This Geek’s Preview Review of Apple’s iCloud

Head in the Clouds

I became a Mac person back in 2003. I had worked on an Apple computer for the first time in college for some digital art and web design classes I took. Then after I graduated I got a job as a Graphic Designer and Photographer. It was there back in 2003 that I made the leap into all things Mac. I soon found myself purchasing my first Powerbook G4 and bought into a Mac.com membership. I was now part of the club (or cult). Needless to say I never looked back. Sure there have been times I have gotten frustrated at the idea that you can’t go to any computer store and basically build your own PC to your specifications, where as with a Mac you are limited with how you can customize it, but in the end that’s why Apple computers are so maintenance free. Apple built it that way. I’ve learned to accept that and I have only really had computer problems twice in my 8 year love affair with apple.

As a Mac.com member I got a cool email address and the ability to have online storage and syncing of all my devices. It was never perfect but it served its purpose in my “iLife” (no pun intended). A few years ago Apple attempted to improve things a bit and created or upgraded the Mac.com to Mobile Me. With improved syncing capabilities and faster service, Mobile Me was a fresh upgrade but still not perfect.

Now here we are at the dawn of a new reboot if you will of what Apple started with their paid subscription of Mac.com. iCloud is the latest reinvention and looks to be the best leap forward. Not only will the service be free, yes FREE, but there are vast improvements to the service. Here are a few previews of features of the iCloud service said to launch in the Fall and why I think we should all jump on board.

iTunes in the Cloud

So now you’ll be able to buy music and share it and your other music across all your devices wirelessly. That’s just about the best feature I can see. That is of course if you ignore the rest of the features. Dammm this iCloud is cool! But I digress. The only catch is you have to have internet access on all your devices in order for this to work seamlessly.

Photo Stream

This feature is huge for me. I’m constantly taking photos with my iPhone and sometimes wish I could see them on my iMac or my iPad. (Yes I have all Apple products….I’m an Apple Geek remember) Well now Photo stream lets you share your photos across all your devices and on the cloud. This works with the fact that now Apple will offer a FREE cloud service. So you’ll be able to have a rotation of photos online, up in the cloud, they say it will be your last 1000 photos and new photos will be in the rotation for 30 days. Not bad folks.

Documents in the Cloud

Personally I will probably use this feature the least, however for those of you out there that rely heavily on Drop Box, well this has your name written all over it. Write and edit your documents from any device. It will only work with Apple document apps for now but third-party compatibility is coming soon.

Apps, Books and Backup

This one is just about time. Now we’ll be able to backup and update our apps wirelessly. No more having to sit and connect your device to your computer to backup and update through iTunes.

Contact, Calendar and Mail

On top of all the epic-ness of all the other features of iCloud we also get some nice updates to the way your contacts, calendar and mail work.

Life Just Got Easier

Well what more can I say. Apple has done it again. Making your mac orientated life smoother. Of course if your not a mac person you have to at least agree that Apple is raising the bar, and hopefully other companies will follow suit. For this geek however, I will continue my stress free gadget loving lifestyle as a mac geek and iCloud will only enhance it.

Are you sold? What features are you most looking forward to? 

For more information on iCloud and how to get it click here.