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iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

cringely.com

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Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#61

Post by bxr »

jherdman wrote: post #42
hnsmurf wrote: post #21

I don't get it. Most of what iCloud does is already being done on smartphones for free. Gmail and Exchange Server both already sync contacts, calendars, and email quite nicely across devices. I haven't had to manually transfer any of that to a new smartphone since long before there was an iPhone. The music thing is nice too, but it's either a paid solution or an incomplete one. Apple once released a stat that only 10…

The key differentiating factor is that the iCloud heralds an era wherein all of your data is decentralized, all of the time, and that this is the default for all users, on all Apple devices, all of the time.

>iCloud heralds an era wherein all of your data is decentralized

You are correct, for all definitions of "decentralized" that are "rigidly centralized, almost appearing decentralized because centralization is so far outside your control"

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#62

Post by ansy »

falcolas wrote: post #45
ansy wrote: post #44

It's all about ubiquitous computing versus desktop computing. Microsoft's manifest destiny was having a [Microsoft] computer on every desk. Its whole existence is built around achieving and capitalizing on that vision. We are entering the age of ubiquitous computing. Computers everywhere. Not just for every person or every pocket. But multiple computers for every person for every function that can be augmented. Apple…

I'm not sure I agree. The Microsoft Kin showed this kind of forethought, but it was perhaps a bit too early, with a bit too lean-featured a phone. If they had continued the kin-like ubiquity with the Windows 7 phone, and merged that ubiquity with Windows 7 itself, I think it would be a much stronger competitor than it is now; perhaps even pushing Apple and Google on the defensive.

First of all, Kin is a rebrand of the Danger Sidekick business Microsoft bought. All those social media features are inherited from the Sidekick, a product that "got it." A founder of Danger, Andy Rubin, went on to start Android which got acquired by Google and we all know the rest of that story.

Who knows why Microsoft bought Danger. "Phones are looking hot, better buy something." Then proceed to screw it up royally by rewriting everything from scratch on top of Windows CE wasting the entire investment.

Yeah, I don't think Kin is a good example of how Microsoft gets it.

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#63

Post by bxr »

super_mario wrote: post #54

Seriously, UNIX guys have had this for decades. Ever heard of keeping your user directory and profile on the network server. So when you walk around the office and log into different machines your HOME "travels" with you. The network server now just lives on a server outside your organization/home what ever. The network speed now becomes the biggest limitation, and there are valid concerns with security as well.

ssshhhh. This is a technological revolution, don't tell them that the war is already over.

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#64

Post by JonnieCache »

eropple wrote: post #58
ugh wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overwhelming majority? I doubt it. I have no doubt at all that there is a small minority of people who absolutely cannot do without some feature of Word that no competitor offers. But that’s a minority, not a majority. The reason why I’m using Word, why my parents use Word, why my friends use Word (despite not needing any feature it has over Pages or OpenOffice) is that everyone else is using it. Importing and export…

I can't find the link offhand but I recall it being said by someone affiliated with Office that pretty much everyone uses about 20% of Word's features. The difference is in which 20%. You might have a set of feature needs that Pages covers. I know that pretty much everyone in my company (that is, management and project people--engineers could get by with whatever, that's not a big deal) couldn't use Pages, and their…

What you're talking about is the 80-20 rule: 80% of people only need 20% of the featureset.

It's an incidence of the Pareto Principle, and dates back to 1906.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#65

Post by recoiledsnake »

spenrose wrote: post #5
programminggeek wrote: post #3

iCloud is a great idea, so is Google Apps, so is Office 365. None are designed to "kill Windows". iCloud's real purpose is to sell more Apple hardware, not kill Windows. Hurting Windows sales would simply be a side effect. It's a smart move to put iPads and iPhones on equal footing as the Mac in that regard. If your docs, pictures, apps, and music are all on iCloud, your computers become disposable digital devices. W…

Upvoted b/c I think your rejection of Cringely is right, but the reason is different. Jobs/Apple are not in this for the money. They simply believe that iOS + cloud is a better way to compute.

Wow just wow. Maybe that's why they started paying Foxconn employees a few cents extra per iDevice so that they won't violate their employee agreement to not commit suicide? At least they have a job unlike non-employees, right?

There are a lot of examples of Apple's moneymindedness like margins on hardawre, upgrades cost, 30% of app cost etc. but the the most egregious is the 30% tithe on all in-app purchases and subscription content. The fact that they rejected Readability's app for the iPhone and iPad AFTER taking their FOSS code to implement the readability feature is Safari is one of the biggest examples of how Apple is squeezing the last bit of money. http://blog.readability.com/2011/02/an-open-letter-to-apple/

How altruistic is that?

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#66

Post by stcredzero »

JonnieCache wrote: post #43
Total_Meltdown wrote: post #2

I think we need to realize that PCs (laptops or desktops) and mobile devices (tablets and mobile phones) are good at different things, and going forward will be used for different things. For example, I'm sure everyone (especially on this site) has noticed that software development is kind of a big thing. I don't see any indication that I'll be developing any software on a mobile device any time soon (especially not…

I think we can all envisage a future where we are exclusively using web-based office suites on post-PC devices. A lot of people are already doing this. What I can't imagine is a world where we are developing those web-based office suites on the same post-PC devices that they are deployed to. Try and imagine using XCode on a tablet under iOS all day. Doesn't sound very appealing does it? Or autocad, or solidworks or a…

Try and imagine using XCode on a tablet under iOS all day. Doesn't sound very appealing does it?

No one needs to supplant the workstation form-factor. What we're in the process of is realizing that there are tons of other opportunities in mobile form factors. Try to think of all the workplace activities that involve taking down data on pieces of paper and taking them over to a computer where they get entered. Try to think of all the times when people read off information from a specialized instrument and enter it into a computer. All of these are opportunities for mobile computing.

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#67

Post by JonnieCache »

stcredzero wrote: post #66
JonnieCache wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we can all envisage a future where we are exclusively using web-based office suites on post-PC devices. A lot of people are already doing this. What I can't imagine is a world where we are developing those web-based office suites on the same post-PC devices that they are deployed to. Try and imagine using XCode on a tablet under iOS all day. Doesn't sound very appealing does it? Or autocad, or solidworks or a…

Try and imagine using XCode on a tablet under iOS all day. Doesn't sound very appealing does it? No one needs to supplant the workstation form-factor. What we're in the process of is realizing that there are tons of other opportunities in mobile form factors. Try to think of all the workplace activities that involve taking down data on pieces of paper and taking them over to a computer where they get entered. Try to…

Totally agreed, one of the biggest industrial users of tablets is in hospitals, which is exactly what you're talking about.

Lots of people do seem to think that workstations will be supplanted though. So much hype about the "death of the PC," the "post-PC era," although I accept that "post" doesnt necessarily imply a world where that thing is totally gone.

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#68

Post by Alg0r1thm »

"Some will say this is unlikely because of Microsoft’s grip on enterprise sales, but consumers have been leading the IT market for the last decade and the mobile transition will only accelerate this trend."

The mobile transition is a fallacy in my opinion. There is no transition; it is more a compliment to real computing solutions. Do you think large business are going to sacrifice control of their data to a "cloud" rather than their own datacenters and be held hostage to a recurring fee? Or how would you like your employees to be doing spreadsheets and documents on a tablet's virtual keyboard?

While I do believe many consumer needs can be met by mobile tech, the PC will continue to exist for a lot longer than three years simply because of the utility of conventional design. No matter how hard you try, three years from now Windows will still be alive and ingrained into the government and business world for at least three more years after that.

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#69

Post by MaysonL »

TomOfTTB wrote: post #4
Total_Meltdown wrote: post #2

I think we need to realize that PCs (laptops or desktops) and mobile devices (tablets and mobile phones) are good at different things, and going forward will be used for different things. For example, I'm sure everyone (especially on this site) has noticed that software development is kind of a big thing. I don't see any indication that I'll be developing any software on a mobile device any time soon (especially not…

Cringely is in the business of trying to look prophetic so he makes wild predictions like this to get attention. I don't think anyone, Apple included, things the Personal Computer is going anywhere for the very reasons you laid out above. Even with a wireless keyboard and a Monitor hooked up the iPad isn't sufficient for any serious writing, coding, photo editing, etc... You still need a PC for that. I think Apple la…

Cringely is in the business of trying to look prophetic so he makes wild predictions like this to get attention.

Yeah, but in the long run, he may be right. Has peak Windows occurred? It's not quite clear, but it may have, with the total PC business going at -1% yoy. And when Windows/Office sales start showing big year over year declines, Microsoft will be hurting very badly, if they haven't developed some other revenue source.

Re: iCloud’s Real Purpose is to Kill Windows

#70

Post by rimantas »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #65
spenrose wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Upvoted b/c I think your rejection of Cringely is right, but the reason is different. Jobs/Apple are not in this for the money. They simply believe that iOS + cloud is a better way to compute.

Wow just wow. Maybe that's why they started paying Foxconn employees a few cents extra per iDevice so that they won't violate their employee agreement to not commit suicide? At least they have a job unlike non-employees, right? There are a lot of examples of Apple's moneymindedness like margins on hardawre, upgrades cost, 30% of app cost etc. but the the most egregious is the 30% tithe on all in-app purchases and sub…

Oh, so now Apple pays salary for Foxconn employees? That's an interesting piece of news. How about HP, Cisco, Intel, Acer, Asus, Dell, Nokia, etc? How is suicide rate among Foxconn employees compared to average?
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