Apple issues first iCloud for Windows beta with iCloud Drive support
Apple on Tuesday sent AppleSeed program members invitations to download and test a new beta version of iCloud for Windows that includes access to the company's upcoming iCloud Drive feature.
First announced in June, iCloud Drive is one of the tentpole service features slated to roll out with Apple's forthcoming iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Today's release, spotted by MacRumors is the first beta version for Windows machines.
Apple previously issued Mac builds of iCloud Drive to AppleSeed developers and has constantly reminded testers to save files locally due to ongoing maintenance and system resets ahead of launch this fall.
Like competitors Dropbox and Box, iCloud Drive will incorporate cross-platform support for file uploading and storage, while adding document editing and tagging features akin to offerings from Google's Web-based productivity app suite. The cloud storage system is engineered to work on OS X, iOS and Windows, allowing access and syncing across multiple devices via an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface.
When iCloud Drive debuts, Apple will also introduce new storage pricing tiers for consumers alongside a new CloudKit service for developers that comes with storage space and data transfer allowances.
First announced in June, iCloud Drive is one of the tentpole service features slated to roll out with Apple's forthcoming iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Today's release, spotted by MacRumors is the first beta version for Windows machines.
Apple previously issued Mac builds of iCloud Drive to AppleSeed developers and has constantly reminded testers to save files locally due to ongoing maintenance and system resets ahead of launch this fall.
Like competitors Dropbox and Box, iCloud Drive will incorporate cross-platform support for file uploading and storage, while adding document editing and tagging features akin to offerings from Google's Web-based productivity app suite. The cloud storage system is engineered to work on OS X, iOS and Windows, allowing access and syncing across multiple devices via an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface.
When iCloud Drive debuts, Apple will also introduce new storage pricing tiers for consumers alongside a new CloudKit service for developers that comes with storage space and data transfer allowances.
Comments
Anyone remember what the estimated storage limits and pricing are supposed to be? I'm getting tired of manually managing my music library across four machines, and having them all sync from iCloud might be a solution if the amount of storage is big enough and the price is low enough.
I'm puzzled, iTunes Match for $25 year would solve your problem surely, or am I misunderstanding you?
MobileMe Drive is back!
I hope iCloud Drive will allow me to host my website like iDisk used to...
It would, even if you ripped your music from your own CDs.
What's wrong with this picture?
The terrible truth that Windows users refuse to update to secure, modern versions of their own software.
Nah, windows is terribly backward compatible, you can run windows 95 apps in windows 8. Which is probably the reason why it is such a heavy, stale, monster with few innovations.
I'm puzzled, iTunes Match for $25 year would solve your problem surely, or am I misunderstanding you?
I thought iTunes Match is just for mobile devices. Since that's no use to me (limited online access during the day) I just put it out of my mind. If it's also suitable for syncing multiple Macs, I should probably give it a look!
EDIT: Just looked, and yeah, it was kind of a no-brainer. It still makes me nervous for some reason though. I *REALLY* don't like some of Apple's approaches to file management, like the irritating naming convention iTunes uses -- "Track Number Song Title" with no Artist and with every album requiring its own folder -- and the absence of any user-accessible file structure in iOS. I'm a control freak when it comes to my audio files, so letting an invisible third-party manage my library doesn't come easily to me! I'd still kinda prefer an online sync system that just makes sure whatever files are in Library A also appear in Library B and Library C, but Match obviously does a lot more than just that, and at the price I'd be an idiot not to at least try it.
Anyone remember what the estimated storage limits and pricing are supposed to be? I'm getting tired of manually managing my music library across four machines, and having them all sync from iCloud might be a solution if the amount of storage is big enough and the price is low enough.
As a secondary, you may want to back up your entire library (for free) to Google Music.
So, let me get this straight. Apple makes iCloud Drive work with versions of Windows that are up to 5 years old, but will only work on versions of iOS and OS X that haven't even been released yet?
What's wrong with this picture?
Do you really need an explanation? Apple is obviously promoting itself by using iCloud as a sort of Trojan Horse to reach more Windoze people, and they know that many of them haven't upgraded. AND, they'd be foolish not to require the latest OSs for Apple customers for their latest services. Duoh.
So, let me get this straight. Apple makes iCloud Drive work with versions of Windows that are up to 5 years old, but will only work on versions of iOS and OS X that haven't even been released yet?
What's wrong with this picture?
It's simple. To develop and maintain a software for one OS is easy and also much more reliable. Besides, Yosemite will be a free upgrade so everyone can jump ahead and forget they even had Mavericks, Mountain Lion, etc.
For Windows, the most popular OS is Windows 7, so it's the ideal choice to begin with. Also, Windows never really changes, the basic engine and rendering remains more or less the same (which explains the lack of innovation and poor performance), so it's a high probability that an application for Windows 7 would also work for Windows 8, 8.1, 9 and so on till at least a few centuries.
Also, almost all iOS devices can be upgraded to the latest iOS when it ships... that ain't so with WIndozs hardware...
Yosemite will be a free upgrade so everyone can jump ahead and forget they even had Mavericks, Mountain Lion, etc.
Apparently you've never owned a Mac that still works but is old enough to be dropped from the list of supported hardware for a new OS. My wife replaced her laptop in part because she couldn't install Mavericks (or maybe it was Mountain Lion… whatever).
Apple expect more fragmentation on Windows?
Apparently you've never owned a Mac that still works but is old enough to be dropped from the list of supported hardware for a new OS. My wife replaced her laptop in part because she couldn't install Mavericks (or maybe it was Mountain Lion… whatever).
Snow Leopard is where I got caught, stuck with the non-functional MobileMe control panel and no access to any iCloud service. I wouldn't mind that so much, my Mac was old, but some of the iCloud services were available on Windows XP, an 8 year older OS. I could Boot Camp into Windows and get access to Apple services that weren't available on my Mac OS!
Something is pretty screwy with that.