Whatever iCloud is all about I just hope it is seamlessly integrated with Mac OS and iOS.
You might hit the nail on the head. Could this cloud make our experience between devices seamless? Like you read the book, listen to the music, watch the video, working on the file and continue all these tasks on another device/Mac seamlessly? When you buy a song or download something will it be on your other devices a la Dropbox without a need for syncing?
They will role it out in stages to avoid overtaxing the system.
1) existing MobileMe customers get first dibs at WWDC. (+4 million users)
2) When Lion ships later this summer, anyone with a Mac(10.6-7) can sign up for a FREE or paid account (+30 million users)
3) When iOS 5 ships this fall, anyone with a iOS device upgradeable to 5 can sign up for a FREE or paid account (+70 million users)
1) I think we should expect some free iDisk(iCloud) data storage. Without it they will have a hard time competing with Dropbox and SugarSync.
2) Don?t forget Find My iPhone is also free, and to be clear there are more aspects to the paid version of MobileMe than what you listed.
3) I don?t think iWork.com will be part of MobileMe. I can see why some would want it but I think that it ultimately needs to be a separate service that can be tied to MM, but isn?t by defualt.
4) I hope they do a better stepping job than allowing 4M, then 30M then 70M users sign up. I hope they do an invitation system so they can throttle as needed.
I think that the media's emphasis on the iTunes part of the future cloud services is leading everyone astray. Given that Apple hasn't actually announced anything, the assumption that what they will announce all has to do with iTunes and cloud-based music and video storage might turn out to be quite wrong.
It seems far more likely to me, (and far more doable), to have the cloud component work as a slightly enhanced version of the way iDisk works now (i.e. - a simple integrated storage solution for mobile devices). It also seems way more likely to me that the cloud services would allow for removing the tether between the iOS device you own and your computer by allowing you to download and install updates from the cloud and register to the cloud etc.
How many more iOS devices would sell if they could remove the requirement for someone to already have a computer before you buy one? It seems like that might be an enormous number.
I think the current idea that the cloud is just going to be a big storage area for your desktop computer or your entire iTunes media library, (with presumably a scale of "storage plans" depending on how much stuff you have), is both shortsighted and "old-fashioned" thinking.
You kids these days and your crazy Apple online services. Back in my day, we used AppleLink, and by AppleLink, I mean the real service operated by GE, not the Personal Edition that became what you snot nosed brats know as AOL.
Why back in the day, we'd fire up our 300 baud modems and pay $15 a day for the privilege.
Finally!!! Everytime I read this ?r@p about the iCloud replacing internal storage I want to vomit. Stop trying to report this as if it would be a good idea or as if it IS Apple's plan. This would be a horrible idea and would not add value for the customer at all. While the $1/Gb figure above is a bit off for Apple flash storage products, even at the current $100 premium per step 8|16|32|64 it's still much cheaper to have internal storage. Within a few months @ roughly $25/2Gb, the cost of all the additional data would be a killer not to mention the fact of what that would do to the already strained wireless infrastructure. With that in mind it's far more likely that this is planned as a compliment or supplement to internal storage and syncing rather than a replacement for internal storage.
So there's my $0.02 or rather my $100 now rather than hundreds later.
With Apple promising to "unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS" at its Worldwide Developers Conference in five weeks, it's increasingly likely the Cupertino-based company will use the forum to divulge its plans for iCloud and provide its Mac and iOS developer communities with tools they can be used to leverage the new cloud service from within their applications.
I'm most interested in what this will do for iPhone / desktop data integration. It seems that every data-centric iPhone app should have an option for saving to / opening from its corresponding folder in a MobileMe account.
I'm most interested in what this will do for iPhone / desktop data integration. It seems that every data-centric iPhone app should have an option for saving to / opening from its corresponding folder in a MobileMe account.
Apple has a history of delivering less than our imaginations can fathom. Those bastards!
iPod, iPhone, iPad. These are like booster rockets that have been attached to Apple's stock price.
iOn drive?
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69
Apple could configure iPad to boot up, at purchase, tomorrow If they really wanted too. They don't so must have their own reasons. Don't get me wrong I'd rather that Apple get away from the current initialization requirement, but I don't see it having anything to do with the cloud.
They could configure it that way, but they won't. Ever. Go back and listen to the first part of Steve's presentation when announcing the iPad 2. See just how much he brags about how many "accounts with credit cards" Apple has for all of it's iCustomers. All of this is through iTunes. Apple clearly has plans to monetize this asset to the furthest extent possible. If they let a new iPad simply boot up so you can start using it, it's that much more work they need to do to get their hooks into you. Why let granda have a device that let's her email the grandkids and do some internet surfing when they can also try to sell her some apps and media content?
That's where iCloud could step in and replace iTunes. You'd no longer have to activate your iDevice via iTunes, but they are still going to require you to activate it so they can create an account if you don't already have one. You'll activate it on the cloud instead.
In fact, what if iCloud isn't only in the cloud? iTunes has got to be the most mismatched name considering that music is only a small part of what iTunes does these days. iTunes (the application and the store) is itself a cloud of a lot of different times of data. How about we merge iTunes (the application) and iDisk? A new application on your computer, also called iCloud replaces iTunes, stores your files locally and syncs them back to Apple's data center. The iCloud application replaces iTunes and MobileMe sync services (fixing a huge gap in syncing when calendars switch to the new calDAV*). And the iCloud internet service replaces the MobileMe web services including iDisk storage. Then you can activite your iDevice either the the iCloud application or iCloud internet service.
[* The syncing gap with calDAV is when you sync an iOS device via iTunes, rather an directly with MM, or an iPod capable of displaying calendars, you won't get the updated calendars unless iCal is open and running at the time. This is because neither MobileMe sync services nor iTunes knows how to sync the calDAV cloud data with the local calendar data on your Mac.]
Apple has a history of delivering less than our imaginations can fathom. Those bastards!
Lol, their cloud strategy has certainly left me wanting more. But I'm hopeful given the huge investment Apple is making in its data center and now buying the iCloud brand.
You kids these days and your crazy Apple online services. Back in my day, we used AppleLink, and by AppleLink, I mean the real service operated by GE, not the Personal Edition that became what you snot nosed brats know as AOL.
Why back in the day, we'd fire up our 300 baud modems and pay $15 a day for the privilege.
Jeez, I really hope they don't force me to find a new Web Host. I don't think I'm going to be able to find a comparable service for a cost-effective price. I've looked before.
In all fairness, I've been doing things in "THE CLOUD" for a long time. I've been sharing documents and syncing folders with different servers that could be accessed publicly or with password. I have been using Mac.com/MobileMe since the beginning of time, but honestly I don't find it to be that great. It's not user friendly.
It has glitchy syncing (duplicating calendar dates and contacts, placing contacts into strange categories).
Many of us have been paying $99 a year for nearly 10 years now. You would think it would finally be great. I've only been holding on to it because I want to keep my email address. It's like buying season tickets to the Cubs. You know they are going to lose, but you don't want to lose the good seats the year they finally make it to a World Series.
I don't say this because I hate MobileMe, as it has gotten me out of a few document sharing binds, but the overall service is not worth $99 per year.
I hope you are right and Steve and the rest of the Apple gang show us the way to the true cloud, but so far it has been a bust (IMO).
Lol, their cloud strategy has certainly left me wanting more. But I'm hopeful given the huge investment Apple is making in its data center and now buying the iCloud brand.
i think the data centers will do much more than storage . Maybe the data storage centers can boost streaming of 4g type content to our devices and give the carriers some relief ??
They could configure it that way, but they won't. Ever. Go back and listen to the first part of Steve's presentation when announcing the iPad 2. See just how much he brags about how many "accounts with credit cards" Apple has for all of it's iCustomers. All of this is through iTunes. Apple clearly has plans to monetize this asset to the furthest extent possible. If they let a new iPad simply boot up so you can start using it, it's that much more work they need to do to get their hooks into you. Why let granda have a device that let's her email the grandkids and do some internet surfing when they can also try to sell her some apps and media content?
That's where iCloud could step in and replace iTunes. You'd no longer have to activate your iDevice via iTunes, but they are still going to require you to activate it so they can create an account if you don't already have one. You'll activate it on the cloud instead.
In fact, what if iCloud isn't only in the cloud? iTunes has got to be the most mismatched name considering that music is only a small part of what iTunes does these days. iTunes (the application and the store) is itself a cloud of a lot of different times of data. How about we merge iTunes (the application) and iDisk? A new application on your computer, also called iCloud replaces iTunes, stores your files locally and syncs them back to Apple's data center. The iCloud application replaces iTunes and MobileMe sync services (fixing a huge gap in syncing when calendars switch to the new calDAV*). And the iCloud internet service replaces the MobileMe web services including iDisk storage. Then you can activite your iDevice either the the iCloud application or iCloud internet service.
[* The syncing gap with calDAV is when you sync an iOS device via iTunes, rather an directly with MM, or an iPod capable of displaying calendars, you won't get the updated calendars unless iCal is open and running at the time. This is because neither MobileMe sync services nor iTunes knows how to sync the calDAV cloud data with the local calendar data on your Mac.]
I think you are on to something and I think it will include all you mentioned along with a "Dropbox" like service. I also think that Apple will integrate Time Machine into the service with a function similar to Carbonite or Crashplan for off-site backup. Being in IT, I hear the sob stories all the time about how someone lost data without having a backup. While Time Machine does a great job locally (although I would like apple to add a de-duplication option to save my backup drive space), think about how iCloud could form a complete user friendly disaster recover system. It is not just about a major disaster such as a house fire, think about someone breaking into your house and stealing your iMAC along with your backup drive. Apple would just continue to build the ecosystem and we users will have more reliable data storage all the time
I'd believe the iPhone 5 will come out this June as it always has. The difference is that iOS 5.0 won't arrive until the fall. Instead you'll see an iOS 4.5 will be the OS on iPhone 5. Thus begins the slowing of the OS development cycle.
Why is this? It takes longer to sync and test features across all the iOS devices (iPod, iPhone, iPad, AppleTV). Also, the rumored iCloud is also delaying the new OS.
iCloud will be interesting to see as this could be a major push into the enterprise for Apple and not just a consumer offering.
Comments
Whatever iCloud is all about I just hope it is seamlessly integrated with Mac OS and iOS.
You might hit the nail on the head. Could this cloud make our experience between devices seamless? Like you read the book, listen to the music, watch the video, working on the file and continue all these tasks on another device/Mac seamlessly? When you buy a song or download something will it be on your other devices a la Dropbox without a need for syncing?
FREE = Contact, Calendar, Bookmark Syncing
PAID = Syncing + Email + iDisk + iWork
They will role it out in stages to avoid overtaxing the system.
1) existing MobileMe customers get first dibs at WWDC. (+4 million users)
2) When Lion ships later this summer, anyone with a Mac(10.6-7) can sign up for a FREE or paid account (+30 million users)
3) When iOS 5 ships this fall, anyone with a iOS device upgradeable to 5 can sign up for a FREE or paid account (+70 million users)
I wonder if they will rebrand MobileMe as iCloud. I thought iCloud would replace iDisk but maybe iCloud will be the name for the whole thing?
I believe iCloud will be a FREE subset of the full MobileMe.
iCloud = MobileMe Lite
There will probably be two levels to iCloud.
FREE = Contact, Calendar, Bookmark Syncing
PAID = Syncing + Email + iDisk + iWork
They will role it out in stages to avoid overtaxing the system.
1) existing MobileMe customers get first dibs at WWDC. (+4 million users)
2) When Lion ships later this summer, anyone with a Mac(10.6-7) can sign up for a FREE or paid account (+30 million users)
3) When iOS 5 ships this fall, anyone with a iOS device upgradeable to 5 can sign up for a FREE or paid account (+70 million users)
1) I think we should expect some free iDisk(iCloud) data storage. Without it they will have a hard time competing with Dropbox and SugarSync.
2) Don?t forget Find My iPhone is also free, and to be clear there are more aspects to the paid version of MobileMe than what you listed.
3) I don?t think iWork.com will be part of MobileMe. I can see why some would want it but I think that it ultimately needs to be a separate service that can be tied to MM, but isn?t by defualt.
4) I hope they do a better stepping job than allowing 4M, then 30M then 70M users sign up. I hope they do an invitation system so they can throttle as needed.
I think that the media's emphasis on the iTunes part of the future cloud services is leading everyone astray. Given that Apple hasn't actually announced anything, the assumption that what they will announce all has to do with iTunes and cloud-based music and video storage might turn out to be quite wrong.
It seems far more likely to me, (and far more doable), to have the cloud component work as a slightly enhanced version of the way iDisk works now (i.e. - a simple integrated storage solution for mobile devices). It also seems way more likely to me that the cloud services would allow for removing the tether between the iOS device you own and your computer by allowing you to download and install updates from the cloud and register to the cloud etc.
How many more iOS devices would sell if they could remove the requirement for someone to already have a computer before you buy one? It seems like that might be an enormous number.
I think the current idea that the cloud is just going to be a big storage area for your desktop computer or your entire iTunes media library, (with presumably a scale of "storage plans" depending on how much stuff you have), is both shortsighted and "old-fashioned" thinking.
You sir, have hit the nail on the head.
Fourth, if you count eworld...
You kids these days and your crazy Apple online services. Back in my day, we used AppleLink, and by AppleLink, I mean the real service operated by GE, not the Personal Edition that became what you snot nosed brats know as AOL.
Why back in the day, we'd fire up our 300 baud modems and pay $15 a day for the privilege.
Oh, and get off my lawn!
Costly flash memory? $1/GB isn't expensive at all IMO compared to potential data overage charges if you're relying on iCloud over-the-air.
http://www.isuppli.com/Memory-and-St...te-Drives.aspx
Finally!!! Everytime I read this ?r@p about the iCloud replacing internal storage I want to vomit. Stop trying to report this as if it would be a good idea or as if it IS Apple's plan. This would be a horrible idea and would not add value for the customer at all. While the $1/Gb figure above is a bit off for Apple flash storage products, even at the current $100 premium per step 8|16|32|64 it's still much cheaper to have internal storage. Within a few months @ roughly $25/2Gb, the cost of all the additional data would be a killer not to mention the fact of what that would do to the already strained wireless infrastructure. With that in mind it's far more likely that this is planned as a compliment or supplement to internal storage and syncing rather than a replacement for internal storage.
So there's my $0.02 or rather my $100 now rather than hundreds later.
Fourth, if you count eworld...
OMG! What are you, like, 60?? </kidding!>
With Apple promising to "unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS" at its Worldwide Developers Conference in five weeks, it's increasingly likely the Cupertino-based company will use the forum to divulge its plans for iCloud and provide its Mac and iOS developer communities with tools they can be used to leverage the new cloud service from within their applications.
I'm most interested in what this will do for iPhone / desktop data integration. It seems that every data-centric iPhone app should have an option for saving to / opening from its corresponding folder in a MobileMe account.
I'm most interested in what this will do for iPhone / desktop data integration. It seems that every data-centric iPhone app should have an option for saving to / opening from its corresponding folder in a MobileMe account.
Apple has a history of delivering less than our imaginations can fathom. Those bastards!
iPod, iPhone, iPad. These are like booster rockets that have been attached to Apple's stock price.
iOn drive?
Apple could configure iPad to boot up, at purchase, tomorrow If they really wanted too. They don't so must have their own reasons. Don't get me wrong I'd rather that Apple get away from the current initialization requirement, but I don't see it having anything to do with the cloud.
They could configure it that way, but they won't. Ever. Go back and listen to the first part of Steve's presentation when announcing the iPad 2. See just how much he brags about how many "accounts with credit cards" Apple has for all of it's iCustomers. All of this is through iTunes. Apple clearly has plans to monetize this asset to the furthest extent possible. If they let a new iPad simply boot up so you can start using it, it's that much more work they need to do to get their hooks into you. Why let granda have a device that let's her email the grandkids and do some internet surfing when they can also try to sell her some apps and media content?
That's where iCloud could step in and replace iTunes. You'd no longer have to activate your iDevice via iTunes, but they are still going to require you to activate it so they can create an account if you don't already have one. You'll activate it on the cloud instead.
In fact, what if iCloud isn't only in the cloud? iTunes has got to be the most mismatched name considering that music is only a small part of what iTunes does these days. iTunes (the application and the store) is itself a cloud of a lot of different times of data. How about we merge iTunes (the application) and iDisk? A new application on your computer, also called iCloud replaces iTunes, stores your files locally and syncs them back to Apple's data center. The iCloud application replaces iTunes and MobileMe sync services (fixing a huge gap in syncing when calendars switch to the new calDAV*). And the iCloud internet service replaces the MobileMe web services including iDisk storage. Then you can activite your iDevice either the the iCloud application or iCloud internet service.
[* The syncing gap with calDAV is when you sync an iOS device via iTunes, rather an directly with MM, or an iPod capable of displaying calendars, you won't get the updated calendars unless iCal is open and running at the time. This is because neither MobileMe sync services nor iTunes knows how to sync the calDAV cloud data with the local calendar data on your Mac.]
Apple has a history of delivering less than our imaginations can fathom. Those bastards!
Lol, their cloud strategy has certainly left me wanting more. But I'm hopeful given the huge investment Apple is making in its data center and now buying the iCloud brand.
You kids these days and your crazy Apple online services. Back in my day, we used AppleLink, and by AppleLink, I mean the real service operated by GE, not the Personal Edition that became what you snot nosed brats know as AOL.
Why back in the day, we'd fire up our 300 baud modems and pay $15 a day for the privilege.
Oh, and get off my lawn!
In all fairness, I've been doing things in "THE CLOUD" for a long time. I've been sharing documents and syncing folders with different servers that could be accessed publicly or with password. I have been using Mac.com/MobileMe since the beginning of time, but honestly I don't find it to be that great. It's not user friendly.
It has glitchy syncing (duplicating calendar dates and contacts, placing contacts into strange categories).
Many of us have been paying $99 a year for nearly 10 years now. You would think it would finally be great. I've only been holding on to it because I want to keep my email address. It's like buying season tickets to the Cubs. You know they are going to lose, but you don't want to lose the good seats the year they finally make it to a World Series.
I don't say this because I hate MobileMe, as it has gotten me out of a few document sharing binds, but the overall service is not worth $99 per year.
I hope you are right and Steve and the rest of the Apple gang show us the way to the true cloud, but so far it has been a bust (IMO).
agreed
Lol, their cloud strategy has certainly left me wanting more. But I'm hopeful given the huge investment Apple is making in its data center and now buying the iCloud brand.
i think the data centers will do much more than storage . Maybe the data storage centers can boost streaming of 4g type content to our devices and give the carriers some relief ??
just saying..
9
iOn drive?
They could configure it that way, but they won't. Ever. Go back and listen to the first part of Steve's presentation when announcing the iPad 2. See just how much he brags about how many "accounts with credit cards" Apple has for all of it's iCustomers. All of this is through iTunes. Apple clearly has plans to monetize this asset to the furthest extent possible. If they let a new iPad simply boot up so you can start using it, it's that much more work they need to do to get their hooks into you. Why let granda have a device that let's her email the grandkids and do some internet surfing when they can also try to sell her some apps and media content?
That's where iCloud could step in and replace iTunes. You'd no longer have to activate your iDevice via iTunes, but they are still going to require you to activate it so they can create an account if you don't already have one. You'll activate it on the cloud instead.
In fact, what if iCloud isn't only in the cloud? iTunes has got to be the most mismatched name considering that music is only a small part of what iTunes does these days. iTunes (the application and the store) is itself a cloud of a lot of different times of data. How about we merge iTunes (the application) and iDisk? A new application on your computer, also called iCloud replaces iTunes, stores your files locally and syncs them back to Apple's data center. The iCloud application replaces iTunes and MobileMe sync services (fixing a huge gap in syncing when calendars switch to the new calDAV*). And the iCloud internet service replaces the MobileMe web services including iDisk storage. Then you can activite your iDevice either the the iCloud application or iCloud internet service.
[* The syncing gap with calDAV is when you sync an iOS device via iTunes, rather an directly with MM, or an iPod capable of displaying calendars, you won't get the updated calendars unless iCal is open and running at the time. This is because neither MobileMe sync services nor iTunes knows how to sync the calDAV cloud data with the local calendar data on your Mac.]
I think you are on to something and I think it will include all you mentioned along with a "Dropbox" like service. I also think that Apple will integrate Time Machine into the service with a function similar to Carbonite or Crashplan for off-site backup. Being in IT, I hear the sob stories all the time about how someone lost data without having a backup. While Time Machine does a great job locally (although I would like apple to add a de-duplication option to save my backup drive space), think about how iCloud could form a complete user friendly disaster recover system. It is not just about a major disaster such as a house fire, think about someone breaking into your house and stealing your iMAC along with your backup drive. Apple would just continue to build the ecosystem and we users will have more reliable data storage all the time
Why is this? It takes longer to sync and test features across all the iOS devices (iPod, iPhone, iPad, AppleTV). Also, the rumored iCloud is also delaying the new OS.
iCloud will be interesting to see as this could be a major push into the enterprise for Apple and not just a consumer offering.