First Look Video of iCloud.com Beta

I am just hoping that I can still access iCloud storage via an FTP client from any machine Mac, PC, Linux. iDisk through the finder was pathetic. Transmit makes the iDisk very useable.

I am also very curious as to what they're going to do with webhosting and domain name forwarding.

Don't know if you've heard of Pogoplug but that's what I use, it's a hardware solution I bought a dockstar (Or you could get a pogoplug) for about £30 plugged it into my router plugged in a 2TB external Hard drive with all my music videos and photos on and I can access and stream it on-line anywhere and on my iphone through the pogoplug app. I've also got it set up to back up any new files onto the hard drive as well

Oh and no annual fees though technically it's a NAS, not online storage, but it serves my needs.

I was able to join without a dev account, and using a @hotmail address. It seems to work pretty well!
However, I can't seem to add that same email to my iCal, I tried my Gmail address but it didn't work either. Any ideas?

WOW, revolutionary!

It looks just like MobilMe with out the things I liked best, Photo Gallery, and Idisk!

If people didn't like MM why in the hell would they go for this, probably because they will be forced to.

Kind of sucks, Apple giveth and Apple taketh away.

3goldens said:

WOW, revolutionary!

It looks just like MobilMe with out the things I liked best, Photo Gallery, and Idisk!

If people didn't like MM why in the hell would they go for this, probably because they will be forced to.

Kind of sucks, Apple giveth and Apple taketh away.

Click to expand...

Uh because it's free?

nuckinfutz said:

Look I use Gmail to and it's definitely my favorite webmail but in the end I personally will go with native apps because they offer the Mac UI and integration that I cannot get as easily with web based stuff.

It's not about whether Apple created it or not but rather a difference of philosophy.

Google - push everything to the web. Local apps have a diminished or supportive role to the web.

Apple - Native apps offer a better experience...make them leverage the web for sync and communication but focus on native UI

Both deliver workable solutions so you simply have to do what's right by you.

Click to expand...

When I say I don't use the webapps directly it means I use Mail, iCal, And Address Book on OS X and the Mail app, Calendar app, and Contacts app on iOS. That means I get Mac UI and integration already.

Mr. Gates said:

I like how they sneeked Installus in there

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Hm... Theres a DVD in a DVD Drive on that desktop, its obviously fake.

Oh glorious day.

Happy mac is BACK!

So has anyone noticed that iOS backups also count against you... Backup management is going to be interesting.

Can't wait til I can rock this.

Anaemik said:

Umm, no you can't. Please read the OP again. Dropbox's upgrade plan offers you twice as much storage space as Apple's for the same price. I won't go into ancillary benefits, but just going by raw data storage of your choice, then Dropbox offers much better value for money.

Click to expand...

But with Dropbox that space is used by music, correct? iTunes match allows up to 25 thousand matched songs, none of which count against storage space, for $25. I suspect many users have a lot of their data in music, and if most of the songs are matched the amount of space needed goes way down. Same with photos and some other things that don't count against iCloud space.

The only thing that's left that's really big is video and I suspect that may get added to the cloud over time.

RobQuads said:

Looks very expensive to me

Googles offering...

20 GB ($5.00 USD per year)
80 GB ($20.00 USD per year)
200 GB ($50.00 USD per year)
400 GB ($100.00 USD per year)

So

Apple - $100 a year = 50GB
Google - $100 a year = 400GB

Thats quite a difference. Ok there may be slight differences in the capability of each but in terms of pure space they are different ball parks.

Click to expand...

But does Google exempt matched music and photo stream (and some other things) like Apple does? With iTunes match at $25 for up to 25 thousand songs, that's potentially over 100 gig for $25.

troop231 said:

Notes are synced within your iCloud's email: Image

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Since the interface looks similar to MobileMe, it looks like it will probably be like it is currently: you can view previous notes you made, but not edit them or add new ones. Hopefully they will add the ability to create or edit notes, but I'm not holding my breath...

samcraig said:

I had about 1000 cds which I ripped and now have on a 2TB (along with my entire DVD collection - not blu-ray). I'm using about 1.5 tb (plus I have two backup drives just in case).

From that - I would guess that MAYBE 500 megs at MOST is from music purchased through iTunes. And that's being incredibly generous.

Click to expand...

It doesn't matter if you bought from iTunes. Stuff ripped from CD can be accessed from the cloud using iTunes match, $25 for 25000 songs. And with 1000 cds, that's going to fall under the 25k song limit.

iCloud cross-platform file sharing

Will iCloud eventually support cross-platform sharing of generic files?

Users have fundamental needs for hosting simple web sites and exchanging files with other platforms.
After MobileMe web hosting and iDisk are discontinued in 2012, such user's needs will NOT disappear.
I don't see why Apple does not plan to offer such basic functionality in iCloud.

Otherwise, similarly to HomePage and Final Cut transitions,
transition from MobileMe will NOT be a "It Just Works" experience!
Potential new users are learning to fear Apple will eventually screw them.
That discourages users from investing in, or recommending, Apple technologies in the future.

Apple doesn't have to be specific about "how" cross-platform sharing will be done
(so secrecy of future products and strategies are maintained).
But it should tell us it plans to do it.
So users are not going through the pain of changing platforms or chasing non-Apple solutions.

Just as I have no interest in Lion, with all it's gimmicks, yet disabling a lot that I use, including software and yes, Front row. I elected not to get it.

Now this iCloud thing! Well from my experience with MobileMe, which i like because of its 20gb 'hard drive' & iWeb hosting that is used on a daily basis for multiple changes with my site... Can't do a lot with iWeb? don't believe the hype, plus, has done nothing but muck/double-up items in notes and calendar, along with the fact that I now have about 4 entries in my address book it created for every person, which it marvelously 'sync's across all my devices..

So, as with Lion, lots of gimmicks, with all the functions I like taken away... At least Apple has a company product policy in place

punchdrunk55 said:

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

I'm finding it hard to care, I'm not paying apples prices for music. Amazon and the used record stores have helped me accumulate my 110 gb's of music. My iPod video does a very good job of playing that music. Call me old school but I dont feel like paying at least 100 bucks a year to store my music hat I already own and have stored in three places.

Click to expand...

Your iPod holds 110 GB of music?

DavidLeblond said:

Uh because it's free?

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I've just written an entry saying the same as you... As with Lion, lots of Gimmicks with all the stuff I use taken away or obsolete... The reason this will fair better is that it's for iOS devices more than Macs as Apple seems to be going...

But, what no-one has mentioned apart from a close friend who lives out in the wild who has limited broadband use it'll cost peeps a fortune in data transfer!

CodeBreaker said:

I will be using iCloud primarily for email. Will iCloud be accessible from Windows/SL?

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That's what I want to know
I don't have a full apple ecosystem, and want to know if I will be able to access all my word/excel/powerpoint docs from a windows machine (also will I be forced to use pages/keynote, or can I use anything and still store it in the cloud)

samcraig said:

I'm not the target audience (and that's ok)....

I have no interest.

Those that have built their iTunes library in the last few years by buying music from Apple will benefit by not having their music count "against" them (storage). But for people like myself who have been buying music from when CDs (and LPs for that matter) are the the bulk of our collection there's little benefit other than syncing photos, etc.

I had about 1000 cds which I ripped and now have on a 2TB (along with my entire DVD collection - not blu-ray). I'm using about 1.5 tb (plus I have two backup drives just in case).

From that - I would guess that MAYBE 500 megs at MOST is from music purchased through iTunes. And that's being incredibly generous.

Click to expand...

That's EXACTLY what iTunes Match is for. It allows those of us who have chosen to acquire our music from other sources (such a CDs, or even Amazon MP3) to gain some of the benefits of music purchased through iTunes. For $25 a year I think it's a pretty good deal to be able to re-download, at will, music from a store that I never bought it from in the first place.

Drunken Master said:

Your iPod holds 110 GB of music?

Click to expand...

Seriously?
http://www.apple.com/ipodclassic/

Not really sure why you would need the extra storage anyway. Since there's no iDisk-like access, you would only need additional storage if you planned on storing more than 5GBs of app data, mail messages, documents or ripped music that's not available with iTunes Match.

Seems like only a select few will be paying for iCloud storage.

FasterQuieter said:

Got on there long enough to see that the pale diarrhea leather calendar has made it onto another platform, god help us.

Still can't believe the same people who designed the iPhone 4, the MacBook Air, the iMac etc., put this hideous thing into the world. It makes no sense.

Click to expand...

There's a fix for the calendar:
http://www.cultofmac.com/how-to-make-ical-look-the-way-it-did-before-lion/106596

Too bad there isn't a fix for the contact book which doesn't look bad but the UI is more annoying than the old way which was quicker to access the contacts you needed.

Darn, I was in last night and today I'm not since I'm not a developer. If I had known that I would have paid more attention to the services!

Jeremy

Mobile me on steroids, just pray that it will get better

viperGTS said:

Ok, first of all:
It costs $25 a year, not $100, to store your music in iCloud. Stop being so ignorant.
Secondly, if you have 3 places to put your music, then that's all good. iTunes Match isn't for you. Its meant to make your music iCloud compatible. If you don't find the service to fufill your needs, don't complain about it. No one said you had to get it.

Click to expand...

There's some simple math being overlooked due to the fact that the poster said he has over 110GB of music. Look at the pricing again. Calling someone ignorant was definitely uncalled for, not to mention inaccurate. Differing viewpoints, whether negative or positive, are all valid, and not at all inappropriate. In fact, the only inappropriate comment was yours, viperGTS.

Having said that, obviously, those with ginormous music libraries that are mostly not iTunes will likely find it too costly to use iCloud. Most audiophiles didn't download their music from iTunes in the first place, since the selection isn't geared toward them. And, most serious listeners will have at least one backup going at any rate.

Backups of anything you hold dear should be done in more than one way and in more than one place regardless. If you're a casual listener who purchases primarily from iTunes, this will be a great solution for you.

Tsunami says:
i'll take my own hd...you can keep the ~cloud~