Apple, whose MobileMe service still doesn't work properly two weeks after the launch, has finally fully acknowledged the problem (well, not fully, they still claim that only one percent have been affected) and promised to fix things soon, sometime in August.

The anonymous post on Apple's site also says that around 10 percent of messages delivered between July 16th and July 18th will have been lost. As I have myself been a victim of the issues (messages I sent to MobileMe users did not reach them, without any error message back), I can say that this 10 percent is like the previous 1 percent, unrealistic that is, shrunk for PR purposes.

Apple worked on a shabby temporary solution which gives users the option of accessing their messages received since the July 18 service outage through a webmail application, but warns that users should not change their MobileMe password, create or change any MobileMe email aliases or change their MobileMe storage allocation while the problem is being worked on.

"We expect to be finished with this process by next Friday but you may have complete access sooner," Apple claims. Friday is August 1.

If you didn't use a desktop e-mail client, bad luck!!!

If you access your MobileMe Mail exclusively at me.com, there’s nothing for you to do.  Your account will be restored, but you will not be able to retrieve any messages that may have been lost from your account.

The still-ongoing technical problems which affect Apple MobileMe users are once again a clear sign that the Cupertino company lacks the required expertise to develop and maintain such a service on its own. Meanwhile, several reviewers have blasted the service as bug-ridden, hit by abundant and frequent problems and overall unreliable. WSJ's Walter Mossberg said the service has just too many flaws to keep its promises.