Apple Reveals More iCloud Details

August 8th, 2011 · 14 notes · #MobileMe #Apple #iCloud #iTunes #Match #iOS #Mac #OS #X #Lion #iPhone #iPad #Mac

Apple has been releasing more information to developers about iCloud, it’s upcoming service that will store email, calendars, documents, and media in Apple’s cloud and sync it across users’ Apple devices. The Cupertino-based computing company plans to open iCloud to the public in the Fall. 

Developers have exclusively learned through their paid accounts that Apple will be providing former subscribers of MobileMe, Apple’s older and current version of iCloud, an extra 20GB of free space in their cloud. The free space will last until June 30, 2012 unless iCloud users choose to subscribe to the service and pay for the additional storage. 

The news comes as a friendly gesture from Apple, whose stock fell more than 20 points Monday morning amid the S&P downgrading crisis. Analysts have suggested buying AAPL, along with other technology stocks, as recent economic activity does not reflect the performance of the technology sector. “Apple could buy Bank of America,” CNBC reporters said.

iCloud is currently in beta and only available to registered developers of Apple’s program. However, Apple has announced the service will launch in the Fall along with iOS 5, Apple’s new operating system for iPhones and iPads. News outlets are also reporting an iPhone 5 release during the same time period, suggesting that Apple wants to get the three products out in time for the holiday season. 

On Cloud Computing and iCloud

April 30th, 2011 · 17 notes · #cloud #computing #icloud #mobileme #google #sync #locker #music #itunes #amazon #cloud #player #storage #dropbox

Lately we’ve been hearing about how tech giants, Apple, Google, and Amazon, are looking into cloud storage and computing services to bring to consumers. In fact, Amazon launched Cloud Storage and Cloud Player earlier this month. Just this week rumors have been flying after Apple reportedly bought the domain iCloud.com. Rumor mills have been connecting it to the huge data center in North Carolina Apple has been building for what seems like a decade. 

Besides MobileMe, which I mostly use just for my email, I’ve never been a huge advocate for cloud services. Yes, not even Dropbox. I’ve signed up for Dropbox and deleted my account at least five times after friends have talked to me about how much they love it and how much it’s improved since the last time I’ve used it. I suppose my distaste for Dropbox and other cloud storage comes from the fact that I only own one computer, a MacBook Pro, already mobile enough for me to carry wherever I need to.

What bothers me about cloud computing and cloud services in general is that your data isn’t really in the cloud, it’s on another computer or server somewhere around the world. Yes, I do understand the servers are in state of the art data center protected by steel walls and 24 hour security, that’s not what bothers me. What bothers me is that it’s still one another server. I’m someone who likes to know where my data is and what it’s doing at all times. I like having it right on my local hard drive, literally millimeters above my hand typing on the MacBook Pro keyboard.

For me to be satisfied with cloud computing, the provider would need to give me an option to download the entire contents of my cloud onto my local hard drive and onto an external hard drive that I own. I would then use my local hard drive, in my computer, to boot into my OS and access my files to carry out daily computing tasks, but if something were to happen to that local hard drive, I would want to be able to restore from my cloud provider. Since everything I have on my local hard drive is up there too, it would be as though nothing happened. Essentially, I want a Time Machine in the cloud, not a cloud OS. 

Until the world is connected to the Internet everywhere, all the time, which I believe will not happen for decades, cloud media and music playing will never work for me. When I listen to music, I’m at home, on a plane, or in the car. Only one of those locations has a solid Internet connection. What’s more is that when I’m on a plane or in the car traveling, I will be watching movies and TV shows more than I’m listening to music. As you all know, streaming a movie or TV show from the cloud would require much more bandwidth and an extremely stable connection. This would be very difficult, especially since I’m in constant motion as I’m passing through cities and mountains.

The “cloud” has always been an interesting concept. There’s been a 70% increase in companies using cloud services, although I’m fairly certain their “cloud” is just email, calendar, and contacts, something many of us already use thanks to Google Sync and MobileMe. For the cloud services we’re dreaming about - storage, playing, and computing - to really catch on, someone needs to do it right, but they will not be able to do it right anytime soon.