iCloud

Humor
February 17, 2012
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OS X Mountain Lion vs. real mountain lion

By on February 17, 2012 at 12:00 PM.

OS X Mountain Lion vs. real mountain lion

Apple unveiled the next major release of its OS X desktop operating system on Thursday, giving the world a rare early look at what the company has in store for Mac computer users this summer. A revamped Messages app with iMessage integration, the Notification Center and enhanced iCloud integration are among the exciting new features users can look forward to in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Apple loves naming versions of its desktop platform after jungle cats, of course, so Apple deal-hunter DealMac decided to line up the technology giant’s new OS against its namesake. This tale of the tape is definitely good for a few laughs, and a link to the full comparison follows after the break. More →

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Business
January 25, 2012
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Apple sells record 1.4 million Apple TVs in Q4; 85 million users now on iCloud

By on January 25, 2012 at 9:55 PM.

Apple sells record 1.4 million Apple TVs in Q4; 85 million users now on iCloud

During the company’s earnings call on Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple TV is “doing extremely well.” The Cupertino-based company sold a record 1.4 million units in the December quarter, though Cook says the product is still just a hobby. “We still classify this as a hobby, but we continue to add things to it,” he said. “I couldn’t live without it. We think it’s a fantastic product and we continue to pull strings and see where we can take it.” Cook also revealed that the company’s iCloud service now has 85 million users. “We’re thrilled with iCloud and the response from customers has been incredible,” he said. “It was a fundamental shift, recognizing that people had numerous devices and wanted their content in the cloud. 85 million customers in three months; It’s not a product, it’s a strategy for the next decade.”

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mobile
January 19, 2012
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iPhone owners living in the past finally get a peek at the present

By on January 19, 2012 at 12:45 PM.

iPhone owners living in the past finally get a peek at the present

There will always come a point when hardware limitations prevent previous-generation iPhone and iPod touch models from receiving the latest version of iOS. The issue is more prominently discussed in the Android community due to the frequency of updates and the time-consuming process vendors face when making customized software elements available on a new Android build. But owners of older versions of Apple’s mobile devices also know the pain of seeing features added to iOS that they will never get to enjoy until they purchase a more modern device — until now. More →

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Audio
January 17, 2012
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iTunes Match launches in 19 additional countries

By on January 17, 2012 at 7:55 PM.

iTunes Match launches in 19 additional countries

Apple has updated the company’s iTunes Match service to include 19 additional countries. The list includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela, bringing iTunes Match availability to 37 markets in total. Apple debuted the iTunes Match service late last year. For an annual charge, customers can scan and match tracks from their iTunes libraries and replace them with tracks in the iTunes Store and store them in iCloud. Apple lets customers download up to 25,000 tracks without DRM restrictions, with the ability to match any track in a supported audio file format. More →

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CES
January 9, 2012
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Acer to launch iCloud knockoff in the second quarter of 2012

By on January 9, 2012 at 9:01 AM.

Acer to launch iCloud knockoff in the second quarter of 2012

Acer recently announced the company’s intent to enter into the cloud game with the introduction of AcerCloud. The service will be available for Android devices and bundled with Acer brand computers starting in the second quarter of 2012 with worldwide availability in the fourth quarter. With AcerCloud’s PicStream, users can take a picture with their smartphone and have it automatically backed up to their computer to share with other connected devices. Additionally, AcerCloud Docs, a cloud-based documents service, allows users to update documents and save them to the cloud to stream them to other devices. Both of these services permanently back up the respective contents on a user’s PC and allow files to be temporarily accessed for 30 days from your personal own cloud account. With Acer’s clear.fu Media application you’re also able to access your multimedia at anytime, again, from your own cloud account. AcerCloud shares numerous similarities with Apple’s iCloud, which will be the service’s main competition. Read on for Acer’s full press release.

More →

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Breaking
November 11, 2011
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Apple prepares for iTunes Match launch

By on November 11, 2011 at 2:30 PM.

Apple prepares for iTunes Match launch

Apple’s much anticipated iTunes Match service is now nearing launch after having been delayed for unknown reasons. Apple on Friday sent emails to developers alerting them that the company will be deleting all current iCloud libraries on Saturday. While a specific launch date is still unavailable, Apple did say that this final clearing of developers’ online libraries is being done in preparation for launch. ITunes Match is a service that allows users to mirror their iTunes music libraries online in iCloud for a monthly fee. Apple said the service would launch by the end of October but in a rare occurrence, the company missed its promised launch deadline. Apple’s full note to developers follows below. More →

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Software
November 2, 2011
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iTunes Match testing continues with iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2, still no public release

By on November 2, 2011 at 9:20 PM.

iTunes Match testing continues with iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2, still no public release

Apple’s iTunes Match service was supposed to be released to the public by the end of October and while we’re still not sure why the service has been delayed, Apple just released a new beta build of iTunes that allows developers to continue testing the service. Apple’s release notes are as follows:

iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2 is now available and includes a number of important stability and performance improvements. iTunes Match is also now available for testing on Apple TV.

iTunes Match stores your music library in iCloud and allows you to enjoy your collection from anywhere, any time, on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, computer and now your Apple TV.

The new build, iTunes 10.5.1 beta 2, is available for download immediately from within Apple’s developer portal. Once released, iTunes Match will allow users to mirror their iTunes libraries in iCloud for $25 per year.

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Breaking
October 17, 2011
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Apple sells over 4 million iPhone 4S handsets first weekend

By on October 17, 2011 at 8:55 AM.

Apple sells over 4 million iPhone 4S handsets first weekend

Apple sells 4 million iPhone 4S first weekend

Apple has just announced that company moved over 4 million iPhone 4S handsets opening weekend, an incredible number. Additionally, Apple says that over 25 million customers are already using iOS 5, and over 20 million have signed up for iCloud. Apple is planning on launching the iPhone 4S in more than 90 countries by the end of the year, and has launched the device in 7 countries so far.

Apple today announced it has sold over four million of its new iPhone® 4S, just three days after its launch on October 14. In addition, more than 25 million customers are already using iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, in the first five days of its release, and more than 20 million customers have signed up for iCloud®, a breakthrough set of free cloud services that automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices. iPhone 4S is available today in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK, and will be available in 22 more countries on October 28 and more than 70 countries by the end of the year.

“iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days”

“iPhone 4S is off to a great start with more than four million sold in its first weekend—the most ever for a phone and more than double the iPhone 4 launch during its first three days,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “iPhone 4S is a hit with customers around the world, and together with iOS 5 and iCloud, is the best iPhone ever.”

iPhone 4S is the most amazing iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.

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General
October 13, 2011
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Apple close to deals for iCloud movie streaming

By on October 13, 2011 at 9:01 AM.

Apple close to deals for iCloud movie streaming

Apple is reportedly close to inking deals with major movie studios that would allow the Cupertino-based company to stream movies to its iOS devices and PCs via iCloud. Los Angeles Times on Wednesday reported that Apple has been meeting with movie studios and is currently closing licensing deals that will allow its customers to purchase movies through iTunes and then stream them from iCloud to mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad, or even to Mac computers or Apple TV. The service would be similar to Hollywood’s just-launched UltraViolet product, though it would remove the requirement that customers purchase physical media before streaming content to their devices. The LA Times report states that Apple is expected to launch the service in late 2011 or early 2012. More →

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Software
October 11, 2011
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Apple releases iTunes 10.5 ahead of iOS 5 availability tomorrow

By on October 11, 2011 at 1:31 PM.

Apple releases iTunes 10.5 ahead of iOS 5 availability tomorrow

Apple on Tuesday released the latest version of its iTunes software to the general public. ITunes 10.5 brings with it several anticipated new features including support for Apple’s iTunes in the Cloud service, and it will be required for users who wish to update an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad to iOS 5 following its release on Wednesday. Apple’s change log for iTunes 10.5 is as follows:

What’s new in iTunes 10.5

  • iTunes in the Cloud. iTunes now stores your music and TV purchases in iCloud and makes them available on your devices anywhere, any time, at no additional cost.
  • Automatic Downloads. Purchase music from any device or computer and automatically download a copy to your Mac and iOS devices.
  • Download Previous Purchases. Download your past music, TV, app, and book purchases again, at no additional cost. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store.
  • Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5.
  • Wi-Fi Syncing. Automatically sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes any time they’re both on the same Wi-Fi network.

    • ITunes 10.5 and iOS 5 will also finally enable Wi-Fi synchronization for iOS device users, allowing users to sync devices with iTunes without having to connect to a computer via USB. More →

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    Featured
    October 5, 2011
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    Apple’s rise to greatness

    By on October 5, 2011 at 12:45 PM.

    Apple’s rise to greatness

    People are disappointed. What else can I say? With all of the hype, and even our own reporting, Apple should have released a real iPhone 5. But it didn’t, and the fact that Apple is releasing the same exact model with internal upgrades is upsetting to a lot of people. You know what, though? The overwhelming majority of people probably couldn’t care less. More →

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    mobile
    September 19, 2011
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    Apple iCloud reset scheduled for September 22nd ahead of likely iOS 5 GM build

    By on September 19, 2011 at 9:55 AM.

    Apple iCloud reset scheduled for September 22nd ahead of likely iOS 5 GM build

    Apple will reset its iCloud backup service on September 22nd ahead of the likely release of its final iOS 5 test build and public iCloud launch. The date corresponds with our earlier report that Apple would launch the iOS 5 GM on September 23rd, and the reset will not have an impact on any bookmark, calendar, contact, mail or reminder data stored on iCloud. The official notice, which was posted on Apple’s Developer boards, reads:

    On Thursday, September 22, the iCloud Backup data will be reset. Backing up to iCloud or restoring from an iCloud backup will be unavailable from 9 AM PDT – 5 PM PDT. If you attempt a backup or restore during this time, you will receive an alert that the backup or restore was not successful. After this reset, you will be unable to restore from any backup created prior to September 22. A full backup will happen automatically the next time your device backs up to iCloud.

    Apple launched a beta version of iCloud to developers on August 1st when it revealed the official pricing plans. Users will receive 5GB of storage for free and can sign up for an additional 10GB of storage (15GB total) for $20 per year, 20GB of additional storage for $40 per year, or 50GB of added storage for $100 per year.

    More →

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    mobile
    August 30, 2011
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    Reports mixed on whether or not Apple's iTunes Match will support streaming [video]

    By on August 30, 2011 at 9:00 PM.

    Reports mixed on whether or not Apple's iTunes Match will support streaming [video]

    When Apple originally announced its new iTunes Match service, which was launched to developers yesterday inside iTunes 10.5 beta 6.1, the Cupertino-based company said the service would allow users to download previously purchased music. At the time, it appeared the benefit for iTunes Match was that it would allow users to pull down any track from iCloud to an iOS device without being near a computer. The setback to downloading tracks, however, is that your iOS device storage will still likely be clogged with music. According to Insanely Great Mac, it appears that iTunes Match actually supports streaming and not just downloading, which could make the service’s $25 annual fee much more competitive with products such as Spotify, Rhapsody, Google Music Beta and Amazon Cloud Drive. Insanely Great Mac’s video, which we’ve provided after the break, shows that users can download a song by tapping the iCloud logo, or just stream it by tapping the song title itself. According to AllThingsD, which cites an anonymous Apple executive, users will only be able to listen to a song as it downloads and iTunes Match will not support true streaming when it launches this fall. Hit the read link for the video in question. More →

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