An Inside Look at Apple MobileMe

That's how Apple describes MobileMe, its new Internet service that will be released Wednesday night, which is replacing the .Mac online service. MobileMe stores e-mails, calendars and a picture gallery on an online server -- or "cloud" -- and pushes them down to an iPhone, iPod touch, Mac and PC. When changes are made on one device, the cloud automatically updates the other devices.

MobileMe iDisk is built into the core of Mac OS X, so users can open a Finder window, and then drag and drop to upload files or manage folders. Folders can be shared with other people by dropping files into an iDisk Public folder. Remote access is also provided via a user's iDisk from a Web browser at me.com.

Be warned: .Mac users won't be able to access many of the online services between 6 p.m. and 12 a.m. Pacific Time Wednesday while it tweaks the new service, with the exception of .Mac Mail accessed via a desktop application, iPhone or iPod touch.

A contact list can be managed from any computer and include the Google Maps features to pinpoint locations. In addition, a "publish" feature enables users to automatically create Web sites without having to remember settings or configurations and also hosts personal domain names so users can publish their sites directly to www.youraddress.com.

Users can upload and store photos, and arrange them into albums by event.

Current .Mac members won't be charged for the MobileMe features, and their accounts will be automatically upgraded. For new users, a one-year individual membership comes with 20 GB of combined e-mail and file storage, 200 GB of monthly data transfer and full access to all MobileMe features.

A one-year Family Pack includes one individual account plus four Family Member accounts, each with its own e-mail address, 5 GB of combined e-mail and file storage and 50 GB of monthly data transfer. Subscribers can add 20 GB of storage for $49 and 40 GB for $99.