Apple Implements the CalDAV Standard For MobileMe 152
Vermyndax writes "Apple announced the new MobileMe Calendar beta on July 6th. The mainstream press picked up the story and plugged the gorgeous new iPad-like interface for all devices. It seems, however, that they missed the real story: MobileMe's new Calendar application is an implementation of CalDAV, the proposed calendaring standard. This may be the same implementation that exists in Snow Leopard Server and is open sourced. The hidden gem in all of this is that Apple plans to bring this CalDAV connectivity to Outlook users on MobileMe. Where might they take it next?"
Re:syncml (Score:5, Informative)
Yeesh. SyncML? Have you ever looked at that standard? Ghastly.
Besides, converting CalDAV to SyncML on the server side shouldn't be hard, since CalDAV is iCalendar files in a set of directories on a WebDAV server, and SyncML is iCalendar files wrapped in XML and sent to a SyncML server across whatever protocol the vendor chooses. In fact, a quick Googling suggests that there are already numerous SyncML to CalDAV gateways, including open source ones.
Re:Unpossible (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah, I know because Apple never [cups.org] gives [zeroconf.org] anything [webkit.org] back to the open source community at all!
Re:default calendar with CalDAV? (Score:3, Informative)
This has always been this way, and I have logged a bug with Apple over the issue. With 10.6.4 it seems that some of us have suddenly found the invites go in to the CalDAV calendar by default now, instead of the local calendar. This is great, but we aren't sure why, and we've seen it only occur on some machines. There does not seem to be an option to say which calendar should be the default, so it is all a little bizarre.
Re:Does it matter? (Score:3, Informative)
Google supports CalDAV which they give away for free.
Exchange support on Google accounts, Dropbox and Wordpress makes MobileMe worthless, unless you want to find your lost iPhone.
Re:Does it matter? (Score:3, Informative)
There is one reason to get MobileMe: contact groups
MobileMe is the only big name to support automatic/bidirectional syncing of contacts in multiple groups. I like keeping my friends, family, co-workers, and business numbers separate. The only big question here is whether multiple groups is worth the price. I think it is, but others won't.
Google's idea of contact sync is to shovel all of your contacts into one big steamy pile (on the iPhone, since we're talking about MobileMe -- I think multiple groups are supported on the android). I imagine that they'll fix this someday, but I think "someday" is still years off. Until then, I'm stuck with MobileMe (although there are one or two alternatives on the horizon).
Re:Unpossible (Score:5, Informative)
While I can't speak for Windows... (Score:3, Informative)
I do use Linux consistently (Ubuntu and Suse). The above statement tells me you've probably got a grudge of some sort against Linux (or really just don't know), as everything, with the exception of Photoshop, has been done for quite some time now on Linux.
Copy and paste - not just text - is doable. Ditto for 3d hardware performance (I assume you were referring to hardware acceleration). For commercial MS Office support, you may want to check out Softmaker - it's an excellent office suite. I'm not a gamer, but I know that there are commercial games available for Linux as well. The GUI, well, I suppose that's what you make of it - at least you can tweak it to your heart's content.
As you say:
No need to sound bitter when describing something you don't use.
Re:Unpossible (Score:2, Informative)
Yeah, I know because Apple never [cups.org] gives [zeroconf.org] anything [webkit.org] back to the open source community at all!
To be fair, "developed by Apple" in "CUPS is the standards-based, open source printing system developed by Apple Inc. for Mac OS® X and other UNIX®-like operating systems." in the CUPS home page means "Apple hired the guy who created CUPS, and it's now an Apple project", not "Apple were the original developers of CUPS".
Re:Does it matter? (Score:3, Informative)
If you want features, you won't pay for it and you'll be disappointed when you see it.
Its strength is actually, imo, its lack of features.
It does have a pretty interface that works reasonable well for standard email client, web host/photo album, but its not particularly impressive. Its simple and elegant.
The MobileMe photo browser that gets created or whatever when you upload an album from iPhoto to MobileMe is surprisingly pretty for something so plain.
I only have an account for the Find My iPhone feature, I wouldn't buy one without that feature. I'm a douche who leaves his phone in random places and its been really useful for tracking it down. It has paid for itself, but I doubt most people would need the same feature, my wife for instance has never seen it and I think its probably only been accessed for her when I set it up.
I would not pay for the service without Find My iPhone
Because I have the MobileMe account I also do the following:
Secondary, over the air backup of the various things the iPhone syncs with mobileme. I have this all backed up elsewhere, but since I have it I turned it on here too. More backups are not a bad thing.
A backup copy of my ITMS music that I can easily keep synced across machines using iDisk, its just easier than bothering with an rsync or something since I already have this.
I used to use it for push email since Google's exchange support didn't support push, now that it does however I no longer check my email at all at the me.com address.
Its a bridge to chat with some people on AIM without creating another AIM account since I never seem to remember my old ones. I don't even do that anymore.
Other than Find My iPhone I could do everything else free in another way, probably a technically better way, but since I have an account, using it for some things is just easier than setting something up somewhere else, free or otherwise.
Its up for renewal in a month and I'm not sure I'll renew it, depends on if I bother to upgrade to an iPhone 4 or not, probably won't do either.
Re:iCal (Score:5, Informative)
In order to use the name UNIX, an operating system is required to pass a strict set of conformance tests. Therefore, Mac OS X is UNIX in far more than just a trademark sense.
Re:Unpossible (Score:1, Informative)
And to be fair: no one gives a shit but you.
Ask the CUPS guy. He is tremendously happy that the work was recognized as valuable and that his actual full time job became working on a project he loves. He recognizes, like you cannot or will not, that Apple purchasing CUPS was not some trivial development, but required the a) money, and b) forward thinking that neither you nor any of your preferred corporations possessed.