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Replace iDisk with your own net disk

25.04.2012
The convenience of MobileMe’s was having Internet-based storage that appeared like a mounted volume in the Finder. You could mount it, transfer items to it, and access it from anywhere. It had the appeal of without the hassle. , MobileMe and iDisk disappear for good on June 30, 2012. While iDisk was never the solution that most of us loved, it was useful, and you may be looking for a replacement.

Apple offers the built-in ability to mount certain kinds of file-sharing services (FTP and WebDAV) in the Finder, but I have never found its approach robust or flexible enough. It also omits two of the most popular ways to access files stored on a remote server (SFTP and Amazon S3). If you have file-sharing access via a hosting company, a storage system like Amazon, or your own servers, Nolobe’s ($30) and Panic’s ($34) offer Finder-accessible access.

Both apps allow a connection to one of many standard file-server protocol types (and a few proprietary ones) to be treated more or less like a Macintosh volume. Your Mac doesn’t know the difference, and the programs handle all the protocol interaction in the background, just as with a standard Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) volume. This is an alternative to the standard browser window approach in these two (and most other) FTP programs, in which you interact with files only through lists in the program itself.

The two programs work with the three most commonly used secured methods of remote access: SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol), widely used by Web hosting companies; WebDAV over HTTPS, a common way of extending file service to a Web server; and Amazon S3 (Simple Storage System), which currently holds 900 billion objects, including web pages and images. All three are safe to use on public networks, as well as at home or in an office. Other less-secure methods are also available, but should only be used on trusted networks. A few secure but less common methods are found in Interarchy. Installing NuFS, a tool for making things that aren’t mountable volumes appear as such to the Finder, is required for Transmit; you’re prompted to do so if it’s not already installed.

The programs approach net disks in entirely distinct fashions. Transmit Disk works like the old default mode of iDisk, providing a window into the file structure of the remote shared server or server path, but not downloading or syncing any files locally. When you perform an operation on a file, it happens immediately. Delete a file, and Transmit removes it from the remote server. Double-click a file or choose it from an Open dialog, and Transmit downloads and caches a version to work on. Save it, and Transmit sends the updated version to replace the copy currently on the remote server.