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Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

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Re: Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

#61

Post by bad_user »

cube13 wrote: post #56
Legion wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

37signals takes Rails and makes the products they intend to make. Microsoft has attempted to make a successful cloud platform - their commercials all proclaim, "To the Cloud!" - and yet, they fail, while someone else takes their technology and (potentially) succeeds.

>Microsoft has attempted to make a successful cloud platform - their commercials all proclaim, "To the Cloud!" - and yet, they fail, while someone else takes their technology and (potentially) succeeds. I don't really think that MS has targeted Windows Azure towards the general consumer market, though. It's basically the same as Amazon Web Services. Apple using that tech gives them an incredibly strong marketing tool…

AWS is cheaper. It matters less to me what companies the size of Apple do, as I'm not Apple.

Re: Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

#62

Post by bad_user »

j_baker wrote: post #47
statictype wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course not. It's akin to saying any successful Rails app is an embarrassment to 37signals because they had the technology to create it but didn't.

Yes, in the land where everyone is logical and only makes decisions based on pure reason, that's true. But on planet earth, people act irrationally. From a strictly logical sense, it's meaningless. But symbolically, it says a lot. The fact that Microsoft failed at something and then got bested by someone using their technology is symbolic of how far Microsoft has fallen.

Microsoft shines when they provide infrastructure, not finished products (with a few exceptions).

Services like Azure are what Microsoft should be about.

Re: Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

#65

Post by ma2rten »

cube13 wrote: post #56
Legion wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

37signals takes Rails and makes the products they intend to make. Microsoft has attempted to make a successful cloud platform - their commercials all proclaim, "To the Cloud!" - and yet, they fail, while someone else takes their technology and (potentially) succeeds.

>Microsoft has attempted to make a successful cloud platform - their commercials all proclaim, "To the Cloud!" - and yet, they fail, while someone else takes their technology and (potentially) succeeds. I don't really think that MS has targeted Windows Azure towards the general consumer market, though. It's basically the same as Amazon Web Services. Apple using that tech gives them an incredibly strong marketing tool…

Erm.. Apple uses both according to the article.

Re: Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

#66

Post by jpalomaki »

Relaying on their own data centers and their own cloud stuff would have created a dependency between iCloud and the data center level stuff. If the data center project would have been delayed for a reason or another.. too bad for the iCloud.

Also it might not be a good idea to start testing your inhouse cloud infrastructure with a high profile product like iCloud that is likely to attract quite a few users in coming months.

I think it absolutely makes sense to do the development and initial launch with outside services and then later on maybe migrate to your own data centers and own cloud stack.

Re: Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

#67

Post by mrich »

I find it funny how everybody here tries to spin this to portray Apple in a positive light, even putting the blame on Microsoft somehow.

Face it, this would be a big deal for any other large company. When a tech giant builds his latest project on out-of-house infrastructure, how can this be good? At best, it is a waste of development resources (when it is temporary), At worst, it is a business risk/reliability nightmare waiting to happen (when this is their final infrastructure).

Re: Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

#68

Post by ZeroGravitas »

kenjackson wrote: post #9

This is a win all the way around. Azure needs customers and who better than Apple to stress it and force them to make it better. But I'd hate to be the Azure VP if Jobs calls you because something isn't to his liking. At the same time Apple wins because they can focus on their core competency, UX, not cloud plumbing. Is Apple or Samsung embarrassed because the chips, flash, and display are sourced from Samsung? Of co…

Apple often removes any mention of the suppliers on the chips, sometimes cheekily putting Apple logos on chips bought from others, so they appear to be somewhat embarrassed about it.

Similarly, Samsung seemed a trifle embarrassed when announcing that their Galaxy S II phone would ship in some territories with Tegra 2 chips rather than their own Exynos chips.

Re: Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

#69

Post by Refringe »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #68
kenjackson wrote: post #9

This is a win all the way around. Azure needs customers and who better than Apple to stress it and force them to make it better. But I'd hate to be the Azure VP if Jobs calls you because something isn't to his liking. At the same time Apple wins because they can focus on their core competency, UX, not cloud plumbing. Is Apple or Samsung embarrassed because the chips, flash, and display are sourced from Samsung? Of co…

Apple often removes any mention of the suppliers on the chips, sometimes cheekily putting Apple logos on chips bought from others, so they appear to be somewhat embarrassed about it. Similarly, Samsung seemed a trifle embarrassed when announcing that their Galaxy S II phone would ship in some territories with Tegra 2 chips rather than their own Exynos chips.

I'm nitpicking, but I wouldn't say Apple "removes" the logos, just special orders the chips with their logo instead.

Re: Guess What: iCloud Uses Windows Azure Services For Hosting Data

#70

Post by jodrellblank »

Legion wrote: post #52
statictype wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course not. It's akin to saying any successful Rails app is an embarrassment to 37signals because they had the technology to create it but didn't.

37signals takes Rails and makes the products they intend to make. Microsoft has attempted to make a successful cloud platform - their commercials all proclaim, "To the Cloud!" - and yet, they fail, while someone else takes their technology and (potentially) succeeds.

And yet they fail? They've got Apple using their service for iCloud, how is that a "fail"?
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