Gruber ruminates on Apple's cloud

Recently, Amazon introduced a new cloud-based file storage and media playback system aptly named Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. The debut of this system, which is compatible with Android handsets, kicked off a debate on cloud storage and Apple's lack of a similar mechanisms for its iOS devices. In a lengthy post, John Gruber of Daring Fireball discusses this deficiency and points to four areas that Apple should move to the cloud. These cloud features include the transfer of media to an iOS device, the ability to backup and restore an iOS device to the cloud, a mechanism to deliver iOS updates wirelessly and a way to activate your device without connecting it to iTunes on your computer.

Gruber points to the Apple TV 2 as a preview of this cable-free future as the device streams its content. There is no need to transfer and backup up content as its media is stored in the cloud. Unlike other iOS devices, the ATV 2 also updates itself independently of iTunes. If Apple can develop such a system for the Apple TV, it could do the same for other iOS devices.

This system, though, is difficult to put into place with the large number of devices Apple has in the wild. Apple will also have to accommodate a wide range of user scenarios, including those who have never synced their device to those who synced but ran out of space on their device. In these two example cases, Apple must have a method to resolve these customers' issues before a sync can be performed. You only need to look at Microsoft's botched Windows Phone update to see how difficult this can be.

Gruber asserts Apple is interested in the cloud, but the company is taking an incremental approach. Rather than sever the tie in one major update to iOS, Apple will slowly cut the cord one piece at a time starting with the Apple TV 2. Eventually, the Cupertino company may move to an over-the-air update system and iTunes-free activation system for iOS. Later, Apple may introduce streaming but still require users with large media libraries to sync via a Mac or a PC. Apple may never completely cut the cord as it is not feasible for someone with a 10 GB library to backup and restore their media over a cellular or even a Wi-Fi connection.

Google, Gruber points out, has a cloud syncing system that performs better than Apple's MobileMe service, but it lacks the slick UI and ease of use associated with Apple's products. Apple is admittedly behind, but it still has a chance to catch up if all these rumors of free MobileMe and a cloud-based media storage and streaming service come to fruition.

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Source: http://daringfireball.net/2011/04/cutting_that_cord

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Apple iOS

Recently, Amazon introduced a new cloud-based file storage and media playback system aptly named Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. The debut...

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mack

Like Simon I would love to see Dropbox-like functionality built into the API so that all app developers can use it.

But, I'd like to see this go further and include app-to-app synch with similar APIs in both iOS and OS X Lion.

In other words, all my Pages documents, my Keynote presentations, etc. available on both my iPad and my Mac so long as I have both the iOS version of Pages and the Mac version of Pages.

Same with game synching and other apps - provided I have both the iOS version and the OS X version.

April 18 2011 at 2:34 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Simon

Personally I would be happy with a dropbox style file synch that is open to the API. I just bought an iPad2 and found that some of the apps (ok the games) haven't had much interest because it meant starting again as I got a long way through on my iPhone. Valve's Steam does it for some games with the "Steam Cloud".

Similarly, iPad generated Garageband tunes and newly taken photos all autosyching to a "cloud drive" would be great so that regardless of iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC I can see the files I created on each of the mobile devices.

April 18 2011 at 12:27 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

There are a lot of us Apple customers that have limited bandwidth and internet speeds available from our merger choice of ISP's. This model falls off the cliff without an accompanying method of getting data to and from the cloud. Is Apple going to get into the ISP business?

April 18 2011 at 11:36 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to NM's comment

tony d

I agree. Although the area I live in in is saturated with 3G from both AT&T and Verizon, its how much it costs and bandwidth caps that are the issues. Unless Apple can cut some deal with both these companies the so called cloud is useless, unless we're talking wifi. Then thats a different story with the cable companies (and AT&T DSL/U-Verse) protecting their turf. Still a no win for those promoting the cloud as a viable storage and syncing method for iOS devices (or any mobile device for that matter.)

April 18 2011 at 1:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

James Katt

The biggest problem with Google is that despite being in the "cloud", Google NEVER backs up your software and media to the cloud. It only does the easy stuff - your address book, etc. - never the hard stuff. Thus Google is only partly cloud-based. The rest is highly at risk to loss because it is never backed up.

April 18 2011 at 11:12 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to James Katt's comment

I wouldn't say "easy" stuff, what Google does store in the cloud is information that they mine and profit for.

If they can't make money out of it they're not going to waste money storing it in their servers. While this is good commercial sense it's not so great for people's backup policies.

April 18 2011 at 11:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Roland Young

Still waiting on the news for a free MobileMe service...or at least a better and concise way to sync all of my data. As a MobileMe member, I personally would love to see something similar to the Google services (i.e.- iWork docs, Picasa for online storage/editing, Voice, and Reader for online RSS feeds). Of course I could buy additional storage, but Google offers it cheaper. Of course I would love to see a faster more efficient iDisk that works like Dropbox.

As far as AppleTV, if it is anything like Netflix, I may just choose to drop my Netflix account. I would love everything in my social life to live around the Apple ecosystem so it is easier to control and maintain. I would like to use iBooks a bit more, but unfortunately the pricing is ridiculous! Purchasing ebooks through Kindle is so much cheaper and I think Apple needs to get control of that aspect very quickly. I think it is unacceptable that the prices of magazine subscriptions in the iBooks (and Kindle store) are higher than the print prices. I understand everyone wants a piece of the pie, but in the "green" world that Apple promotes you would think these prices would be drastically cheaper than the print versions.

In the meantime, I will wait and wait until Apple decides to make the announcement on MobileMe changes. Has anyone heard anything recently? I head sometime in April (2011), but here we are half way through April and nothing. No keynote schedule either.

April 18 2011 at 11:10 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

ctt1wbw

Deficiency? Since when is no "cloud" storage a deficiency?

April 18 2011 at 10:59 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply