“Some people view Microsoft as The Evil Empire, while others give Apple that moniker. I’ve never thought either one was particularly evil but when I found iCloud installed on my PC after upgrading to iOS 5, I’m beginning to wonder. I discovered the iCloud icon in my Windows 7 system tray after a recent update/reboot exercise,” Ken Hess reports for ZDNet.
“OK, so I know I installed iCloud during the update but I thought it was just a way to manage my iOS device backups or to keep track of them. Little did I know that Apple is now willing to backup data and pictures from my PC,” Hess reports. “Apple wants me to use their Cloud-based storage on all of my devices not just Apple ones. Pretty darn sneaky, if you ask me. Smart too.”
“I don’t use Microsoft Outlook but, for now at least, you can only backup your Outlook contacts, calendars and tasks. You can also backup your Internet Explorer bookmarks. But, the most intriguing of all is the Photo Stream part of the iCloud application,” Hess reports. “iCloud is less expensive than Dropbox and it works on all of your iDevices, Macs and now your PC too. Awesome.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: “It’s like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.” – Steve Jobs, May 30, 2007
I booted up my Windows 7 work PC this morning and saw an Apple update window offering a QuickTime update (which was already checked) and an iCloud control panel download (which wasn’t checked). I haven’t installed anything to do with iCloud on the PC yet. Not sure how the author could have ended up with iCloud automatically installed, if his setup is like mine.
Man, Dropbox should’ve sold; it was a massive opportunity.
iCloud doesn’t exactly duplicate Dropbox. iCloud is an automatic content syncer, you only have control over general types and groups of content (contacts, photos, documents, etc), then each sync’ed device gets a full copy (one-to-many approach).
Dropbox is a network drive. You manually choose what goes in there. The files aren’t auto-replicated to all devices with Dropbox on it, but all devices have access to the same file (many-to-one approach).
Neither is a one-size-fits-all solution, they both have their benefits and drawbacks depending on what you want to do.
I can’t understand why Apple is discriminating against its own user base by denying Snow Leopard the benefit of iCloud, yet extending it to Windows sufferers? Is this a subtle message to Snow Leopard users to abandon the platform and migrate to Windows?
No its just a message to upgrade to Lion 😉
I’d love to upgrade my Mac mini, which is my home’s main iTunes server, with its 1 GB of hard-to-get-to-and-thus-upgrade RAM to Lion. But Lion won’t install on iMacs with less than 2 GB. (Maybe Windows 7 will…)
It’s $30, BLN, and includes a lot more than just iCloud access. Most people would call that a tremendous bargain.
Most vendors do not offer a fraction of the product functionality upgrades that Apple provides (mostly for free). In fact, many vendors do not upgrade their products at all – what you buy is what you get until you replace it. So I can’t see a lot of merit in bashing Apple.
How’s about giving that beverage to Snow Leopard users then?
I guess cuz, you’re not allowed to give away ‘features’ for free. I suppose ‘free’ Mac App Store contradicts that. But that was in Beta. Ho hum.
my problem with Photostream is the inability to allow for deletions of photos via my home computer. this is a real pain and it makes me nervous to have any data “put there.”
Who told you that? Of course, you can. I’ve done it multiple times. Look it up. It’s extremely simple.
why don’t you just tell me?
an example, I have a nude photo of my ex girlfriend who got beat up by her former boyfriend, it was taken as physical evidence of the assault. I cannot delete this photo from Photo Stream.
Are you implying that that person is you? Abusive tendencies lately?
no, it was a sincere question. thanks so much for helping out.
I don’t user photo stream so can’t help you out on this question, sorry. I do use other aspects of iCloud though which work as advertised.
I have researched the same issue. It appears that the only way to eliminate those PhotoStream images is to turn off PhotoStream and reset it. That eliminates ALL of them though. It does seem crazy you can’t selectively delete or exclude images.
I got cloud which was I deleted when I found it to be not iCloud. since i have snow leopard still and not lion.
C’mon Apple, don’t “charge” Snow Leopard users $29 to use iCloud – the cost of upgrading to Lion … and then give it to Windows users for free …
Agreed. The reports of the quirks in Lion have me holding back on the upgrade.
… the last Snow Leopard computer under my control (my wife’s, both of my own having been upgraded) right now, I think I can explain why no automatic iCloud upgrade for SL systems.
iCloud is a feature. The only changes Apple is making to SL are Security updates. iCloud is NOT a Security Update.
That would be the logic.
I have to agree … the logic doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. There are a lot of Leopard systems still out there (they just Will Not DIE!) that would welcome this new feature. Have mercy, Apple. If you are going to build systems that will last for many years, please treat those older systems as well as you do the competition.
Yeah?
I have an iPad, an iPhone 4S, and a fairly recent iMac I7. I cannot use iCloud, because I don’t want to lose my Power PC apps.
PC users can use iCloud? . . . How is this fair, . . . or even smart?
+1 Losing the ability to run PowerPC apps is a downgrade.
I would have to downgrade to Lion to get iCloud.
and to add more fuel on the fire, they support an older version of windows as well, Vista
iCloud is not the same as Dropbox. Synch files with iCloud is very limited if not unusable.
Synching photos via Photostream works well for new photos on iphone, but does not offer good-old gallery functionality for sharing photo’s with family and friends.
I only use afenda and contact synching.
For me iCloud is very beta and needs a lot more advanced festures to compete. For now apple forces me to switch to dropbox, flickr and vimeo.
Oh stop whining, the lot of you. Ever heard of system upgrades? iCloud will come to SL as part of the next system upgrade …
To be fair to Apple, iCloud requires Outlook for calendar, contacts and reminders, and getting that costs at least £80-90.
What a bunch of f~%%ing whiners. MS windows upgrades are in the $250 range. Lion is only frickin $30. If it was $3 you’d probably still be complaining.
Lol, you REALLY know what you are talking about don’t ya!? What a completely ignorant fkwit you are.
Now if only iCloud would stop telling me my password is wrong — not changed since iTools days — and give me access to my email! Even fails via the web. Come on Apple…