Basic question about iCloud

The major benefit I see from iCloud personally is auto data sync between devices. Update on my iPhone or iPad and have it reflected immediately on the other device.

Loa said:

Hello,

What can I expect from iCloud beyond a simple "sync over the net"? What would be the benefit compared to simply syncing my devices with my Mac when I come back from work?

Thanks

Loa

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You are talking about 1 of many features. Read all about Mail, Contacts, Calendar and more.

http://www.apple.com/icloud/

Loa said:

I did: again, manually syncing my devices would do the same thing, just not through the internet.

Loa

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Well...yeah.

Loa said:

So what's the big deal with iCloud?

Loa

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Knowing your data is sync without the need to manual sync with another device that you may or may not have access to.

All things being considered if I can do my sync immediately and OTA(Over The Air) I'm going to choose that every time.

iCloud also is a great offsite backup for iOS devices.

Loa said:

Not sure the convenience of syncing over the air is worth it for me... But thanks for clearing the fact that it's nothing more than OTA sync and OTA back-up.

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Well, in this case, it's not just OTA sync and backup. iCloud also provides email, calendaring, contacts, document storage/sharing, Find my Phone tracking service, photo sharing abilities, etc., in addition to also syncing all those things across multiple devices as well as offering the ability to backup those devices off-site.

Just as Google, another "cloud service," offers email, calendaring contacts management, document storage/sharing, and it, too, can sync across multiple devices, when configured to do so.

You're over-simplifying it by saying iCloud is nothing more than OTA sync and backup.

Loa said:

nuckinfutz said:

Knowing your data is sync without the need to manual sync with another device that you may or may not have access to.

All things being considered if I can do my sync immediately and OTA(Over The Air) I'm going to choose that every time.

iCloud also is a great offsite backup for iOS devices.

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I know it has a few advantages, but it seems we've been talking about the cloud revolution (not just at Apple) and I just don't see it. It's nice and useful, but nowhere near a revolution.

One must also consider the fact that our data is, more and more, out of our own control. Is anyone reading all the agreements we have to digitally sign all over the place these days? Web-based mail, social networks, the clouds... Unless things have changed at Hotmail, Microsoft becomes the co-owner (they have copyright) of each and every file you send with Hotmail; and Facebook used to have the right (and they exercised it) to take your posted pictures and make ads with them... Just a few examples. We all love Apple, but companies change: the simple fact that we could use their iconic 1984 ad "against" them nw with iOS speaks volume.

Not sure the convenience of syncing over the air is worth it for me... But thanks for clearing the fact that it's nothing more than OTA sync and OTA back-up.

Loa

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I've been a .mac user, then a mobile me user and now I'm an iCloud user. I started using Mac computers because I liked Linux and I heard OSX was really Unix underneath. I used .mac and then mobileme's gallery, idisk and web space features. I never bothered with the "sync" features because I didn't want settings propagating across multiple Macs. Once I enabled contacts sync, I did appreciate having the same address book on every Mac where I had an account. I also liked back to my Mac. I could use it for support at the Apple store. The tech would log me in to my .me account on an in store Mac and I would be sitting in front of my Mac at home on my home network and they could remotely troubleshoot issues I was having on my home network. Not that I've had many issues since dumping Windows for OSX.

For me, the real joy of wireless sync was something I had back with my old Palm TX. I could hotsync via wifi. For years afterwards, I was stuck using a usb cable and since my computer is 2 floors below my bedroom, this isn't exactly convenient. When I got an iPod touch (free with my son'd Macbook), I logged in to mobile me and had all my data on the thing. It gradually pushed my blackberry out of its PDA role. This was not exactly a difficult thing to do as cable sync using BB Desktop Manager or Missing Sync was always problematic. And I at last had wireless sync again. Not just at home on my home network, but everywhere I had access to wifi. I dug a hole in the back yard and gave the usb cable a nice burial next to the kids' hamsters.

When I got my iPad, I had all my data on it before leaving the Apple store. The same was true 4 months later when I got my iPhone 4. I was mildly upset at Apple for killing mobileme but the stuff I use most now is sync and I've found other services to handle idisk (dropbox), galleries (picasa, flickr and smugmug), and web space (google sites among others). Another thing I'm happy with is photostream. I only connect via usb to get movies off my iPhone and this is only required once a quarter or so. Meanwhile I never have to think about photo sync. If I'm at a party, I can be snapping photos and ppl can be looking at them on my iPad within seconds. iCloud isn't perfect but it works well and Apple has hinted around about bringing back some sort of web galleries to photostream. Now that I've found other services for my 200+ Gig of photos, this is something I might not take advantage of, I'm not sure just yet. You aren't obligated to use all the services in anybody's cloud. Pick what you want and enjoy.

BTW, there is another way for you to enjoy cable-less sync. You can sync with iTunes on your computer via wifi. It will only work when your device is plugged in and locked and on your home wifi network but it still beats the cable if you simply refuse to embrace the cloud. This was never an issue for me. I've been using Google's and Apple's cloud services for many years now and I'm delighted with them.

hope this helps...

And I quote:

Loa said:

Not sure the convenience of syncing over the air is worth it for me... But thanks for clearing the fact that it's nothing more than OTA sync and OTA back-up.

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I gave my answer based on this statement of yours, illustrating you didn't understand the full gamut of offerings from iCloud.

I'm happy for you that manually syncing things to your Mac is working out fine for you, but you still appear unable to grasp that there's more to iCloud than OTA syncing...