Apple's new MobileMe cloud will rely on self-storage for streaming - rumor

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Rather than providing tens of gigabytes of cloud-based storage for hosting music and other files, Apple's new MobileMe service is likely to rely on the space available on individual users' machines, according to a new report.



The well-sourced Jim Dalrymple at The Loop reported Monday that he believes Apple's new MobileMe will allow cloud syncing and sharing of content, but the actual storage will be hosted on individual users' computers. That runs contrary to some reports which have speculated that Apple will host the files on its own servers -- an approach that he called "a bit much."



"Instead of trying to provide everyone with cloud storage, I believe Apple will use MobileMe as the brain of the cloud service," he said. "The actual storage will be on our individual machines. In effect, in the cloud."



He said the system would allow for every song in a user's library to be listed on an iPhone, though only some of them would be saved locally and others would be downloaded from a user's home PC or Mac via iTunes. A similar approach was detailed in a patent application uncovered last week by AppleInsider, which described seamlessly merging cloud content with locally stored files into one library.



"I also believe that MobileMe will be more than about media," he said. "You will also be able to share and sync files and documents in much the same way. If there is a document on your home system that you need, it will always be available to you. Tap on it, and it downloads to your iPhone or iPad."



He also suggested that the service would sync contacts, calendars and other data, and would be compatible with Macs, the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Windows PCs.



Dalrymple's take is in response to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, which claimed that Apple is looking to revamp MobileMe and make the service serve as a "locker" for content such as music, photos and videos. That approach would "eliminate the need for devices to carry a lot of memory."



The Journal also suggested that MobileMe could become free, a scenario Dalrymple said he believes won't happen. "We may see parts of MobileMe be free," he said, "but there still could be a charge for the main parts of the service."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 77
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    What a dumb idea. Where do these people dream up such foolish rumors?



    If it's stored on my own computer, then there's no value. The whole point of MobileMe is that I want access to my data when my computer is turned off.



    If it's stored on someone else's computer, there are massive privacy concerns.



    Dumb idea - never going to happen.
  • Reply 2 of 77
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    What a dumb idea. Where do these people dream up such foolish rumors? Dumb idea - never going to happen.



    Agreed. It's a backwards model. Apple best stop messing around before Google eats their lunch. A free mobile me service with storage is the only way to sell millions of these things. Anyone who thinks this iPhone nano will be $200 is dreaming. I'd say it'll be free on a mobile hotspot-like contract or otherwise $300 as a simple top-up/pre-pay phone. I have a funny feeling this phone could be a mega-hit if Apple gets it right. It could be the phone of choice for teens, worldwide. A 3" screen sounds like the way to go. The iPhone would remain Apple's premium, business person, adult consumer, grown-up Smartphone.



    As for an App Store and on-board Flash storage - iPhone nano will get both.
  • Reply 3 of 77
    I just want iDisk to actually work... I watch it spin it's little wheel of death when I haven't changed anything all day... then go back to using my free DropBox account.... but, soon I will need to decide where to spend my $100 a year, and DropBox 'just works'.
  • Reply 4 of 77
    ivladivlad Posts: 742member
    This sounds awful coming from a rumors site, but when Steve introduces it and Apple sugar coats it everyone will love it. That's why Apple is always one step ahead of everyone. I can see then Google trying to copy this.
  • Reply 5 of 77
    The well-sourced Jim Dalrymple at The Loop reported Monday that he believes Apple's new MobileMe will allow cloud syncing and sharing of content, but the actual storage will be hosted on individual users' computers. That runs contrary to some reports which have speculated that Apple will host the files on its own servers -- an approach that he called "a bit much."



    Is this not exactly what apple is offering at the moment?



    "Instead of trying to provide everyone with cloud storage, I believe Apple will use MobileMe as the brain of the cloud service," he said. "The actual storage will be on our individual machines. In effect, in the cloud."



    What will be in the cloud when the machines are turned of that hold the actual data?



    He said the system would allow for every song in a user's library to be listed on an iPhone, though only some of them would be saved locally and others would be downloaded from a user's home PC or Mac via iTunes. A similar approach was detailed in a patent application uncovered last week by AppleInsider, which described seamlessly merging cloud content with locally stored files into one library.



    Who is going to setup the technical side of this in a secure way? Apple?



    "I also believe that MobileMe will be more than about media," he said. "You will also be able to share and sync files and documents in much the same way. If there is a document on your home system that you need, it will always be available to you. Tap on it, and it downloads to your iPhone or iPad."



    He also suggested that the service would sync contacts, calendars and other data, and would be compatible with Macs, the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Windows PCs.



    99% if not all is already existing...



    Dalrymple's take is in response to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, which claimed that Apple is looking to revamp MobileMe and make the service serve as a "locker" for content such as music, photos and videos. That approach would "eliminate the need for devices to carry a lot of memory."



    The Journal also suggested that MobileMe could become free, a scenario Dalrymple said he believes won't happen. "We may see parts of MobileMe be free," he said, "but there still could be a charge for the main parts of the service."[/QUOTE]
  • Reply 6 of 77
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,631member
    Makes sense. We already have our content stored on our machines at home. Why should apple duplicate it?



    If apple makes streaming from one's PC simple with zero configuration, just leave on your PC when you leave home and have access to your whole library.
  • Reply 7 of 77
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Eriamjh View Post


    Makes sense. We already have our content stored on our machines at home. Why should apple duplicate it?



    If apple makes streaming from one's PC simple with zero configuration, just leave on your PC when you leave home and have access to your whole library.



    If you've got an iphone (edit: or android), check out Audiogalaxy...it already does this for free, and quite well too. I use it all the time.
  • Reply 8 of 77
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Eriamjh View Post


    Makes sense. We already have our content stored on our machines at home. Why should apple duplicate it?



    Why? I can think of many reasons. You'd be surprised how many "regular people" actually turn off their computers. And this smaller iPhone will sell more so to younger people. Not copying your sync data is retarded, that's the whole idea of backing up, and it's the only way to cut that physical cable. Jim Dalrymple has missed the mark this time, me thinks.
  • Reply 9 of 77
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Rather than providing tens of gigabytes of cloud-based storage for hosting music and other files, Apple's new MobileMe service is likely to rely on the space available on individual users' machines, according to a new report. ...



    This is just dumbass speculation.



    Personally, I think the flaw being made in these kinds of scenarios is in thinking that this cloud service will include your desktop computer. He says it's ridiculous and a "bit much" to expect that Apple will give us all enough space to do this kind of thing, but if you leave out the desktop computer it all becomes very reasonable.



    The cloud as a storage area for Mobile devices means only giving folks the paltry amount of storage that's on your mobile device. If they then add in the idea that anything you *buy* in iTunes is also "in the cloud," it would be rare that anyone would need more than 20 Gigs or so. I think we'll see something like that for free for the iOS devices, and if you want similar for your desktop, you *pay*.
  • Reply 10 of 77
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    What a dumb idea. Where do these people dream up such foolish rumors?



    If it's stored on my own computer, then there's no value. The whole point of MobileMe is that I want access to my data when my computer is turned off.



    If it's stored on someone else's computer, there are massive privacy concerns.



    Dumb idea - never going to happen.



    I agree. I have a feeling that my computer's uptime and reliability are little bit inferior to that of a dedicated server farm with redundancy up the wazoo, and backups of backups of backups.



    I also now have to keep my computer on 24/7? What if there's a power failure? What if my daughter pulls the plug, ala Johnny in "Airplane!"?
  • Reply 11 of 77
    xsuxsu Posts: 401member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Eriamjh View Post


    Makes sense. We already have our content stored on our machines at home. Why should apple duplicate it?



    If apple makes streaming from one's PC simple with zero configuration, just leave on your PC when you leave home and have access to your whole library.



    Make no sense at all. When I think of a cloud service, I envision it to be something available everywhere at ANYTIME. If it depends on me leaving my computer on at all time, then it's just one long figurative wire back home.



    If Apple wants to save on storage space, a smarter way would be to keep track of what content the user is putting into the cloud, if there's an equivalent file in AppStore already, then just save a link to that file. Then the millions of people who bought the same sound track from iTune can all have it in their cloud account, while Apple just need to store it once on their server.
  • Reply 12 of 77
    zoetmbzoetmb Posts: 2,654member
    So let me get this right: As per previous rumors, Apple is going to eliminate the DVD drive, change high-capacity mechanical drives to lower capacity and more expensive SSDs and according to this rumor, not provide a lot of storage space in the cloud and expect the user to use storage on the local device? Besides, as others have posted, the point of the cloud is to have content and files available to any device that you own.



    Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Not happening.
  • Reply 13 of 77
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    What a dumb idea. Where do these people dream up such foolish rumors?



    If it's stored on my own computer, then there's no value. The whole point of MobileMe is that I want access to my data when my computer is turned off.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Agreed. It's a backwards model. Apple best stop messing around before Google eats their lunch. A free mobile me service with storage is the only way to sell millions of these things.



    Like they said. - except there's no reason there can't be a free AND a paid version of MM.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    iPhone Nano - Like

    Anyone who thinks this iPhone nano will be $200 is dreaming. I'd say it'll be free on a mobile hotspot-like contract or otherwise $300 as a simple top-up/pre-pay phone. I have a funny feeling this phone could be a mega-hit if Apple gets it right. It could be the phone of choice for teens, worldwide. A 3" screen sounds like the way to go. The iPhone would remain Apple's premium, business person, adult consumer, grown-up Smartphone.



    As for an App Store and on-board Flash storage - iPhone nano will get both.



    Yes - if this phone does materialize it could be huge. iPod, phone and texting - with dedicated apps. Sign me up for two.
  • Reply 14 of 77
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prof. Peabody View Post


    This is just dumbass speculation.



    Personally, I think the flaw being made in these kinds of scenarios is in thinking that this cloud service will include your desktop computer. He says it's ridiculous and a "bit much" to expect that Apple will give us all enough space to do this kind of thing, but if you leave out the desktop computer it all becomes very reasonable.



    The cloud as a storage area for Mobile devices means only giving folks the paltry amount of storage that's on your mobile device. If they then add in the idea that anything you *buy* in iTunes is also "in the cloud," it would be rare that anyone would need more than 20 Gigs or so. I think we'll see something like that for free for the iOS devices, and if you want similar for your desktop, you *pay*.



    There's no need to pay for the desktop if all your are backing up is what Mobile Me already does. The idea here is for the free Mobile Me - from Apple's POV - to be a selling point for Apple's devices. That's how they cover the costs of it, by selling billions of dollars of phones and only backing up specific data. As for iTunes music, they have no need to backup what they already have on their servers. And they won't give you access to your ripped songs. This is not brain surgery.
  • Reply 15 of 77
    One of the major changes in Apple TV was to vastly reduce on-device storage. Take it from me: BIG mistake! Download speeds were hit so bad that it was actually recommended that you download an Apple rental movie via iTunes to your computer and then stream it to your Apple TV. The previous generation Apple TV didn't have a problem. Unfortunately, this doesn't help with Netflix downloads. I don't even bother with Netflix HD, and its standard play can often leave me tearing out my hair.



    So I can definitely see some advantage to this approach, considering the state of "cloud access" I've experienced. Of course, it may be that my experience is atypical.
  • Reply 16 of 77
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    What a dumb idea. Where do these people dream up such foolish rumors?



    Clearly you never used Simplify Media (or as someone else here posted, Audiogalaxy - thanks for that, I've been hoping someone would replace Simplify's functionality after Google bought them up and shut down the service). I have a Mac Mini hosting hundreds of gigabytes of audio (and a lot more video) to my AppleTV. I don't care if Apple serves my content since I've already got a very capable server at home (and the Mini uses very little power).
  • Reply 17 of 77
    poochpooch Posts: 768member
    simplify media already did something like this (and failed miserably, imho, but google still bought them.) and now there are the likes of zumocast, etc., trying to do it (and failing, again imho). i think it is the way to go, and i've been waiting for someone to do it right. apple just might do it.



    i'm anti-cloud in that i will never trust my content to a third party, so for me this may turn out to be great news.
  • Reply 18 of 77
    "No CLOUD for You!"



    I really don't want my data in the cloud....where anyone with administrative access and proper security controls can view/copy it. Believe me....the people who administer these servers can view your data!
  • Reply 19 of 77
    If it's streamed from one's home computer, I bet it has as much to do with licensing issues as it does with any technological issues. Haven't there been stories about Apple being ready to go with a cloud iTunes for a while, but that the labels have held it up over licensing issues? This could just be an end-run, lemonade out of lemons kind of thing.



    So long as it's implemented well, this could be a good idea. The key, though, is to have very smart caching on the iDevice with advanced options for users who want to be in full control over what is with them and what remains on the computer at home. The last thing I want is to switch from paying for flash memory to paying huge data bills to AT&T. Flash is cheap compared to running through your monthly data limits...
  • Reply 20 of 77
    Dumb rumor. The music streaming will be the same way LaLa was. One mass database, ya know the same one that powers the iTunes store, with tags in your account that you bought the song and thus can stream the full song.
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