![Picture 3.png](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_uT-6DNNXTO4/SfrZcNRDfVI/AAAAAAAASoc/i_krGtYDpL0/Picture%203.png?imgmax=800)
Syncing is a hard problem. In the days of the palm pilot I used to sync with several computers and use the palm as a way to do this, but sometimes I'd end up with duplicates of everything. Great way to spend a few hours on a flight - deleting every duplicate contact.
Now that I have an iPhone, the instant syncing of new contacts and appointments is fantastic.
There's one feature of MobileMe I've never tried before, the iDisk sync to your local machine.
![Picture 2.png](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_uT-6DNNXTO4/SfraSQceZJI/AAAAAAAASok/SwIbs7wtXcI/Picture%202.png?imgmax=800)
If you turn on iDisk Sync in MobileMe preferences, the contents of your iDisk are copied to the local computer and any changes at either end are synchronised.
![Picture 1.png](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_uT-6DNNXTO4/Sfra7r53_qI/AAAAAAAASo8/9Oi-pghWLyM/Picture%201.png?imgmax=800)
I've read some pretty bad comments about this feature, and it hasn't all been plain sailing for me, I've had a few sync errors even though I'm just syncing one computer so far.
Presumably they are having to sync over a WebDAV connection and can't take advantage of rsync style optimised algorithms. It seems to spend a lot of time "checking items" when I know rsync can do this in a fraction of a second.
One interesting thing is that even though the contents are actually stored on my local disk, it behaves as a separate volume and dragging a file to the iDisk copies it as if it were remote.
It gives me a great sense of security knowing that my key work documents are available even if my laptop is damaged or lost. Combine that with a Time Machine backup and I feel more backed up than ever before.
Update
![Failed.png](http://lh5.ggpht.com/_uT-6DNNXTO4/SgazqW15TjI/AAAAAAAASss/TN9oQnbOTUI/Failed.png?imgmax=800)
Hmm, I do run into some problems. If sync fails, while there are tips around on the net, there's no user interface to resolve these issues.
If I edit documents in the iDisk area while auto sync is enabled I get errors like this:
![idiskerror.png](http://lh6.ggpht.com/_uT-6DNNXTO4/Sga06OcbkmI/AAAAAAAAStE/pbAVTXoj8go/idiskerror.png?imgmax=800)
So after a few weeks, my initial enthusiasm has waned a bit. Syncing to the cloud like this is something I want to do, but it's a tough problem. iDisk sync is on the way, but it's not there yet.
Update - works great after 10.5.7
I'm happy to report that since the system update to 10.5.7 iDisk Sync seems to be working perfectly. I haven't seen any errors and syncing seems as fast as I would expect given the file sizes and internet speeds I'm working with.
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