Setting up iDisk
Using files and folders on your iDisk
Using public files
If you ask the average MacBook owner about what's available on the Internet, you likely hear benefits, such as e-mail, Web surfing, RSS feeds, Google, and instant communication via iChat. What you may not hear is "Convenient, trouble-free storage for my files and folders."
You might have tried to use one of the dozens of storage sites on the Internet that allows you to upload and download files from a personal file area via your Web browser. Unfortunately, these Web-based storage sites are slow in transferring files and lacking in convenience, and they typically offer only a small amount of space. As a result, most computer owners decide that the idea of online storage is neat ...but impractical.
In this chapter, I show you what real online storage is all about. I'm talking about iDisk, which is the online storage feature that's integrated into the Mac OS X Finder. No jury-rigged Web site is necessary (although you can use one if you're not on a Mac running Snow Leopard). I admit that online storage doesn't replace the hard drives on your MacBook, but with a MobileMe subscription, you can easily make use of online storage for backups and sharing files with your friends ...from anywhere on the planet, road warrior!
So how do you actually use iDisk? That's the simple part! To use iDisk within Mac OS X, just do what comes naturally — it works the same as any other removable volume's Finder window. You can copy and move files and folders to and from your iDisk, create new subfolders (except in the Backup, Library, and Software root folders, which are read-only), and delete whatever you don't need.
To set up iDisk on your Mac OS X system, you need a MobileMe account. You did create one during the installation of the Big X, right? These trial accounts are active for 60 days. To subscribe, visit www.me.com and follow the prompts to join from there. (At the time of this writing, the subscription fee for an individual account is $99 per year from Apple (however, Amazon.com sells MobileMe subscriptions for significantly less). You need a credit card to create a MobileMe account, but you can cancel your trial account at any time.)
Here's a bit of good news: Other than the 60-day limit, there's almost no difference between a MobileMe trial account and a full, $99 yearly subscription, so you can try out all the MobileMe features, exactly as though you were already paying for them. Sweet!
With an active MobileMe account, iDisk is available automatically. To see how much storage you're using and to conFigure Ccess to your Public folder, open System Preferences, click the MobileMe icon, and then click the iDisk button to display the settings that you see in Figure 4-1. (You can also click the Upgrade Storage button on this pane to subscribe to MobileMe, or if you're already a MobileMe subscriber, add storage space.)
The iDisk Disk Space bar graph illustrates how much of your current iDisk territory you're using.
You can specify the access privilege level for other MobileMe users from this pane as well. Select the Read Only radio button to prevent any other MobileMe user from copying files to your Public folder, or select the Read & Write radio button to allow others to save files there.
No matter which privilege level you choose, you can also set a password that other MobileMe users must type before they're allowed access to your Public folder. This is the very definition of A Truly Good Idea. (More on the Public folder in the next section.)
Tip
If you've already set a password, you can change it by clicking the Set Password button and typing the new word in the Password box. Retype the word in the Confirm box to verify it; then click OK to save the change and return to the MobileMe System Preferences pane.
In contrast to the physical hard drive in your MacBook, your iDisk never needs formatting or defragmenting, and you never have to check it for errors. However, the structure of an iDisk is fixed, so you can't just go crazy creating your own folders. In fact, you can't create new folders at the root — the top level — of your iDisk at all, but you can create new folders inside most of the root folders.
Now that you're thoroughly rooterized, here are the folders that you find hanging out in your iDisk:
Backup: This is a read-only folder that contains the backup files created with the MobileMe Backup application. You can, however, copy the files in this folder to a removable drive on your system for an additional level of safekeeping.
Documents: This folder holds any application documents that you want to store — things like spreadsheets and letters. No one but you can access these items; you can, however, tag items in the Documents folder as shared, allowing individuals or groups to download them using an access code sent by MobileMe in an e-mail message. Sharing files is a great way to transfer files too big to send as e-mail attachments.
Groups: This folder holds files that you want to share with others in any MobileMe Groups you might have joined.
Library: Another read-only folder. This spot contains the configuration data and custom settings that you've created for other MobileMe features.
Movies: QuickTime movies go here — again, you can add the movies stored here to your Web pages. (I cover QuickTime like a blanket in Book IV, Chapter 8.)
Music: This is the repository for all your iTunes music and playlists, and the contents can be added to your Web pages. (iTunes is the star of Chapter 2 in Book IV.) Mine is stuffed full of Mozart, Scarlatti, and that Bach fellow.
Pictures: This folder is the vault for your JPEG and GIF images, including those that you want to use with your Web pages.
Public: This is the spot to place files that you specifically want to share with others, either directly through iDisk or with your Web pages. If you've allowed write access, others can copy files to your Public folder as well.
Sites: The Web pages that you store here can be created with iWeb, which I cover in Book IV, Chapter 7. In fact, you can even use your own Web page design application and copy the completed site files here.
Software: Apple provides this read-only folder as a service to MobileMe members; it contains a selection of the latest freeware, shareware, and commercial demos for you to enjoy. To try something out, open the Software folder and copy whatever you like to your Mac OS X Desktop. Then you can install and run the application from the local copy of the files.
Web: This folder holds your MobileMe Galleries created from within iPhoto, as well as other media used by iWeb.
When you're connected to the Internet, you can open your iDisk in one of the following ways:
From the Finder menu, choose Go
Click the iDisk icon in the Finder Sidebar.
Add an iDisk button to your Finder window toolbar by choosing View
After you add the button, you can click it to connect to your iDisk from anywhere in the Finder.
Your iDisk opens in a new Finder window. After you use one of these methods in a Mac OS X session, your iDisk icon appears on the Mac OS X Desktop; Figure 4-2 shows the iDisk contents in a Finder window. The iDisk volume icon remains until you shut down or restart your MacBook. (Alternatively, you can dismiss the iDisk volume icon from your Desktop using the same method by which you eject an external drive: Click the iDisk icon and press
Tip
If you're using a remote PC with an Internet connection, you can log in to the MobileMe page at www.me.com and use your Web browser to access the contents of your iDisk. (Hey, sometimes this is the only choice you have.)
However, you don't actually need to open your iDisk in a Finder window to use it, because you can also load and save files directly to your iDisk from within any application. Simply choose your iDisk as you would any of the hard drives on your system when using the application's Open, Save, or Save As commands.
You can also open an iDisk Public folder — either yours or the Public folder inside another person's iDisk — as if it were an Internet file server. As I explain earlier in the chapter, if that person has set a password, you need to enter that password to gain access to all of his or her iDisk folders. From the Finder menu, choose Go
After you enter a valid iDisk member name (and password, if required), you see the MobileMe member's Public folder.
Tip
You can also use the server address
http://idisk.me.com/username-Public?to connect to an iDisk from computers running Windows and Linux. Check the Help for your operating system to determine how to connect to a WebDAV server (usually called a Web folder in the Windows world). When prompted for your access username and password, use your MobileMe account name and password. If you're using Windows XP or Vista, Apple has provided an even easier way to manage your iDisk: Use MobileMe Control Panel for Windows, which you can download from www.me.com.