With the June 30 deadline fast approaching, the eventual end of MobileMe is looming closer each day. Many of you have asked how to handle this change, and whether Apple will continue support for your MobileMe files and websites. Read on and we'll answer those for you, as well as show you how to backup your iDisk files to your Mac and transition your MobileMe account to iCloud for email and other Apple services.
First Things First, Upgrade to Lion
Apple has decided to make Lion a required feature for iCloud sync services. While you can still access the web version of iCloud (iCloud.com), you will need to have Lion to sync Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Photo Stream, Documents & Data, and use the Back to My Mac and Find My Mac features.
If you are still running Leopard, then you can get a free copy of Snow Leopard to help your upgrade route to Lion. You'll need Snow Leopard to download Lion from the Mac App Store. To upgrade to Snow Leopard for free, check out this article.
Moving iWeb Content
While MobileMe included a hosting element with iWeb, iCloud does not allow you to host your website. Luckily, iWeb will still function as an application on your Mac after the MobileMe closure, and will allow you to upload your iWeb sites to another hosting provider. The benefit of using a dedicated host is that you'll have full control over your sites, and fortunately for you we have an article about your transition to a dedicated host. However, you should be aware that support for the iWeb application could end soon, and a future OS X upgrade could make the application stop working.
And what if you host your own podcast on iWeb? Follow our guide here.
Moving Photo Galleries
The MobileMe Photo Gallery will not be available once you transition over to iCloud. However, you can still access and download the photos available in your galleries. Assuming you've turned on Downloads, you will be able to navigate to the following URL in your web browser:
gallery.me.com/usernamehere
Replace "usernamehere" with your username, and your MobileMe Gallery will load. Navigate to any of your albums. If your photos are available for download, you will see a "Download" button in the toolbar. Click this button to save the entire album contents. In the dialog that pops up, click the Download button once again, and a zip file containing all of your photos in that album will be downloaded. Repeat this process for multiple albums.
Say Goodbye to iDisk, Hello to iCloud
Another feature that will be disappearing with MobileMe is iDisk. Fortunately, you should have time to download all of the files that are hosted on your iDisk using the tutorial found in this article. You can then sync those files using Dropbox or Google Drive, if you miss the file syncing feature of MobileMe.
Transitioning from MobileMe to iCloud
Lastly, you'll have to transition your MobileMe account to iCloud. This process will take a few minutes and can be completed by going to me.com/move. On this website, you will be taken through the process required to move all of your email and other MobileMe account settings over to iCloud. After the transfer process, you will be able to log in with your old MobileMe credentials on iCloud.com. Remember that you'll need to log into your iCloud account on your Mac and iOS device to enable email, calendar syncing, Find My iPhone, and other features.
Cory Bohon is a freelance technology writer, indie Mac and iOS developer, and amateur photographer. Follow this article's author, Cory Bohon on Twitter.
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