iDisk Utility for Windows XP

mister_tim writes " Apple has released an iDisk Utility for Windows XP. It could be useful under a mixed environment or those (like me) stuck using XP at work and such." Is there a way to mount iDisks on Linux, too?

iDisk uses WebDAV

[Whatchamacallit]

You can connect to iDisk using the cadaver software which is an open source WebDAV tool that makes it like FTP. It runs under Linux just fine.

Other Linux WebDAV tools must be available, I haven't looked lately. Last I looked, the cadaver command line tool was the most compatible and it feels just like FTP with a few minor changes. Most Linux users are savvy enough to setup a WebDAV client. BTW, you could setup the Apache WebDAV module and configure it to be your own iDisk. (you'll have to override the idisk.mac.com hostname to use the Apple tools and make it think it's really .Mac) There's a few O'Reilly articles at the http://macdevcenter.com

WinXP does not actually need the iDisk tool, as Web Folders can connect to an iDisk with no problem. Just add a network place and away you go! The tool makes it easier for clueless users. It also adds the ability to adjust public folder permissions and it has a nice little disk space bar along the top to let you know how much space you have, etc. It's the same as the .Mac iDisk tool on Mac OS X. The main advantage is you can direct users to download the tool and it will be easier than having you tell them how to use Web Folders.

Of course if you are using iDisk then you most likely have a Mac so you don't really need the tool. MSIE adds the Web Folders feature to older versions of Windows so again, you can attach to iDisk in a fairly easy fashion.

XP must be "special"

[topologist]

Since an iDisk can be viewed via the WebDAV extensions to HTTP. I've used an iDisk under win me (shudder) and win2k (see this link [apple.com]. Wonder why the pastel coloured OS needs something extra. On linux, you should be able to mount the iDisk via WebDavFS. I haven't tried this, but it should be possible. See this sourceforge page [sourceforge.net]

Re:not a mac user

[Whatchamacallit]

When you bought a Mac you got free .Mac access. This included webmail, webspace, and iDisk a location where you can trade files, upload your webpages, etc.

iDisk is a mountable over the Internet drive volume. It uses WebDAV to accomplish this. Basically, it's a WebDAV drive with more spit and polish to it then you generally see.

Now Apple has chosen to charge for the .Mac subscription at $99 a year. For that high fee, you get a whole lot more disk space and features. You can backup data to the iDisk, etc. Those users who already had signed up for the free .Mac got it for half off the price. Many graphics artists use it to trade images and other files. I use it for all sorts of stuff. Primarily to upload a file to and then email a friend an HTML link to download it. I need to do this all the time because of the shifts in security policies at my company and at many others that are stripped executable attachments. It makes it very easy to file transfer just about anything (providing you have the disk space on iDisk 100MB by default - you can pay for more as well.)

Apple now provides the XP iDisk tool to make it easier for the clueless to connect to the iDisk and manage it from a WindowsXP computer. But any version of Windows can attach to the iDisk using MSIE Web Folders because Web Folders supports WebDAV.

There are several Linux or Java WebDAV tools out there that will work as well. CaDAVer being a very nice FTP like client that uses WebDAV instead of FTP.

I've been using my iDisk for months under Win XP

[appleprophet]

iDisk uses the standard WebDAV protocol which has always been supported by Windows XP. You can add an iDisk to your "Network Places" just like FTP or Samba.

Re:iDisk uses WebDAV

[Dot.Zeile]

I am using RH7.3, GNOME and Nautilus. You can type "http://idisk.mac.com/YOUR_ACCOUNT/" in location editbox in Nautilus, and type ENTER, then you will be able to log-in into iDisk service. First you might see "cannot display" message, but, selecting "show as icon" will resolve that. After that, choose adding bookmark to put it in your bookmark list. Then, next time, Nautilus remembers that it is WebDAV access, and always you can handle that location as local folder. If you only need GRAPHICAL file manipulation, it is the easiest way, I think.

Konqueror

[AnEmbodiedMind]

Apparently Konqueror can access webdav...

webdav://www.something.com

Havn't tried it though...

No it's not 'dangerous beta software' as implied

[@madeus]

This is just a user friendly interface to make mounting idisk WebDav volumes easier for users.

WebDav volume support is something that has been built in to Micrsoft Windows since Windows 98 (and is avalible under Windows 95 if you install MS IE 4.0).

It's not 'beta', it's something that's been supported under Windows for the last 5 years.