As Apple plans to push its iCloud service to consumers this fall, a new survey has found that most people don't even know what the term "cloud computing" means.
People don't know what "cloud computing" means because the marketing weasels at too many companies don't know what they're hawking, or, even worse, the companies themselves don't really have a grasp of what services they're trying to sell. They know only that the "Cloud" is the next Big Thing, and they're convinced they need to be in it.
Or rather, there are dozens of different model. You can store data in the cloud so it will be available to you elsewhere. There's Dropbox. Google apps, where the app's in the cloud, the browser's in the crowd, and you back up to your hard drive.
iCloud is the most radical approach so far, I think. Copying is immediate, ideally you have to do nothing to have the same docs appear everywhere without saying "save." It may represent a new file system, in effect, by spreading things across the net.
I'm glad they seem to be rolling this out slowly, piece by piece.
We've had this discussion not too long ago on these forums. Even people here had/have a very narrow view of what the cloud is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleZilla
What's really confusing is that you're not really putting your data in the cloud with iCloud, you're mirroring it there.
They should have called it 'iMirror.'
How about we make rainbow a verb to denote it's effect with the cloud.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella
Note: Anyone who has a MobileMe account* will automatically have the 25GB of storage for free through June 2012.
* I assume that those with family plans will get whatever their MM family plan offers plus 5GB for iCloud, not the 20Gb plus 5GB of the primary and single users.
Rather unfortunate choice of acronym there as it also stands for narcissistic personality disorder.
Quick story. I worked in our company's HR Systems department for a while. Every time I heard the business folks talking casually someone on STD I had this fleeting look of shock on my face and chuckled a bit inside (sophomoric, I know). It was weeks until I learned that they were talking about Short Term Disability.
Currently writing my post graduate dissertation - the topic is cloud computing. The entire literature review was just on finding out what on earth it actually was! After doing all of that, I am now baffled and rather confused about iCloud. What part of it is "cloud", exactly? So far its just a sync service and web mail, typical web2.0 stuff. I think Apple has taken the buzzword at face value and ran with it.
I'm not sure I'd even consider Apple's iCloud, in it's current form, as "cloud computing". More like cloud storage. Even with the example of email cited in the article, most people will use their iDevice's or computers email client to access the messages stored in the cloud. They won't be using the web-based email client. So under that usage assumption, it's just the same old email that we've had for over a decade.
Maybe I'm being too much of a stickler with the defintion of cloud computing, but I just don't see a whole lot of computing going on in the iCloud.
Totally agree. Traditionally, cloud computing was about running applications on a remote system, so you wouldn't need a fast machine with loads of storage, and all your programs would be accessible from everywhere. That's what cloud computing is. Apple is simply hijacking the name because it is trendy to talk about cloud computing these days (InformationWeek for example has probably been something like 90% about cloud computing an all the CIO mumbo-jumbo surrounding it, such as SaaS, PaaS and whatever *aaS).
iCloud is not 'cloud computing'. Amazon EC2 or Google App Engine are cloud services. iCloud is also not 'cloud storage'. Dropbox or Google Music are cloud storage. What iCloud is, is cloud storage + automatic synchronization. I think it's actually quite clever, because it concentrates on ease-of-use for consumers, not on enterprise use patterns, or just allowing people to dump their files somewhere online (which is something that has been available for 10 years or something). The whole idea that you want to have your applications 'running in the cloud' doesn't make sense for the vast majority of consumer applications. In fact, most of the time, a native application that pulls it's data from cloud storage is much, much more flexible and enjoyable to use. If the files are automatically synced so every device has fast access to it, even while offline, that's even better. I think Apple is going in the right direction with this.
Currently writing my post graduate dissertation - the topic is cloud computing. The entire literature review was just on finding out what on earth it actually was! After doing all of that, I am now baffled and rather confused about iCloud. What part of it is "cloud", exactly? So far its just a sync service and web mail, typical web2.0 stuff. I think Apple has taken the buzzword at face value and ran with it.
Once Apple starts up iCloud, then Cloud Computing will mean iCloud. Everybody will know that it is the "real deal" and that everyone will consider the other companies to be just copying.
Totally agree. Traditionally, cloud computing was about running applications on a remote system, so you wouldn't need a fast machine with loads of storage, and all your programs would be accessible from everywhere. That's what cloud computing is.
I know, that's why I mentioned it in my previous post
SaaS is just the now-hip-and-trendy-in-the-enterprise name for what originally was called 'cloud computing'. The fact that cloud storage and synchronization is now also called 'cloud computing' only contributes to the confusion mentioned in this article.
I'm not sure I'd even consider Apple's iCloud, in it's current form, as "cloud computing". More like cloud storage.
But a crippled Cloud storage. I can't store just anything there, only specific documents which Apple has blessed. Yes, I'll be missing iDisk alot. I've been an Apple fan since I bought my first Apple //e, but I think they made a major error not accommodating an "iDisk-like" file storage service.
But a crippled Cloud storage. I can't store just anything there, only specific documents which Apple has blessed. Yes, I'll be missing iDisk alot. I've been an Apple fan since I bought my first Apple //e, but I think they made a major error not accommodating an "iDisk-like" file storage service.
Have you not read a damn thing or choose to spread FUD? Do you not understand that iDIsk is an app on iOS and that Dropbox, SugarSync et al. could easily tie into iCloud with the APIs?
You have a fraking year before iDisk goes away, even after you start using iCloud, so if you can't find one of the many better solution in that time then the fault falls on you, not Apple.
Indeed. It will help folks understand better by relating the concept to their primary exposure to technology. For instance, the Cloud to me is similar to handing my boxes of punched cards to the man in the white cloud coat at the data center. I can then access my program from various terminals...
Yeah... That's an explanation that will resonate with about .005% of the Apple user base.
'cloud' essentially means anything being stored or run other than on your own local machine, where you have neither control nor responsibility.
It can mean that you don't have to maintain local apps, or that you don't concern yourself with storage and backup. Or in the case of iCloud, simply that you have an authoritative source available from any device.
Apple has hardly 'hijacked' anything here. It's essentially a marketing term that can mean about anything.
Have you not read a damn thing or choose to spread FUD? Do you not understand that iDIsk is an app on iOS and that Dropbox, SugarSync et al. could easily tie into iCloud with the APIs?
You have a fraking year before iDisk goes away, even after you start using iCloud, so if you can't find one of the many better solution in that time then the fault falls on you, not Apple.
Geez dude...calm down, grab a beer...go get laid....
Of course I can replace iDisk functionality...I can replace my whole Mac with a Windoze machine if I were self-destructive. But I liked the seamless integration of iDisk with my Mac, and I still maintain that the direction they're heading is a mistake, IMHO.
Oh...and if you think iDisk was just "an app on iOS"..then you haven't been paying attention either.
And FUD? really? REALLY!? 1. No fear, an observation. 2. Not uncertain. Apple has announced termination of iDisk support. 3. No doubt about it (see #2).
Personally I reject many cloud solutions not because of the technology but the impossibility of ever having full security for your data. In a nut shell the cloud is no place for sensitive information.
As to the problem with marketing the cloud and getting people to buy in, it is pretty clear that any value in cloud computing is fairly superficial. People aren't stupid thus I don't expect a mad rush to cloud services.
This then brings up the question of iCloud and exactly what it is. If anything it is less of a cloud service than MobileMe, a step backwards if you will. It actually looks like a file server that Apple uses to swap files back and forth on.
In the end I suspect Apples biggest problem will be people asking: what do I need this for? For many of us it is less compelling than MobileMe.
Comments
I just can't get cirrus about cloud computing, Maybe a thunderbolt will help.
You sir just made my day
As Apple plans to push its iCloud service to consumers this fall, a new survey has found that most people don't even know what the term "cloud computing" means.
People don't know what "cloud computing" means because the marketing weasels at too many companies don't know what they're hawking, or, even worse, the companies themselves don't really have a grasp of what services they're trying to sell. They know only that the "Cloud" is the next Big Thing, and they're convinced they need to be in it.
iCloud is the most radical approach so far, I think. Copying is immediate, ideally you have to do nothing to have the same docs appear everywhere without saying "save." It may represent a new file system, in effect, by spreading things across the net.
I'm glad they seem to be rolling this out slowly, piece by piece.
What's really confusing is that you're not really putting your data in the cloud with iCloud, you're mirroring it there.
They should have called it 'iMirror.'
How about we make rainbow a verb to denote it's effect with the cloud.
Note: Anyone who has a MobileMe account* will automatically have the 25GB of storage for free through June 2012.
* I assume that those with family plans will get whatever their MM family plan offers plus 5GB for iCloud, not the 20Gb plus 5GB of the primary and single users.
But a new survey from the NPD Group also found that just 22 percent of consumers are familiar with the term "cloud computing."
Rather unfortunate choice of acronym there as it also stands for narcissistic personality disorder.
Rather unfortunate choice of acronym there as it also stands for narcissistic personality disorder.
Quick story. I worked in our company's HR Systems department for a while. Every time I heard the business folks talking casually someone on STD I had this fleeting look of shock on my face and chuckled a bit inside (sophomoric, I know). It was weeks until I learned that they were talking about Short Term Disability.
I'm not sure I'd even consider Apple's iCloud, in it's current form, as "cloud computing". More like cloud storage. Even with the example of email cited in the article, most people will use their iDevice's or computers email client to access the messages stored in the cloud. They won't be using the web-based email client. So under that usage assumption, it's just the same old email that we've had for over a decade.
Maybe I'm being too much of a stickler with the defintion of cloud computing, but I just don't see a whole lot of computing going on in the iCloud.
Totally agree. Traditionally, cloud computing was about running applications on a remote system, so you wouldn't need a fast machine with loads of storage, and all your programs would be accessible from everywhere. That's what cloud computing is. Apple is simply hijacking the name because it is trendy to talk about cloud computing these days (InformationWeek for example has probably been something like 90% about cloud computing an all the CIO mumbo-jumbo surrounding it, such as SaaS, PaaS and whatever *aaS).
iCloud is not 'cloud computing'. Amazon EC2 or Google App Engine are cloud services. iCloud is also not 'cloud storage'. Dropbox or Google Music are cloud storage. What iCloud is, is cloud storage + automatic synchronization. I think it's actually quite clever, because it concentrates on ease-of-use for consumers, not on enterprise use patterns, or just allowing people to dump their files somewhere online (which is something that has been available for 10 years or something). The whole idea that you want to have your applications 'running in the cloud' doesn't make sense for the vast majority of consumer applications. In fact, most of the time, a native application that pulls it's data from cloud storage is much, much more flexible and enjoyable to use. If the files are automatically synced so every device has fast access to it, even while offline, that's even better. I think Apple is going in the right direction with this.
Currently writing my post graduate dissertation - the topic is cloud computing. The entire literature review was just on finding out what on earth it actually was! After doing all of that, I am now baffled and rather confused about iCloud. What part of it is "cloud", exactly? So far its just a sync service and web mail, typical web2.0 stuff. I think Apple has taken the buzzword at face value and ran with it.
Once Apple starts up iCloud, then Cloud Computing will mean iCloud. Everybody will know that it is the "real deal" and that everyone will consider the other companies to be just copying.
Totally agree. Traditionally, cloud computing was about running applications on a remote system, so you wouldn't need a fast machine with loads of storage, and all your programs would be accessible from everywhere. That's what cloud computing is.
That is called "Software as a Service", or SAAS.
That is called "Software as a Service", or SAAS.
I know, that's why I mentioned it in my previous post
SaaS is just the now-hip-and-trendy-in-the-enterprise name for what originally was called 'cloud computing'. The fact that cloud storage and synchronization is now also called 'cloud computing' only contributes to the confusion mentioned in this article.
As for myself, I have a PC (Mac) and I see no pressing reason to use iCloud as a backup but I'll certainly use the secondary features.
Having an off-site backup for the most critical files is a good idea. If you're not doing it already, this is a convenient way to do so.
I'm not sure I'd even consider Apple's iCloud, in it's current form, as "cloud computing". More like cloud storage.
But a crippled Cloud storage. I can't store just anything there, only specific documents which Apple has blessed. Yes, I'll be missing iDisk alot. I've been an Apple fan since I bought my first Apple //e, but I think they made a major error not accommodating an "iDisk-like" file storage service.
But a crippled Cloud storage. I can't store just anything there, only specific documents which Apple has blessed. Yes, I'll be missing iDisk alot. I've been an Apple fan since I bought my first Apple //e, but I think they made a major error not accommodating an "iDisk-like" file storage service.
Have you not read a damn thing or choose to spread FUD? Do you not understand that iDIsk is an app on iOS and that Dropbox, SugarSync et al. could easily tie into iCloud with the APIs?
You have a fraking year before iDisk goes away, even after you start using iCloud, so if you can't find one of the many better solution in that time then the fault falls on you, not Apple.
Indeed. It will help folks understand better by relating the concept to their primary exposure to technology. For instance, the Cloud to me is similar to handing my boxes of punched cards to the man in the white cloud coat at the data center. I can then access my program from various terminals...
Yeah... That's an explanation that will resonate with about .005% of the Apple user base.
It can mean that you don't have to maintain local apps, or that you don't concern yourself with storage and backup. Or in the case of iCloud, simply that you have an authoritative source available from any device.
Apple has hardly 'hijacked' anything here. It's essentially a marketing term that can mean about anything.
Have you not read a damn thing or choose to spread FUD? Do you not understand that iDIsk is an app on iOS and that Dropbox, SugarSync et al. could easily tie into iCloud with the APIs?
You have a fraking year before iDisk goes away, even after you start using iCloud, so if you can't find one of the many better solution in that time then the fault falls on you, not Apple.
Geez dude...calm down, grab a beer...go get laid....
Of course I can replace iDisk functionality...I can replace my whole Mac with a Windoze machine if I were self-destructive. But I liked the seamless integration of iDisk with my Mac, and I still maintain that the direction they're heading is a mistake, IMHO.
Oh...and if you think iDisk was just "an app on iOS"..then you haven't been paying attention either.
And FUD? really? REALLY!? 1. No fear, an observation. 2. Not uncertain. Apple has announced termination of iDisk support. 3. No doubt about it (see #2).
As to the problem with marketing the cloud and getting people to buy in, it is pretty clear that any value in cloud computing is fairly superficial. People aren't stupid thus I don't expect a mad rush to cloud services.
This then brings up the question of iCloud and exactly what it is. If anything it is less of a cloud service than MobileMe, a step backwards if you will. It actually looks like a file server that Apple uses to swap files back and forth on.
In the end I suspect Apples biggest problem will be people asking: what do I need this for? For many of us it is less compelling than MobileMe.
What's really confusing is that you're not really putting your data in the cloud with iCloud, you're mirroring it there.
They should have called it 'iMirror.'
God no.