During the year that is left, I will be trying out various online backup services such as Carbonite (watch this blog for further updates and reviews). Since I only off-site backup mission-critical files (accounting, client database, company documents, etc.) I will likely only need a few gigabytes worth of storage. With iCloud being a free service it is likely that it will cost me less to use a service like Carbonite than the annual subscription I used to pay for MobileMe.

What’s Gone

I’m sorry to have to say this but the MobileMe website service has always been a joke, and I’m glad to see it discontinued. The only possible justification for these sites was simply that you got it for free, since you really bought the MobileMe service for the ability to synchronize your data across multiple machines. That being said, it is a fact of life that many Mac users are currently utilizing the website service on MobileMe. So for them here are a few things to think about.

First off, there is no need to panic. You still have an entire year to figure out what you’re going to do. Transitioning an average website only takes a couple of hours at max. Since you have a year you can take your time getting yourself comfortable in your new web home before having to turn off the lights on your MobileMe site.

Second, even though MobileMe websites are going away, that does not mean that you will have to learn a whole new set of tools. iWeb, DreamWeaver, etc., will all still work exactly the same way they do today. The only difference is that they will need to be configured to use FTP to transfer the files to your new web hosting account. Professional web designers have used FTP to post websites for nearly 20 years, and there is no reason an average user would be incapable of doing so as well.

Third, by moving your site away from MobileMe you will be gaining significant advantages. For example many web hosting services will allow you to host unlimited domains from one account. They offer unlimited storage space for your website files, and no monthly bandwidth quotas while costing much less than a MobileMe website. In addition you will also be able to take advantage of blogging software such as WordPress (this a WordPress site) or content management systems such as Joomla! When set up properly, either of them can completely remove your need for tools like iWeb. For example I can literally edit this website from the beach using only my iPad (I do it all the time, and once you get used to it, it’s awesome).

Finally, most websites have a tendency to suffer from stagnation. Once the site is up, very little if anything is ever done to it to keep it fresh. If it has been more than three months since anything changed on the home page of your website, this would be an excellent time to ask yourself, why? I believe that you will find that the answer to that question is that updating your website is a pain in the butt. The simple truth is that websites for small businesses and individuals no longer need to be a time-consuming pain in the butt. This is the perfect opportunity to make your web life easier, and more convenient. Take this opportunity to really think about what your website is or isn’t doing for you, and what you would really like it to do for you in the future. In the coming weeks I’ll be writing more on website hosting, and if you’re here in San Diego I’m always available for consultations.

What We Don’t Know Yet

So far there has been no official word as to the fate of the MobileMe Galleries. However, my personal belief is that the Galleries are also dead. If this proves to be the case, I don’t see it is a great loss. If you are a professional using MobileMe to showcase your photography, you more than likely have a MobileMe website. Since you are already going to have to move your website to a web hosting company, you will move your images to your new website and use one of the many free website plug-ins to display your gallery on your site. If you are the average user who just wants to show some pictures to friends and family you have many options such as Facebook, Picasa, or Flickr.

If I was to bet, I would say the odds do not favor Back to My Mac continuing. Back to My Mac was envisioned as a way to send and receive items between two different computers. Since this option only worked between two Macs the only items that you could transfer would be apps or files. Going forward, any app that is purchased from the Mac App Store will be available for download from iCloud to any of your authorized machines. In the case of files; iCloud is going to synchronize your documents, and music between all of your authorized devices. So Back to My Mac’s functionality is basically duplicated by iCloud.

iDisk is the service I am most conflicted about. I know that I’m not alone in saying that I use iDisk more than any of the other MobileMe services. While nothing has been officially stated, I don’t believe iDisk will continue once iCloud is launched. Even though I use iDisk daily, I’m not convinced that it would be used in the post-MobileMe world. When I look at what it is that I actually use iDisk for, I find that most often it is to move documents between my iPad, iPhone, and Mac. With iCloud synchronizing my documents between my devices my major reason to use iDisk is now gone. The only other thing that I use iDisk for is to temporarily share items with friends, family, or clients. However, the same functionality can be replicated via DropBox or by uploading the file to my website. So even though I use iDisk frequently, I suspect that I won’t miss it if it’s gone.

The Future Is iCloud

ICloud, like the iPad, is not just the evolution of a prior product. It is a revolution. By placing the cloud at the center of the digital universe instead of the PC, Apple is able to give us access to our data in ways that only Gene Roddenberry could dream of. Recently, Galen Gruman wrote a piece on iCloud for Infoworld. In it is a quote that I think sums up iCloud best, “Don’t be surprised if by 2012 the cloud to most people will be Apple’s iCloud,…”

Turning VoiceOver Off

1.  Double-tap the Settings icon on your homepage.
2.  Use three fingers to scroll down to the General menu, and double-click on it.  Click for image.
3.  Use three fingers to scroll down to the Accessibility menu, and double-click on it.  Click for image.
4.  Double-tap on the VoiceOver menu item.  Click for image.
5.  Turn VoiceOver off

At this point your phone should be back to normal.

In every century there are ideas that seem logical at the time but when put into practice are later proven to be colossally stupid. In my opinion, land mines fall into this category. According to Land Mine And Cluster Munitions Monitor, 3956 people died as result of land mines in 2009. Surprisingly enough, 263 of them were European casualties of World War II era land mines. With tens of millions of land mines still in the ground, and even larger number of unexploded ordnance, finding and disposing of these items is a time-consuming and deadly task. But thanks to Lahiru Jayatilaka this job is gone just a little bit easier. In a May 4 article in the Harvard Gazette, Rebecca Hersher, Posted a report on Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Land mine Sensing, AKA PETALS.  Rebecca reports that “In addition to increasing search efficiency, PETALS has the potential to help train new de-miners. In initial tests, novice de-miners performed 80 percent better with visual aid. Furthermore, Jayatilaka pointed out, training with a visual aid can help novices understand the principles of recognizing land mine signatures more quickly, allowing them to gain more from training.” Now that’s cool!

Land Mine Casualty Demographics

Magical Devices

Inscribed upon the cover of the most remarkable book ever to have come out of the great publishing houses of Ursa Minor are these two words– Don’t Panic. Like The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, our iPad’s and iPhone’s are devices that seem at once both magical and scary. But, before you start contemplating how you are going to cut yourself off from the grid, I’d like to remind you of two simple truths.

The first is Clarke’s Third Law. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The second is that even the “great and powerful OZ” turned out to be just a man behind a curtain. If you inoculate your mind with these two axioms they will act as a vaccine against the FUD so prevalent in today’s media.

Reality Is Boring

So where does this leave us? Can Apple track our every move? Do they compile vast lists of the minutiae of our lives? Do they know how much toilet paper we use?

The answer is no (although, according to The Toilet Paper Encyclopedia the average person uses 8.6 sheets of toilet paper per trip; makes you wonder doesn’t it?). Apple has released a statement about this issue, which you can read here. For those of you who want the executive summary, here it is. The situation was caused by a combination of software bugs and a lack communication about how Apple is using a new technology. See, I told you it was boring.

You Are Not Scott Free

Just because Apple isn’t using your iPhone or iPad to track you, doesn’t mean someone else can’t. For example, Apple’s Find My iPhone could be used to discover the whereabouts of an iPhone or iPad. Although I am not aware of any real world cases, there is no reason this app couldn’t be used by a suspicious spouse, private investigator, or government agency to find the location of your phone.

To Worry. Or Not To Worry?

That is the question. Here is my answer. Personally I like the idea of being able to find my phone if it is lost or stolen. While I have concerns about Police making a habit of yanking data off the phone of anyone they pull over, I feel that this is best left to the courts and ACLU to fight about. Since I’m not running contraband, cheating on my wife, or leading some sort of secret double life — I’m not concerned about Find My iPhone. I freely admit that I might be sticking my head in the sand, and down playing the risks. So for those of you who feel strongly about this issue here is what I suggest. Once the next iOS update comes out, download it, install it, and then turn off all location services. Further, when asked if you wish to use a location service touch the do not use button. That should reduce your exposure while allowing you to keep your phone.