Apple's MobileMe appears to be having a rough birth, even with the recent 1.1 update and according to MacFixIt, a number of users are reporting synchronization and calendar operation failures with the program. In many cases, these problems seem to stem from errors with Apple's servers, although converted .Mac accounts appear to be performing strangely as well.

For server-related problems, the user is up a creek until Apple irons out the bugs. Still, some viable workarounds have been offered for users wishing to more consistently sync their information and ensure that synchronization is set up properly for automatic send and receive of updated information:

Fixes:

Reset the synchronization data: On your Mac open the MobileMe iSync preferences (from the iSync menu or in the system preferences) and under the "Sync" tab select "Advanced". Then click the "Reset Sync Data" button and you will be presented with the option to replace all sync info or just one type of information (calendars, bookmarks, etc). Select the desired data type and click one of the arrows to ensure you reset in the proper direction. If the data on your Mac is current and up to date, then click the right arrow to replace the data on MobileMe. iSync will then re-sync itself, but it is also recommended to manually invoke sync again by clicking the "Sync Now" button.

Enable automatic synchronization: This is required for the MobileMe "push" synchronization to work properly for some services. Many .Mac users have had their synchronization preferences set to either Manual or to sync at a specific interval, and changing it to automatic will allow the sync to occur when changes are made, resulting in the desired "push" behavior. Go to the iSync system preferences and in the "sync" tab ensure "Synchronize with MobileMe" is checked and set to "Automatically" in the drop-down menu.

Remove relevant preferences files: After resetting the synchronization data and ensuring all contact and calendar data are available on the servers (albeit not syncing automatically), go to the ~/Library/Preferences folder and remove the synchronization preferences files. These are:

~/Library/Preferences/iCalExternalSync.plist
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.DotMacSync.****.plist (**** is unique identifier information)

The article also suggests that users can manually synchronize their data after resetting all their data on either their Mac or their MobileMe disk space. Users can configure manual synchronization in the MobileMe system preference pane, then use iSync to send the data as needed.

As always, we need your feedback. If MobileMe's working for you, let us know. If it's been a nightmare from day one, let us know. The comments and forums are there for a reason.