Dear MobileMe / Me.com, I really think you’re swell. I’ve been dreaming dreams of sync since my first Handspring, and you are the best I’ve used. Two things would put you over the top. First, the notes application on the iPhone is handy, but please sync this to a quickie app on Me.com so I can put stuff in and out of notes easily. Second, and this is a stretch, I know you don’t like to-do applications, but I also have an inkling you could do something that would make me stop using paper and pen for to-dos. And synchronize it. With love, Matt.
Amen to that!
I know this isn’t built-in and costs extra but I use Evernote for my notes and Remember the Milk for my to-do list. I find that MobileMe is too expensive. I just discovered NuevaSync for my gMail contacts and Google Calendar. I already have Gmail for mail. It works well for me.
Mike-I think Evernote and Remember the Milk are both great too. 🙂
I have to admit, though, Mobile Me is still very convenient.
@Matt-Any problems with iDisk and syncing problems?
Have you tried “Things” by Cultured Code?
Here’s a link:
http://culturedcode.com/things/
If Things always was in sync wirelessly and knew what changes had happened on my desktop and my desktop knew what was going on with my iPhone tasks without having to sync them before I leave it would be awesome. That is the kind of thing that would be great for MobileMe but it is also the kind of thing that Cultured Code could just add into Things. I understand your dreams Matt.
The guys at Cultured code are working on that.
I’d be happy if they just built the API’s for it.
Still no calender OTA support (so it’s dead to me as a google calendar user).
Regarding todo, best I’ve seen is RememberTheMilk. The app is pretty decent. I may at some point by the pro version.
Mobile Me is alright, but, at least for file sync, dropbox is so much better. It just seems to sync so much faster and you get 50GB instead of the 20GB that mobile me gives you. I really agree with you on the notes thing though.
For todos I just started using Things. Things is great, but you can only sync with the iPhone if you’re on the same wifi network and for some reason there’s nothing in the cloud. I’d like to see 3rd party apps get incorporated with an API though.
Couldn’t agree more
I’m with you Matt. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait to long.
I’m with Mike Wills regarding Evernote – it syncs both ways using the Internet via any connection – not just Wi-fi (so you always have access to your notes through the web, the iPhone, and the desktop app). Not to mention that you can put in a pict, such as a screenshot (like a piece of Google Map) so that you don’t have to wait to locate an address if you know it before you go somewhere.
Also you can dictate a voice note on the iPhone (like the odd URL tip in a conversation), and then transcribe it back at home. (again, it just appears in your desktop version). If that won’t do, a really cool trick is to use Jott or Dial2Do to transcribe your voice to text and email the transcription of your speech to your Evernote account. It actually works (although your transcription results may vary, mine were astoundingly close).
Unfortunately, Cultured Code rushed the release of Things before it was ready because they had booked their Macworld booth months ahead, thinking they would be ready.
As a GTD app, the vital missing feature is automatic sync: you must remember to open Things on your iPhone while still within range of your desktop Things’ wifi network. If you forget, or don’t have time to do that, you’ll be walking around with an unsynced list all day.
This breaks one of the core tenants of GTD, that you’ve got to have a system you can trust.
Proper syncing is coming, they’ve promised that it will appear this quarter, but I think it’s pretty bad that they bounced all their beta users into buying before it was ready, by expiring the $10 discount on January 15. They should have admitted the mistake and kept the beta, the discount and the trial period going until they got the product to point were it was actually ready.
The most alarming thing, however, was the conformed refusal of the Mac blogs to warn their readers about this issue, despite being aware of it – a useful reminder of where their interests lie.
Things will be great … when it’s ready.
“remember the milk” hits the spot for me – by far the best to-do app i’ve ever used.
it utilises gears really well, and although i don’t have an iphone there are versions for iphone & ipod touch.
For todos I have found that rememberthemilk is just brilliant.
if the API was available for it to do push updates that would be even better but the integration it has with other services is really good
I am the only one who ever creates tasks for myself — noone ever sends them to me. Therefore, push for RtM isn’t that interesting of a feature. How would you use push for RtM?
Right on, man!
My notes are always in conjunction with To-Dos (tasks), so anything that keeps the two of them together — and synced — is important.
@simon & @westi hit the mark by recommending Remember the Milk. I hate having to pay $25/year for their pro version, but it does revolutionize how I get things done. Folders, tagging, clean web interface, RSS feeds for tasks — it’s quite nice on an iPhone.
How long do you think someone would step up and create a opensource version of mobileme?
Is there any?
Matt
Good heads up on the wordpressTV which I will go check out.The static blog is history.As far as passwords everyone sleeps until they’re caught and it’s not fun 🙂 I should practice what I preach.
Best wishes to you excellent work.
Evernote is the way to go
Evernote is a great idea but todo does not work and toggling from editor mode from side to side breaks the edit screen. Not offline support ….
Would be a great product if it works.
For those looking for an emerging open source alternative to MobileMe (some of its functionality, at least), I suggest you follow Fruux (http://www.fruux.com/). It’s not there yet with all features, but its getting there, and web interface to calendar, notes and todos is in their roadmap.
I am in no way associated with them other than as a satisifed user.
It’s coming in iPhone OS 4.0!
http://www.stuffaboutlife.com/2010/05/02/coming-in-iphone-os-4-0-sync-notes-with-mobileme/
I agree with you, though. This is something that should have been there ages ago. It’s nice that Notes already sync with iTunes but having them sync OTA with MobileMe is important, especially now that the iPad 3G is out.