Apple's iCloud in the Sky

 An APPLE a Day.....Makes Steve Jobs a RICH MAN!

I was watching vie all the bloggers today Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple does NOT provide LIVE TV or radio coverage to any of it's events. With great expectations I joined in on the talk and discussion as all the "NEW" Apple creations were unveiled.
Before I give you my take, lets go over what was revealed today June 6, 2011.

It began with a standing ovation for Steve Jobs. Still looking very sickly as he continues to battle his much publicized pancreatic cancer. Still in charge, but looking very unhealthy.  I wish and pray for him for a complete recovery and better health to come.

It was ALL about software: LION, iOS5 and iCLOUD!

First up was Apple's next version of Mac OSX, "LION". The new OS will only be available in the Mac App Store as a 4GB download for $29.99 in July. Istalls in place. With over 250 NEW features, highlighting 10 of them:

1-Multi-Touch Gestures: Scroll,Tap &Pinch to Zoom,Swipe. No more scroll bars except when YOU want them they appear.
2-Full Screen Applications: Simple control in top right, use swipe to go back & forth between Apps.
3-Mission Control: gives you a birds eye view of everything going on in your system. Expose & spaces have been unified.
4-Mac App Store: Now built in, In-App purchases, push notifications, sand boxing for security & downloads with Delta updates.
5-Launchpad: Pinch to launch ALL your Apps to see on screen in Icons.
6-Resume: Brings you back to where you were in system or Applications.
7-Auto Save: Automatically saves your work with having to do it yourself.
8-Versions: Saves ALL different versions of your work in your documents, can see them, use them, go back and forth.
9-Air Drop: Peer-to-Peer Wi-Fi to share documents, auto discovery & setup,confirm send/receive, full encrypted.
10-Mail: Works in a window, snippets, favorite bar, searching, conversation view.


Next up was iOS5 which powers the iphone, ipad & ipod touch. Will ship to ALL customers this fall. Will support iphone 3GS & iphone 4, ipad & ipad2, & ipod touch 3rd & 4th generation. More then 200 new features. Lets look at 10 key features.

1-Notifications Center: No longer interrupts, Now an animated on top can touch to go, single place combines ALL, Get to it by swiping finger from top downward.
2-Newsstand: Subscribed PAID service in App store. 
3-Twitter: Single sign on, Integrated in camera & photo, can tweet articles from Safari or videos from YouTube,Contacts Integrated.
4-Safari: Reader tap on button, E-Mail contents of story, Reading List Save story and read it latter, Tabbed Browsing
5-Reminders: Store list of things, Dates, Locations, Sync with iCal & Microsoft Exchange

 6-Camera: Lock Screen shortcut for quick access even with passcode, use volume-up button to take picture, optional grid lines, pinch to zoom, AE/AF lock with finger touch, edit photos on your device.
7-Mail: Adding rich text formatting, Indentation control, dragable a dresses, flag messages, search entire message on device and in mail center, for iPad swipe to inbox, added support for S/Mime.
8-PC Free: If you want to cut the cord-You Can, Now more sync to Mac or Pc through iTunes, activate on device, software updates over the air, Delta updates just downloading what has changed.
9-Game Center: Adding Photo's, Achievement points, friends of friends & discovery game downloads, turn-based game support.
10-iMessage: Now supporting iPad & iPod Touch as well as iPhone, text,photo's,video,contacts,group message NEW - Delivery Receipts, Read Receipts, Typing Indications, Pushed to ALL Devices, 3G & Wi-Fi, Secure encrypted.

Finally the much anticipated iCloud presented by Jobs himself. First of all it's 9 App's, Integrated in, free, sort of, can be turned on or off, important, replaces the failed MobilMe, also tie your App's in storage other APi's(Documents & Key Value Data) and available in the fall with iOS5. Buy an App or Music pushes to ALL devices up to 10.
Quick summery of those 9 Apps:
Contacts, Calendar & Mail: Stores your content and wirelessly pushes it to ALL your devices. Shared Calenders,new E-Mail address  @Me.com
Apps Store, iBooks & Back-Up: Prior Apps you bought can be downloaded again, FREE, to your other devices. Future Apps you buy pay only once and download up to 10 devices. You can Back-Up to iCloud vie Wi-Fi once daily your purchased music,Apps,books, your Photos & videos, device settings & App Data.
Documents & Photo Stream: Any Document working on in iWork now pushes to ALL your other devices. Even documents working on other programs on Mac or PC's. Take a photo it automatically pushes again to ALL your other devices including PC's & Apple TV. Will store the last 1,000 photo's, on Mac & PC ALL on server for 30 days.
You also get 5GB of FREE storage for Mail, Documents, Back-up, NOT counting Purchased Music,Books or Apps or your Photo's.
iTunes in the Cloud: All songs that you have already purchased, ONLY THROUGH iTUNES, you can download again for free to your other devices. Future songs purchased ONLY through itunes you can choose to download them to your up to 10 other device.
Now the kicker. 
iTunes Match: OTHER music you have purchased vie Cd's, Amazon, Verizon whatever that you want to store in the clouds or push to ALL your other devices you have to pay $24.99 a year every year. So you'll still have to pay twice for music you didn't buy from iTUNES. Scan all your existing CD-collection on your account, match it with a digitally certified song (a crispy DRM-free 256Kbps AAC file) and transfer it in the cloud. Those with no match will be uploaded. BUT it will cost $24.99 a year every year. You can still sync your device yorself vie cable or Wi-Fi for FREE!

So NO iPhone5 announcement, looks like the rumors of a Fall release are true. Lion, the auto save I already have in some of my other Applications. In fact blogger has that built in as well as UNDO as do most others, they did improve on it.
I like the Twitter App in iOS5. That is a big upgrade and I can stop listening to my brother-in-law about having to Sync to his Mac through itunes especially since his computer can't get the latest update because of his OS. So cutting the cord if you want is a step which should have been done long ago!
What really bothers me is the iTunes match. Why would anyone pay again for music you have ALREADY bought. NOT ME!
Lots of SOFT-ware updates but nothing HARD -ware to get excited about. BORING!