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It'll be fantastic once they actually give me access to the beta. *sigh*

d00d, on 18 May 2010 - 12:51 PM, said:

Agreed. I put my request in a week ago, no reply.

It seems to work OK, it really seems slow to me. Especially on a Windows PC (Work), it seems to hog the processor making it difficult to get anything else accomplished.

I find it ironic that they are adding server side rules for organizing email, when on the iPhone client, they are implementing unified inbox. MobileMe doesn't push the folders, and the unified inbox doesn't display anything but the inboxes. Exchange does push the folders as configured in the settings, same issue with unified inbox.

I totally agree with your first-look. Performance is a huge improvement. It was so sluggish that I rarely used the webmail of MobileMe (preferred to use a true e-mail client). It also seems to push e-mail without me having to refresh the in box (or perhaps that's just my imagination). The buttons could use some labeling (a bit too minimalistic). I also encountered a glitch where deleting a message in webmail makes it go away and into Deleted Items, but when I check the same account in Entourage 2008, those items are still there, but marked as deleted with red X's. Refreshing/repairing does nothing. Classic MobileMe webmail deleted items properly. I sent that feedback to Apple so perhaps a fix is coming.

my son received his invite within days but i haven't yet and it's been a week. not sure the criteria but i agree with other posts, improvements mean they're behind the service, any are welcome. i'd like the format toolbar on the os x mail application!!!

ggarthe, on 18 May 2010 - 01:11 PM, said:

Same here.

I've noticed a couple of really nice features that Apple haven't mentioned specifically, in regards to organising mail.

You used to have to click on an email to highlight it, *then* drag it to a folder in order to file it. Now all you need to do is click and drag, and this feels very nice (used to be that if you did a standard click and drag you'd just highlight text).

Also, if you drag an email over a nested block of folders, it automatically expands to show the folders beneath, and once you've dropped the email in the right folder the list collapses again. Works really nicely, and feels a lot like the desktop version.

Nice stuff, even for a beta. Feels 27x faster than the old one.
I don't like the new reply button that drops down to give options for Reply, Reply All and Forward. I'd rather have separate buttons, and there is plenty of room, so why not? Less clicks = more happy.

Glad to see speed improvements but I still won't be renewing my subscription next month.

MobileMe's biggest problem is still price. Sure the integration of OS X/iPhone OS apps with a single web presence is nice, but IMHO that premium price is still too much when free alternatives exist.

SIgned up for two invitations almost right away, one was accepted the next day and still waiting for the other - the account I use to crank out mail was the one that was accepted.

Noted and reported one bug - picking any other font worked well, until starting a new paragraph - then I was stuck with Helvetica again until I picked the font I wanted, until starting the next paragraph. Apple seems to have fixed it within 24 hours - good to see that kind of response.

I'm questioning the use of a couple of fonts - Papyrus and Marker Felt. Papyrus isn't on any of our PCs and both it and Marker Felt are pretty hard to read, I'd never use them in the body of an email.

Apple!?! Really wishing you guys would host domain email so I can ditch the kludge that is Google Premier Apps. Please!!!???

Headrush69, on 18 May 2010 - 01:58 PM, said:

I've considered the same, but for Amazon's nice price (30% off), I do use the file server/email quite a bit. I wish Apple opened up access its calendaring to other mobile platforms or made it available through ActiveSync. I use and pay for Google Premier Apps for my small business and can't wait to ditch it - I've tired of Google's crappy contact management and odd calendaring setup. I'd rather not have targeted ads, but I do hope that Apple steps up and does offer a ad-supported version of MM AND an ad-free environment. If they don't offer an ad-free environment, I'm gone.

flybynight, on 18 May 2010 - 01:46 PM, said:

You can still do it in one by holding down the mouse and moving to the option you want. I kind of like the absolute minimalist approach but what slays me is just how much this proves HTML5 is well on the way to being the Flash beater.

Apparently HTML5 is closed off from new features meaning it's now just a matter of refining and ensuring all browsers adhere to the standards set. Can't wait to see how iWork.com and the rest of the MobileMe apps go.

Headrush69, on 18 May 2010 - 01:58 PM, said:

If you're only using the Mail side of it then yes free alternatives do exist but MobileMe is more than just mail and as such there is NO free alternatives to MobileMe as a whole.