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Allow Internet users to upload files to a password-protected folder on your iDisk, and set up automatic notification so that you are aware that a new file has been added...

Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) lets you keep a local copy of your .Mac iDisk and sync this with the online version automatically or manually. See System Preferences > .Mac > iDisk and check "Create a local copy of your iDisk".

Your iDisk contains a Public folder which you can configure (from the same Preferences pane) to allow others read and write access, and to password-protect this folder.

Using .Mac's HomePage feature, you can create a file-sharing Web page to allow users to easily browse the contents of your Public iDisk folder. But folks can't upload any files from this page: for this they need Apple's iDisk Utility (for Mac OS X and Windows XP) and—if you set one—the proper password. Password-protection helps ensure the general public don't use your iDisk for their own personal storage requirements!

So how do you know if you have any new files? Well, you could ask your friends to send you an e-mail, or your could make use of the iDisk sync feature and Mac OS X's Folder Actions to notify you when your Public folder is changed. To set up a Folder Action, right-click in the Finder and choose Enable Folder Actions from the pop-up menu (if you haven't already; they're off by default).

Use the Folder Actions Setup utility to add a folder (use the plus button to select your iDisk Public folder) and then in the right pane add a Folder Action script: in this case, "add - new item alert.scpt":

Once this is configured, the next time your iDisk syncs (whether manually or automatically) you'll see an alert like this:

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