Apple's HUGE iDatacenter
...is possibly only one of dozens to come. Together they'll be Apple's "cloud".. Filled with thousands of storage devices and servers. Where videos and iTunes can be stored and distributed, and where users can store their personal iTunes, video, and photo collections, and all their other documents (!) "in the cloud". So that individual Macs won't need HDs or even SSDs anymore. So that they can become considerably smaller and lighter. And cheaper!
Also the storage capacity of iPhones and iPads can be increased dramatically with such a "cloud".
We'll get everything we need of our personal datasets from the "cloud", where's it's stored. And we upload it back there for storage when we're finished with it. No more harddisks or SSDs necessary! Or backups!
The "cloud" will be our unlimited 'harddisk' and backup.
Convenient!
However, Apple – and whoever else through them – will then be controlling access to my personal dataset! Even if it is encrypted. They will control whether I have access to my personal data!
I don't like that idea.
And what about my collection of high-resolution artistic Playmate photos when Steve suddenly decides he doesn't want 'smut' on his servers...? Etc. etc.
It also means that Petabytes of very personal data of millions of users will be flying all over the net 24/7, to and from the "cloud". That can't be good for net traffic capacities or for data security! Data in transit can be intercepted, mined.
Also the storage capacity of iPhones and iPads can be increased dramatically with such a "cloud".
We'll get everything we need of our personal datasets from the "cloud", where's it's stored. And we upload it back there for storage when we're finished with it. No more harddisks or SSDs necessary! Or backups!
The "cloud" will be our unlimited 'harddisk' and backup.
Convenient!
However, Apple – and whoever else through them – will then be controlling access to my personal dataset! Even if it is encrypted. They will control whether I have access to my personal data!
I don't like that idea.
And what about my collection of high-resolution artistic Playmate photos when Steve suddenly decides he doesn't want 'smut' on his servers...? Etc. etc.
It also means that Petabytes of very personal data of millions of users will be flying all over the net 24/7, to and from the "cloud". That can't be good for net traffic capacities or for data security! Data in transit can be intercepted, mined.
Comments
None of us really knows what Apple is planning, but my wild guess is this........... Apple actually IS getting into search and will hit Google head on. Think about that for a moment.
I did. Then I laughed. Wouldn't Apple want to call their search Spotlight? That website is currently for talent search.
The data center's for better streaming through iTunes. Think about the Lala acquisition, among others recently.
None of us really knows what Apple is planning, but my wild guess is this........... Apple actually IS getting into search and will hit Google head on. Think about that for a moment.
What would Apple search have for users that Google search doesn't have?
What would Apple search have for users that Google search doesn't have?
A logo that looks like "" and slower servers... "about 1,420,00 results found in 2.36 minutes"
(have you ever thought accessing iDisk was too fast?)
A logo that looks like "" and slower servers... "about 1,420,00 results found in 2.36 minutes"
(have you ever thought accessing iDisk was too fast?)
I agree. I.o.w. Spam's "wild guess" is indeed exactly that: a guess based on nothing. In fact the odds are that Apple, if they've got an inch of common sense, won't take on Google head-on. So that/those "iDatacenter(s)" will be for something else. Something HUGE.
So that/those "iDatacenter(s)" will be for something else. Something HUGE.
They will make something to rival Youtube but because it's all 'amateur hour' content, they will block the uploads until they can professionally reshoot all the videos.
It will probably be a mix of iDisk use, video-on-demand services and general iTunes content.
They will make something to rival Youtube but because it's all 'amateur hour' content, they will block the uploads until they can professionally reshoot all the videos.
It will probably be a mix of iDisk use, video-on-demand services and general iTunes content.
Better looking, more talented dogs on higher end skateboards. It's a feature planned for iMovie '12.
None of us really knows what Apple is planning, but my wild guess is this........... Apple actually IS getting into search and will hit Google head on. Think about that for a moment.
I was thinking for a while that's it's only time until Apple does actually get into search. I would say it's a while away though.
The data center is probably for mobile me.
Perhaps the dual free/paid MobileMe rumor we've been hearing?
Oh, something else. If you buy a MobileMe year thing, it's a year from activation and can be activated at any time, right? Doesn't expire or anything, yeah?
What would Apple search have for users that Google search doesn't have?
I think I just figured out what this is for.
What it's not.
It's not for Mobile Me backups. That technology is sort of available. And the uplink speeds means that it's not really a valid option for heavy usage.
I am not convinced it is for media streaming. Apple already stream video and TV and audio without this data centre.
What it *is*.
It is Siri.
It is a way of completely destroying Google's business model. By making search go away.
Apple started the Data Center in 2009 - and bought Siri outright in 2010.
If you read the summaries, Siri is often presented as a technology which takes advantages of search engines. But what it really is - is a way of hiding search engines - making them a back room service for something far more useful.
No one wants to take a crappy journey on a commercial airliner. What people want to do is arrive at their destination.
Similarly no one wants to use a search engine. What people want is answers.
The Siri technology has the potential to completely revolutionise how people get those answers. Using Siri, the user makes a query and Siri intelligently assembles data from multiple sources. The answer is customised for the user. In the user's location. In the users current context.
It makes search look last-century.
This is a perfect technology for making mobile devices even more useful and valuable. Which is why Apple bought the company. But there is one problem;
If Siri client worked with Google's search engine, it would ignore the advertising and the paid results. Google would first hate it, then block it. The only way that Siri could be really great was if Apple provided a back-end search and data engine, purpose built for working with Siri Clients.
If Apple gets this right, it has the potential to eviscerate Google. To make the only Google service that really makes money into something that is suddenly as clunky and last-century as Alta Vista.
C.