Apple unveils iCloud content storage service

TORONTO – Details of Apple’s highly anticipated cloud computing service were officially released Monday, ending weeks of speculation the company was working on a new digital web storage service.

Taking a break from his medical leave, CEO Steve Jobs received a standing ovation from a crowd of thousands at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference in San Francisco where he announced details of Apple’s next generation of operating systems, iOS 5, Mac OS x Lion and iCloud, Apple’s new internet content storage service.

“Some people think the cloud is just a hard disk in the sky,” Jobs told the crowd following his keynote address at the annual event showcasing Apple’s latest software innovations and technologies.

“We think it’s way more than that. And we call it iCloud. Now iCloud stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes to all your devices."

Jobs demonstrated how iCloud works to wirelessly store and push content to a user’s mobile devices or home computer.

The cloud syncs and saves data automatically, allowing users to update content on all devices when changed from any device.

What is iCloud?

iCloud is a free online digital content storage server and music player.

Comprised of nine applications, iCloud allows users access to a wide array of content, including documents, calendars, photos and music from their iPhones, iPads and Wi-Fi capable iPods without having to connect devices to a home computer to transfer data.

iCloud will support up to 10 devices for free under a single iCloud account. To start, Apple is offering 5GB of free storage on iCloud for mail, documents and other backed up data. Music, books and applications aren’t included in that storage limit.

Integrated with all your applications, iCloud works with social media platforms like Twitter, so you can tweet a photo directly from a photo app.

Apple has made deals with all four major record labels and publishers to license music streaming on iCloud.

iCloud will work on any iOS-based devices, including PCs. It will be available with iOS 5 this fall.

The expert’s take

GlobalNews.ca spoke with Greg Elmer, an associate professor at Ryerson University and the Director of the Infoscape Research Lab at the Centre for the Study of Social Media. Elmer sees the launch of iCloud as a strategic move by Apple to house all of their branded media and content services under one roof “in the sky.”

“It’s really an effort by Apple to make all of their services and products seamlessly available from a number of sites and hardware,” he said.

The iCloud promises to be a “much more user-based functional system that links together all the digital platforms, functions and places to store personal information, access to services, music and video, in addition to a custom space for users to store their personal documents,” Elmer said.

The move to centralized cloud computing is a step towards fixing aggravating issues associated with constantly updating your computer software, Elmer explains. “All updates to software can now happen in one centralized server.”

However, the centralized cloud computing system is not flawless. “If the cloud computing server network is not up to speed, if the security is somewhat lax, the whole server could come crashing down,” Elmer warns.

“If your computer setup is matching your needs, there’s no need to move into a new alignment like cloud computing,” Elmer said.