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It's true; iCloud has the potential to be a massive lock-in mechanism, ensuring that people will continue to buy Apple devices for years on end because buying anything else will mean manually moving your data out of iCloud - which probably won't be easy for the average user.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
iCloud is not (just) a hard disk in the cloud (as Steve Jobs said during the keynote). More defining is the API that makes it seamless for applications (and consequently users) to sync data to the cloud. In that sense, it's not just another Dropbox. In a year, the average iOS app will automatically sync data across devices using iCloud, while there is no simple knob you can switch to store it in Dropbox instead.
> In a year, the average iOS app will automatically sync data across devices using iCloud, while there is no simple knob you can switch to store it in Dropbox instead. Which is, frankly, scary: imho, you should be able to easily switch your "sync provider" seamlessly. (For healthy competition, for privacy rights)
It's pretty much the same with iTunes: I can ditch OS X and switch back to Linux. However, I will not be able to play music and movies directly from my media player to the Apple TV2 without much effort. Also, synchronizing music from Banshee or Rhythmbox to my phone is not possible (until libgpod supports iPhone 4).
iTunes/iCloud (/Google Apps/Facebook) will be the next Microsoft Office. You will be locked into a platform because your data lives there. It's clever.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I will have to see the full implementation of iCloud to understand the difference. Again, can't speak for Dropbox even though they're the market leader. But SugarSync has this syncing functionality already and has had it for at least 2 years. You can sync to the cloud and access files from the cloud OR you can actually choose files/folders to sync across hardware. For example, if I say that I want to sync my music fo…
You can sync to the cloud and access files from the cloud OR you can actually choose files/folders to sync across hardware. There is a huge usability difference between putting a file in some folder, and having it synced, and automatically syncing all relevant data in an application. This is easy to underestimate for us technical people, but it is very difficult to explain my mother that she has to put files in, say,…
Does anybody else think that the EU is going to jump on Apple eventually the same way they jumped on Microsoft and browsers and make Apple provide a way for users to select which storage provider they want to use?
It's true; iCloud has the potential to be a massive lock-in mechanism, ensuring that people will continue to buy Apple devices for years on end because buying anything else will mean manually moving your data out of iCloud - which probably won't be easy for the average user.
It's true; iCloud has the potential to be a massive lock-in mechanism, ensuring that people will continue to buy Apple devices for years on end because buying anything else will mean manually moving your data out of iCloud - which probably won't be easy for the average user.
What data, specifically? The only thing that comes to mind is music, but that lock-in already exists with iTunes.
It's true; iCloud has the potential to be a massive lock-in mechanism, ensuring that people will continue to buy Apple devices for years on end because buying anything else will mean manually moving your data out of iCloud - which probably won't be easy for the average user.
To move your data you will need to sync to a mac and then manually move your data. Copying from a iOS device is problematic, but that is true today.
Which is exactly what a lot of users will be unable to do. They'll rather avoid the hassle by buying a new Apple device yet again.
I'm not pointing my finger at Apple per se. If they provide a reasonably user-friendly way of moving your data then it's hard to blame them. But the fact is that most people will want to avoid the hassle, which means the iCloud becomes a lock-in mechanism.
Does anybody else think that the EU is going to jump on Apple eventually the same way they jumped on Microsoft and browsers and make Apple provide a way for users to select which storage provider they want to use?
Does anybody else think that the EU is going to jump on Apple eventually the same way they jumped on Microsoft and browsers and make Apple provide a way for users to select which storage provider they want to use?