I keep a local backup of those files, but I only back them up once every two weeks or so, just in case. Besides, the iDisk folder sitting on my desktop appears to be a local copy.
Mind you, I have access to MobileMe (and therefore my iDisk) from any web browser anywhere in the world. I can access them from my iPhone as well, over 3G.
Yeah, that would really be my only concern. Not all ISPs are created equal, and internet reliability can vary from place to place. I'd hate to be in a pinch and find that somehow my internet was down, or my router was acting funky, or my modem had gone *poof*, etc. and I couldn't access an important file.
Backing up a copy locally is a perfect solution (kinda defeats the purpose, though). And then if your hard drive goes out, you've got a copy safe and sound on your iDisk.
I bought an EEE PC (netbook) several weeks ago and it came with an online "drive" that is integrated with the Windows XP explorer. I haven't used it yet, but I probably should.
"Samsung wants to use a high-end OS on its new wifi-enabled G4 smartphone. It only has 512 meg of flash devoted to program memory, as the remaining 15 gig is for music and other media. So conserving file system space is important to Samsung's users. But Samsung wants to run a high-end Ubuntu-Mobile distribution, and doesn't want to pick-and-choose between default installed packages. NetFS allows Samsung to effectively install the whole distribution. As users use their device, only files they actually use get downloaded (over the G4 network) and locally cached, creating a 10X improvement in the number of applications they can easily access.
Nicole runs a popular on-line video site from her basement. Her 40KB/sec upload speed has become a major obstacle, and she doesn't want to upgrade to a T1. She encourages her viewers to use NetFS, and enjoys watching her user base grow by 10,000X, all driven from an old PC and a DSL line.
A popular ISP is getting killed with BitTorrent traffic, which keeps encrypting streams and changing ports, so traffic shaping and file caching isn't working. The ISP encourages users to switch to NetFS for their legal file downloads, and runs a file caching server, reducing expensive external network traffic, while improving their customer's on-line experience."
Seems like a way Apple could use to maintain itunes distribution speeds and save bandwidth.
It may be just a way to interact with a remote filesystem though since they still haven't fixed FTP.
Regarding the Apple as Netflix theory, I find this intriguing. However, I think Netflix is very well run and that an Apple takeover wouldn't be any slam dunk. Even so, were it to happen, consider how dead the post office would be.
Already strapped for cash, the USPS is considering the idea of closing on Saturdays. It wasn't that long ago that the government monopoly was grousing about the difficulty associated with processing Netflix DVDs--far and away one of their top customers. It's funny. Most businesses try to cater to their top customers...
And now the USPS may be doomed by Apple?
I think the government monopoly should spend more money on advertising; that'll save it. LOL.
I just read the link someone posted regarding Gassée and the notion that Apple is becoming a service company over a hardware company.
What would this mean for OSX on third party hardware?
The argument that Apple would never again license their OS to outsiders was always predicated on Apple making their money from hardware. It will be a while, maybe a decade, but I think the OS will be opened up eventually--Linux for one reason.
While i wont bet against apple, I have huge doubt about this Cloud Computing that everyone is dreaming of.
While Apple's biggest Customer is based is US, but it is Apple World Wide that is gaining the momentum and revenue increase. To serve Cloud Computing like Google would require a similar size Data Center WORLD WIDE. Not just US, or not just one in US.
The article doesn't mention, Apple has Just ONE smaller Data Center in Newark, Calif. Compare to Microsoft, which aren't even in the forefront of Cloud Computing like Amazon and Google, (they will be, but not now ) had Multiple of Similar Huge Data Center just in US.
And Since NC aren't even closed to large hubs, which would mean, the server, or application they are doing, wont be Latency Sensitive.
My guess would be something simple. Itunes oversea is expanding rapidly, bandwidth in US is cheap, Electricity in NC is cheaper then EU, using CDN to serve future EU customer. The new Data Server would simply ease the pressure that will gain from Opening up Itunes Store with no DRM, and the most important part. The App Store. I believe with future iPad ( Please, Apple call it something else or you will make millions of people sick ) , iPod touch and iPhone would greatly exceed the current infrastructure apple have in place for itunes.
And, Building an Data Center doesn't take a long time. If Apple had it all planned out, it will properly take 1 year from build to function.
Go back to the premise of the article - (paraphrasing): "...maybe it's not that Google is encroaching onto Apple's areas, but the opposite..."
Maybe Apple is going to go up against Google with a far better web search.
Web searching is actually still quite poor. Most searches return hundreds of thousands of hits, most of which are actually mostly irrelevant to your search query. No one looks past page 2 or 3 of the results anyway. You can only use keywords and not do any field searching. There's no Boolean operators. Older results come up before newer ones that are probably more relevant.
Maybe Apple is going to reinvent web searching.
That's not to say that Cloud computing isn't also part of this, but I think it's more than that because Cloud versions of iWork and iLife is not going to add to Apple's revenue stream.
This is not about providing data facilities for broadcasters (as another poster has proposed). First of all, most broadcasts are fed from networks. Individual stations do not own any of their content, except perhaps for news and public affairs programs. Broadcast playout systems are tied into scheduling programs, rights management systems and ad sales systems. I can't see this being removed from broadcast/cable networks own data centers. And when broadcasters license movies, generally the master tapes are not permitted to be moved anywhere outside the broadcaster's own facility. VOD systems are generally far more sophisticated than buying a video on iTunes.
Go back to the premise of the article - (paraphrasing): "...maybe it's not that Google is encroaching onto Apple's areas, but the opposite..."
Maybe Apple is going to go up against Google with a far better web search.
Web searching is actually still quite poor. Most searches return hundreds of thousands of hits, most of which are actually mostly irrelevant to your search query. No one looks past page 2 or 3 of the results anyway. You can only use keywords and not do any field searching. There's no Boolean operators. Older results come up before newer ones that are probably more relevant.
Maybe Apple is going to reinvent web searching.
That's not to say that Cloud computing isn't also part of this, but I think it's more than that because Cloud versions of iWork and iLife is not going to add to Apple's revenue stream.
This is not about providing data facilities for broadcasters (as another poster has proposed). First of all, most broadcasts are fed from networks. Individual stations do not own any of their content, except perhaps for news and public affairs programs. Broadcast playout systems are tied into scheduling programs, rights management systems and ad sales systems. I can't see this being removed from broadcast/cable networks own data centers. And when broadcasters license movies, generally the master tapes are not permitted to be moved anywhere outside the broadcaster's own facility. VOD systems are generally far more sophisticated than buying a video on iTunes.
Interesting take. I agree about current results, I have two main complaints (not that I could live without google though lol); lack of dates on all entries and lack of veracity, the latter being unsolvable I guess. It is getting scary how scam artists simply post a few web site articles then claim what they say or sell is OK and use the web references to prove it. So many people out there believe if it is on the 'web' it is true!
The problem is, Google is already the VERY best at web searching, the amount of information it has to process are truly staggering. Not only do Apple has ZERO expertise in searching, OSX is not even build for this type of Operation either, fine tuning OSX would require 2 - 3 years even with X number of Genius.
Maybe this server farm could be used as an extension for mobile me. imagine this:a netbook that doesn't just provide mobility and affordability but more of a device that compliments say your MBP or iMac through the cloud i mean mobile me already allows u to access your mac remotley but maybe this new device (probably the rumored netbook) will allow you to edit them and create new ones (say by using the mac's processor through the cloud??)but I have to admit I don't fully understand if that is in any way possible or how this might work but I just think that a device that allows you to carry your mac everywhere and access it through the cloud would be amazing and revolutionary and will definetly add something to the netbook market. I can already imagine the slogan... Your mac everywhere, Introducing iPad. ?But what do I know.
Google has google apps. One of these cloud applications is a mail server (Gmail). When will Apple run their own mail server? Not all of us want to use Exchange at work..............
Um, they do. They make OS X Server which when setup correctly can easily trump MS Sharepoint, Exchange and more... Best part, it's 1/10th the cost and no ala carte user fee's.
The problem is, Google is already the VERY best at web searching, the amount of information it has to process are truly staggering. Not only do Apple has ZERO expertise in searching, OSX is not even build for this type of Operation either, fine tuning OSX would require 2 - 3 years even with X number of Genius.
I believe searching is one. iTunes is another. However it's gonna be more about SuperComputing as a whole. A real complete integration between Apple services, products the web wrapped around OS 10.7/8. The only way to use the service/feature set or package would be on a Mac. Making the killer app for Apple yet again and resulting in ever larger and exponential increase in market share.
Spotlight can index an entire 1tb worth of PDF, Dicom, DOC's, in a few minutes and even does extremely well with the metadata. Re-tooling it for web wouldn't take much.
Also keep in mind it's gonna be a few years till it's all on-line. It's just open land right now. A building, power system, etc... to house and maintain all of this can't be done overnight.
Comments
I don't know. Never happened. Good question.
I keep a local backup of those files, but I only back them up once every two weeks or so, just in case. Besides, the iDisk folder sitting on my desktop appears to be a local copy.
Mind you, I have access to MobileMe (and therefore my iDisk) from any web browser anywhere in the world. I can access them from my iPhone as well, over 3G.
Yeah, that would really be my only concern. Not all ISPs are created equal, and internet reliability can vary from place to place. I'd hate to be in a pinch and find that somehow my internet was down, or my router was acting funky, or my modem had gone *poof*, etc. and I couldn't access an important file.
Backing up a copy locally is a perfect solution (kinda defeats the purpose, though). And then if your hard drive goes out, you've got a copy safe and sound on your iDisk.
I bought an EEE PC (netbook) several weeks ago and it came with an online "drive" that is integrated with the Windows XP explorer. I haven't used it yet, but I probably should.
http://netfs.sourceforge.net/
"Samsung wants to use a high-end OS on its new wifi-enabled G4 smartphone. It only has 512 meg of flash devoted to program memory, as the remaining 15 gig is for music and other media. So conserving file system space is important to Samsung's users. But Samsung wants to run a high-end Ubuntu-Mobile distribution, and doesn't want to pick-and-choose between default installed packages. NetFS allows Samsung to effectively install the whole distribution. As users use their device, only files they actually use get downloaded (over the G4 network) and locally cached, creating a 10X improvement in the number of applications they can easily access.
Nicole runs a popular on-line video site from her basement. Her 40KB/sec upload speed has become a major obstacle, and she doesn't want to upgrade to a T1. She encourages her viewers to use NetFS, and enjoys watching her user base grow by 10,000X, all driven from an old PC and a DSL line.
A popular ISP is getting killed with BitTorrent traffic, which keeps encrypting streams and changing ports, so traffic shaping and file caching isn't working. The ISP encourages users to switch to NetFS for their legal file downloads, and runs a file caching server, reducing expensive external network traffic, while improving their customer's on-line experience."
Seems like a way Apple could use to maintain itunes distribution speeds and save bandwidth.
It may be just a way to interact with a remote filesystem though since they still haven't fixed FTP.
Already strapped for cash, the USPS is considering the idea of closing on Saturdays. It wasn't that long ago that the government monopoly was grousing about the difficulty associated with processing Netflix DVDs--far and away one of their top customers. It's funny. Most businesses try to cater to their top customers...
And now the USPS may be doomed by Apple?
I think the government monopoly should spend more money on advertising; that'll save it. LOL.
What would this mean for OSX on third party hardware?
The argument that Apple would never again license their OS to outsiders was always predicated on Apple making their money from hardware. It will be a while, maybe a decade, but I think the OS will be opened up eventually--Linux for one reason.
While Apple's biggest Customer is based is US, but it is Apple World Wide that is gaining the momentum and revenue increase. To serve Cloud Computing like Google would require a similar size Data Center WORLD WIDE. Not just US, or not just one in US.
The article doesn't mention, Apple has Just ONE smaller Data Center in Newark, Calif. Compare to Microsoft, which aren't even in the forefront of Cloud Computing like Amazon and Google, (they will be, but not now ) had Multiple of Similar Huge Data Center just in US.
And Since NC aren't even closed to large hubs, which would mean, the server, or application they are doing, wont be Latency Sensitive.
My guess would be something simple. Itunes oversea is expanding rapidly, bandwidth in US is cheap, Electricity in NC is cheaper then EU, using CDN to serve future EU customer. The new Data Server would simply ease the pressure that will gain from Opening up Itunes Store with no DRM, and the most important part. The App Store. I believe with future iPad ( Please, Apple call it something else or you will make millions of people sick ) , iPod touch and iPhone would greatly exceed the current infrastructure apple have in place for itunes.
And, Building an Data Center doesn't take a long time. If Apple had it all planned out, it will properly take 1 year from build to function.
Maybe Apple is going to go up against Google with a far better web search.
Web searching is actually still quite poor. Most searches return hundreds of thousands of hits, most of which are actually mostly irrelevant to your search query. No one looks past page 2 or 3 of the results anyway. You can only use keywords and not do any field searching. There's no Boolean operators. Older results come up before newer ones that are probably more relevant.
Maybe Apple is going to reinvent web searching.
That's not to say that Cloud computing isn't also part of this, but I think it's more than that because Cloud versions of iWork and iLife is not going to add to Apple's revenue stream.
This is not about providing data facilities for broadcasters (as another poster has proposed). First of all, most broadcasts are fed from networks. Individual stations do not own any of their content, except perhaps for news and public affairs programs. Broadcast playout systems are tied into scheduling programs, rights management systems and ad sales systems. I can't see this being removed from broadcast/cable networks own data centers. And when broadcasters license movies, generally the master tapes are not permitted to be moved anywhere outside the broadcaster's own facility. VOD systems are generally far more sophisticated than buying a video on iTunes.
Go back to the premise of the article - (paraphrasing): "...maybe it's not that Google is encroaching onto Apple's areas, but the opposite..."
Maybe Apple is going to go up against Google with a far better web search.
Web searching is actually still quite poor. Most searches return hundreds of thousands of hits, most of which are actually mostly irrelevant to your search query. No one looks past page 2 or 3 of the results anyway. You can only use keywords and not do any field searching. There's no Boolean operators. Older results come up before newer ones that are probably more relevant.
Maybe Apple is going to reinvent web searching.
That's not to say that Cloud computing isn't also part of this, but I think it's more than that because Cloud versions of iWork and iLife is not going to add to Apple's revenue stream.
This is not about providing data facilities for broadcasters (as another poster has proposed). First of all, most broadcasts are fed from networks. Individual stations do not own any of their content, except perhaps for news and public affairs programs. Broadcast playout systems are tied into scheduling programs, rights management systems and ad sales systems. I can't see this being removed from broadcast/cable networks own data centers. And when broadcasters license movies, generally the master tapes are not permitted to be moved anywhere outside the broadcaster's own facility. VOD systems are generally far more sophisticated than buying a video on iTunes.
Interesting take. I agree about current results, I have two main complaints (not that I could live without google though lol); lack of dates on all entries and lack of veracity, the latter being unsolvable I guess. It is getting scary how scam artists simply post a few web site articles then claim what they say or sell is OK and use the web references to prove it. So many people out there believe if it is on the 'web' it is true!
Maybe Apple is going to reinvent web searching.
Not a Single Chance.
The problem is, Google is already the VERY best at web searching, the amount of information it has to process are truly staggering. Not only do Apple has ZERO expertise in searching, OSX is not even build for this type of Operation either, fine tuning OSX would require 2 - 3 years even with X number of Genius.
Google has google apps. One of these cloud applications is a mail server (Gmail). When will Apple run their own mail server? Not all of us want to use Exchange at work..............
Um, they do. They make OS X Server which when setup correctly can easily trump MS Sharepoint, Exchange and more... Best part, it's 1/10th the cost and no ala carte user fee's.
Not a Single Chance.
The problem is, Google is already the VERY best at web searching, the amount of information it has to process are truly staggering. Not only do Apple has ZERO expertise in searching, OSX is not even build for this type of Operation either, fine tuning OSX would require 2 - 3 years even with X number of Genius.
I believe searching is one. iTunes is another. However it's gonna be more about SuperComputing as a whole. A real complete integration between Apple services, products the web wrapped around OS 10.7/8. The only way to use the service/feature set or package would be on a Mac. Making the killer app for Apple yet again and resulting in ever larger and exponential increase in market share.
Spotlight can index an entire 1tb worth of PDF, Dicom, DOC's, in a few minutes and even does extremely well with the metadata. Re-tooling it for web wouldn't take much.
Also keep in mind it's gonna be a few years till it's all on-line. It's just open land right now. A building, power system, etc... to house and maintain all of this can't be done overnight.