I have been struggling to figure out why the Cisco AnyConnect VPN on my MacBook Air stopped working a couple of months ago. Access from my iPhone and iPad were fine but from my MacBook Air, AnyConnect kept disconnecting. The Cisco support forum and Google search is only as good as the search criteria you enter. Well, finally I found the answer to this frustrating issue especially as I was planning to work remotely during the Christmas break.

The problem rears it's ugly head when you enable the "Back to my Mac" application in MobileMe or iCloud. Both the "Back to my Mac" and Cisco AnyConnect VPN use a virtual adapter with the same name "utun0". Since MobileMe or iCloud initiates when your Mac starts up, it grabs the utun0 interface first, causing the Cisco AnyConnect VPN to connect and then disconnect immediatly. I know many Mac users have had this same issue so hope this post helps. Have you had problems with the Cisco Anyconnect VPN?

Yesterday, iTunes 10.5.1 was released that included iTunes Match which enables you to store your entire music library in iCloud. You can then download your music to any of your Apple devices. As a side effect of iTunes Match you can become DRM-free and also combine music purchases from mutliple Apple IDs under one Apple ID you use to login to the iTunes Store and iCloud across your devices.

Your iTunes music library typically contains DRM-free songs purchased from iTunes (one or more Apple IDs), songs you ripped from CDs and DRM protected songs you previously purchased pre DRM-free days. With iTunes Match you can have iTunes determine which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store. Any music with a match is automatically added to iCloud for you to listen to anytime, on any device.

As a side effect if you delete a song from your library that is DRM protected or of a lower quality than the iTunes Store you can re-download the song again as a DRM-free 256-kbps AAC file. In addition the file ownership is transferred to the Apple ID you use to login to iCloud and the Apple Store. You now essentially have DRM-free, 256-kbps AAC file quality songs under a single Apple ID for $24.99 a year which you can unsubscribe from after you have re-downloaded all your music. That's pretty cool!

Today, Apple released a new update of iTunes 10.5.1. It introduces iTunes Match, which can store your entire music library in iCloud, including music you’ve imported from CDs. You can now enjoy your collection anywhere, anytime, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, computer, or Apple TV. The current version of iTunes 10.5 also includes:

• iTunes in the Cloud which stores your music and TV purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost. 
• Automatic Downloads where music purchased from any device or computer can be automatically downloaded to your other Mac and iOS devices. 
• Downloads of previous purchases where you can download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. However, previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store. 
• Wi-Fi Syncing which automatically syncs your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they’re both on the same Wi-Fi network. For information on the security content of this update, please visit: support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

I transitioned from MobileMe to iCloud last week and it was seamless. However, I knew I would be gaining some functionality but also losing some services. iCloud no longer supports cloud based storage. So access to MobileMe’s iDisk was removed by Apple after the transition. Too me, this is a huge piece of missing functionality in iCloud and hopefully it will return. In fact several sources this week indicated that Apple made an offer to buy Dropbox but the offer was rejected. Apparently, in 2009 Steve met with the co-founders, Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi in Cupertino to discuss an offer.

Well in the meantime it’s out with iDisk and in with Dropbox. It’s pretty easy to sign up with Dropbox, all you need is an email and a password. Then install the Dropbox folder client on your Mac and PC. You can also install the Dropbox App on your iPhone and iPad. Below are screenshots showing the Dropbox folders on your Mac and PC. Even though DropBox is in the cloud, the folders appear and work like a local folder. You can also use the web browser interface but it’s really not necessary. So what cloud based storage service are you using?

Ok, are you confused like everyone else about Apple ID, iCloud, me.com email, mac.com email and your personal email. Let’s review each one of these:

• If you’ve bought music or apps from the iTunes Store then you have an Apple ID which typically is your email address. You might even have one or more Apple IDs. It’s best to only use one Apple ID as all your purchases are associated to that Apple ID. Especially important are updates to Apps which are only downloaded when you are logged into the iTunes Store with a specific Apple ID. 
• iCloud is Apple’s newest service that syncs your contacts, calendar events (iCal), Safari bookmarks, iTunes Store purchases between iPhones and iPads running iOS5 and Macs running OS X Lion. iCloud also provides you with the ability to create an email address in the form of yourname@me.com if you decide you need one. When you login to iCloud for the first time, it creates a new Apple ID if you do not have one or requests you to use your current Apple ID. If your Apple ID is not in the form of an email address, iCloud will not accept it and will prompt you to create a new Apple ID. Early on the iTunes Store allowed Apple IDs that were not in the form of an email address. In this cas
e you will need to use the email Apple ID for iCloud and your non email Apple ID for iTunes Store purchases. 
• The me.com email was created when Apple launched the MobileMe service. If you are NOT currently a MobileMe subscriber, iCloud allows you to create a me.com email address. If you are currently a MobileMe subscriber iCloud will transition your email, contacts, calendar events and Safari bookmarks to the iCloud service. 
• The mac.com email was created when Apple launched the .Mac service. This service was later enhanced and called MobileMe. The mac.com and me.com email addresses are interchangeable. 
• If you were not a .Mac or a MobileMe subscriber you most likely used your personal email to create your Apple ID. If you change your personal email, you should change your Apple ID to the new email to continue receiving receipts and email newsletters from the iTunes Store. If you used your me.com or mac.com email as your Apple ID, you cannot change the Apple ID to another email but the iTunes Store provides a separate email address field. 

For further information see the Apple Support knowledge base article Apple IDs and iCloud and also FAQ about Apple ID. You can create a new Apple ID or manage existing Apple IDs at My Apple ID or within iTunes. Edit.

I just successfully updated from MobileMe to iCloud without a hitch. It definitely took a while and there are a number of steps you should follow. Here is a list of steps I used to successfully transition over:

• Upgrade your iPhone and iPad to iOS 5 by connecting each device to your Mac and using iTunes to upgrade to iOS 5. This will take a while, budget an hour per device depending on the amount of data you have as each device is backed up, upgraded to iOS 5 and then the Apps, data and settings restored.
• Next backup your data on your Mac stored by MobileMe, see previous post. This is in case the transition to iCloud does not go smoothly. Also delete any data you from your iDisk as once you transition to iCloud your access to your iDisk is removed.
• Upgrade your Mac to the latest version of OS X Lion 10.7.2 by clicking on Apple > Software Update. This will provide the iCloud service in System Preferences.
• After the OS X Lion software update, the iCloud login from System Preferences will automatically be displayed. If not go to your System Preference and click on iCloud.
• Enter your existing MobileMe username and password. You will be taken to Safari to login to the MobileMe move page.
• Login to the MobileMe move page and you will be directed through a serious of pages to acknowledge the transition of your email, contacts, calendar and bookmarks to iCloud.
• Once you have transitioned to iCloud your iPhone and iPad will have automatically been updated to transition from MobileMe to iCloud, provided they have been upgraded to iOS 5.
• If you have an older iPhone that cannot be upgraded to iOS 5, your email will still work as the mail servers for iCloud are the same as for MobileMe. Unfortunately, your calendar items will have been removed as they no longer can sync with iCloud. Your contacts and bookmarks will remain but also will no longer be updated.

Hope your transition from MobileMe to iCloud goes smoothly. Let us know if you have any issues.

Apple is due to release the much anticipated iCloud service today. If you are already a MobileMe subscriber and have a me.com email address you will need to transition it to iCloud. However, an iCloud me.com email address is only free for OS X Lion and iOS 5 users so you will need to upgrade your iPhone, iPad and Mac first. You will need to transition from MobileMe to iCloud by June 30, 2012. We recommend that you do the following before transitioning over.

• Save and delete all your photo albums from the Photo Gallery as the gallery is no longer supported. Go to iPhoto and copy the photos from your albums in the gallery and then delete each album.
• Save and delete all your documents from your iDisk as iDisk is no longer supported. Go to your Documents, Music, Pictures, Public and Shared folders on your iDisk and copy the documents to a folder on your Mac.
• Save and delete all your iWeb sites as iWeb is no longer being supported going forward. Go to your Web folder on your iDisk and copy the files to a folder on your Mac.
• Backup each Mailbox in the Mail application. Go to each mailbox, including the folders you store email and right click to bring up the Export Mailbox menu item, then export each mailbox to a folder on your Mac. In the event that your MobileMe email account does not transition correctly to iCloud you can re-import your saved mailboxes back into the Mail application and iCloud.
• Backup your Contacts from the Address Book application. Go to the File > Export > Address Book Archive menu item, then export your contacts to a folder on your Mac.
• Backup your Calendar events from the iCal application. Go to the File > Export > iCal Archive menu item, then export your all your events to a folder on your Mac.
• Backup your Bookmarks from Safari. Go to the File > Export Bookmarks menu item, then export your bookmarks to a folder on your Mac. 

For additional information about the transition from MobileMe to iCloud see the MobileMe Transition FAQ.

Today, Apple announced the iPhone 4S, which did not come in a new iPhone skeleton as expected but came packed with new features.  The iPhone 4S now comes with Apple’s dual-core A5 chip used in the iPad 2 which has up to 2X faster performance and 7X faster graphics. The iPhone 4S also comes with an all new 8 megapixel camera with advanced optics and full 1080p HD resolution video recording. New to the iPhone and only available in the iPhone 4S is an intelligent personal assistant called Siri, the company they bought in May last year. Siri helps you get things done just by asking using natural language. Can't wait to play with Siri! With the announcement, Apple also announced the launch of iOS 5 which has over 200 new features. In addition, Apple also announced iCloud, a complete replacement of MobileMe which has a set of free cloud services that work with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push your content to all your devices. So what do you think of the Apple's announcement yesterday?

Last week Apple introduced iCloud which is a rebrand of their current MobileMe services. I have been using MobileMe for several years now and my iPhone, iPad, iMac and MacBook Pro are all kept in sync. MobileMe keeps your Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, Safari Browser Favourites and Mac Desktop all in sync. With iCloud, Apple have now extended this syncing to Music, iBooks, Photos, Backups and Documents. Even better iCloud will now be free with OS X Lion and iOS 5. So what do you think of the announcement of iCloud. Here is the official release from Apple.

SAN FRANCISCO—June 6, 2011—Apple® today introduced iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free new cloud services that work seamlessly with applications on your iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and automatically and wirelessly push it to all your devices. When anything changes on one of your devices, all of your devices are wirelessly updated almost instantly.

“Today it is a real hassle and very frustrating to keep all your information and content up-to-date across all your devices,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iCloud keeps your important information and content up to date across all your devices. All of this happens automatically and wirelessly, and because it’s integrated into our apps you don’t even need to think about it—it all just works.”

The free iCloud services include:

• The former MobileMe® services—Contacts, Calendar and Mail—all completely re-architected and rewritten to work seamlessly with iCloud. Users can share calendars with friends and family, and the ad-free push Mail account is hosted at me.com. Your inbox and mailboxes are kept up-to-date across all your iOS devices and computers.

• The App Store™ and iBookstore℠ now download purchased iOS apps and books to all your devices, not just the device they were purchased on. In addition, the App Store and iBookstore now let you see your purchase history, and simply tapping the iCloud icon will download any apps and books to any iOS device (up to 10 devices) at no additional cost.

• iCloud Backup automatically and securely backs up your iOS devices to iCloud daily over Wi-Fi when you charge your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Backed up content includes purchased music, apps and books, Camera Roll (photos and videos), device settings and app data. If you replace your iOS device, just enter your Apple ID and password during setup and iCloud restores your new device.

• iCloud Storage seamlessly stores all documents created using iCloud Storage APIs, and automatically pushes them to all your devices. When you change a document on any device, iCloud automatically pushes the changes to all your devices. Apple’s Pages®, Numbers® and Keynote® apps already take advantage of iCloud Storage. Users get up to 5GB of free storage for their mail, documents and backup—which is more amazing since the storage for music, apps and books purchased from Apple, and the storage required by Photo Stream doesn’t count towards this 5GB total. Users will be able to buy even more storage, with details announced when iCloud ships this fall.

• iCloud’s innovative Photo Stream service automatically uploads the photos you take or import on any of your devices and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices and computers. So you can use your iPhone to take a dozen photos of your friends during the afternoon baseball game, and they will be ready to share with the entire group on your iPad (or even Apple TV®) when you return home. Photo Stream is built into the photo apps on all iOS devices, iPhoto® on Macs, and saved to the Pictures folder on a PC. To save space, the last 1,000 photos are stored on each device so they can be viewed or moved to an album to save forever. Macs and PCs will store all photos from the Photo Stream, since they have more storage. iCloud will store each photo in the cloud for 30 days, which is plenty of time to connect your devices to iCloud and automatically download the latest photos from Photo Stream via Wi-Fi.

• iTunes® in the Cloud lets you download your previously purchased iTunes music to all your iOS devices at no additional cost, and new music purchases can be downloaded automatically to all your devices. In addition, music not purchased from iTunes can gain the same benefits by using iTunes Match, a service that replaces your music with a 256 kbps AAC DRM-free version if we can match it to the over 18 million songs in the iTunes Store®, it makes the matched music available in minutes (instead of weeks to upload your entire music library), and uploads only the small percentage of unmatched music. iTunes Match will be available this fall for a $24.99 annual fee. Apple today is releasing a free beta version of iTunes in the Cloud, without iTunes Match, for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users running iOS 4.3. iTunes in the Cloud will support all iPhones that iOS 5 supports this fall.

Apple is ready to ramp iCloud in its three data centers, including the third recently completed in Maiden, NC. Apple has invested over $500 million in its Maiden data center to support the expected customer demand for the free iCloud services.

Pricing & Availability
The iCloud beta and Cloud Storage APIs are available immediately to iOS and Mac Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. iCloud will be available this fall concurrent with iOS 5. Users can sign up for iCloud for free on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 5 or a Mac running Mac OS® X Lion with a valid Apple ID. iCloud includes 5GB of free cloud storage for Mail, Document Storage and Backup. Purchased music, apps, books and Photo Stream do not count against the storage limit. iTunes Match will be available for $24.99 per year (US only).

iTunes in the Cloud is available today in the US and requires iTunes 10.3 and iOS 4.3.3. Automatic download of apps and books is available today. Using iCloud with a PC requires Windows Vista or Windows 7; Outlook 2010 or 2007 is recommended for accessing contacts and calendars.