When I went into business for myself last year, I decided up front that I would make a concerted point to only use software and equipment that was easy to use and maintain. I also decided that my clients should never be exposed to technological issues on my side, whether that be email, phones, calendar scheduling, or simply inefficient technological infrastructures.

This meant (happily) ditching Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, Visio and even Windows. I bought my first mac at that time, loaded it up with Apple iWork ’08 (now using 09) and software from the OmniGroup, and was off and running. As the year progressed, I bought an iPhone, and ultimately an iMac for my office with a little more horsepower.

Once you introduce a second computer into your normal working environment, synchronizing files, address books, emails, etc. become a huge problem. Add to that a phone as well, and there’s little chance you’ll ever be totally synchronized. When you’re self-employed, time is money, and you simply do not have time to deal with these issues.

Introducing MobileMe

(image courtesy of Apple, Inc.)

Now before you laugh, MobileMe is actually a slick service and works great for consultants like myself. And although many individuals find the MobileMe service too expensive ($99/yr) and/or limiting compared to other services, I like that it simply works. MobileMe has been out for some time, I’m new to it. MobileMe, once set up synchronizes everything behind the scenes between any participating computers and phones that you set up, including:

• Address Book – Addresses, emails and phone numbers are always the same
• Calendars – always have your calendar up to date, no matter where you are
• Email Accounts and Signatures
• Saved Passwords (Keychain Access) – ever try to access a password protected system from a computer where your password isn’t saved, and you don’t remember what your password was? No more with MobileMe.
• Apple Dashboard Widgets
• Notes
• Computer Preferences – each computer looks and behaves the same, all the time.

This alone is great, but a few more features make MobileMe really worth it:

• iDisk (disk storage in the “cloud”) – online storage of files, photos, videos, etc.
• Back To My Mac – ability to connect to a remote computer (i.e. home office computer) from any remote location.

Back To My Mac is everything that Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) is supposed to be, but isn’t. From any remote location, I can access shared files and folders on my iMac, access the actual screen (via Screen Sharing), as though I were on my home network. Best of all, its fast and super easy to set up – turn on “Back to my Mac” in the MobileMe settings, and turn on File Sharing and Screen Sharing under your Sharing settings:

(image courtesy of Apple, Inc.)
Geek Note: For those who are interested in the technical details, your router must support UPnP. If it does, it will automatically configure itself to allow remote connections.

Once its set up, you can access your home computer remotely within any Finder window:

(image courtesy of Apple, Inc.)

Now I can get to any of my files, anytime, using MobileMe’s iDisk. All my contacts are always synchronized between my computers and phone (without ever plugging my iPhone into the computer).

Best of all, no matter where I’m at I’m able to run my business efficiently. In the event an unfortunate computer failure happens, my files are all backed up and I’m able to get up and running in no time. My clients never see any technology hiccups. The time to set all this up? Negligible. The return? Endless, in my opinion.