All we know for certain about iCloud so far is thatSteve Jobs will tell us all just what the heck it isat next calendar week ’s Worldwide Developer Conference . For now , only a few folks in Cupertino know incisively what iCloud will be . But raft of us have an idea of what itcouldbe .
For some , like myMacworldcolleague Christopher Breen , that meanspossibilities for streaming sensitive . But my hopes for iCloud do n’t focus on iTunes at all . Rather , I ’m more interested in how the service could theoretically improve my cross - gadget productiveness .
Right now , iPad Indian file management requires a combination of several kludgey methods . Search the entanglement — including this very site — and you ’ll discover plenty about the awesomeness of Dropbox , but not every Io app support it ( including any of Apple ’s ) . The apps that do suffer Dropbox each bank upon their own execution . All this is true of Apple ’s own iDisk , too , except that we have n’t spent much ink extolling that service ’s virtues . ( I do n’t use iDisk anymore . I set up it tiresome and occasionally hungry for eat on up my files . )
Sure, Dropbox is great. But if iCloud means we can stop relying on sending files between apps, we’ll be thrilled.
Sure , Dropbox is great . But if iCloud stand for we can stop relying on sending files between apps , we ’ll be inebriate .
Thus , my wish for iCloud is that it includes Dropbox - esque live papers sharing and synchronisation between Macs and iOS equipment . I require it to be build in such a way that developers can include it in their apps as easily as they can implant an Open dialog boxful ( on the Mac ) or call up the virtual keyboard ( on iOS ) . All the work — the syncing , the user interface itself — should come down under Apple ’s horizon , so that the experience is incessant and every bit useable to all developers .
As I imagine it , I could create a document in Pages on my Mac and write it to iCloud . When I go to my iPad , I can open up the same text file there from iCloud within the fluid Pages app . And as with Google Docs , if I leave the document open on multiple machine at the same metre , each of them mechanically update on - the - fly front to remain current with whichever version I ’m actually edit at that moment .
Sure, Dropbox is great. But if iCloud means we can stop relying on sending files between apps, we’ll be thrilled.
Now thatApple ’s iWork suite is usable for the iPhone(and not just the iPad ) , the want of such an Apple - plump for syncing service is even more palpable than it was before — and trust me , it was already palpable to the point of causing would - be syncers gist shakiness . At best , working on a file between your Mac , your iPad , and your iPhone today need downloading copy from and then institutionalize updates back to MobileMe , in an awkward , unintuitive , and very non - Apple - like single file management dance . At worst , it involve e - mailing yourself lots of copies of the same data file with each new revision you make .
If iCloud just simplifies that process with Dropbox - style syncing that ’s baked into the core of both Lion and iOS 5 , I ’ll be on cloud nine . But if Apple want to place my joy levels into the stratosphere — and really , why would n’t the company apportion that goal?—the procedure of save files to and from iCloud will be unlined and nearly inconspicuous . Unless you really muck about with it , Dropbox only syncs those files you pucker away in your Dropbox folder . I do n’t know on the dot how it should turn , but I image that iCloud should be an underlying technology more than a “ service ” in the unfeigned sense ; you deliver your files wherever you want on your Mac , and behind - the - scenes , iCloud takes care of the syncing .
There are two other broad areas I hope and bear iCloud bear on upon . First , I want iCloud to embrace Google - stylus calendar and contacts syncing . Sure , Macworldcan help you slog through the messiness of unnecessary duplicates that MobileMe syncing can cause , but I ’ve never run into those issuance using Google ’s Exchange waiter functionality to sync . Though I love Google Calendar , I favour iCal overall , and iCal ’s Google Calendar support is weak . So if iCloud can offer effective , maintenance - complimentary calendar and contact synchronize , I can desert Google ’s offerings and rent Apple ’s broil - in solutions make out my life or else .
lastly , I ’m optimistic that the broader iCloud service — when coupled withrecent rumors regarding Apple and the voice recognition party Nuance — could intend arrangement - wide voice transcription on iOS . For old age , Android phones have put up voice written text in various textbook input fields . Now , in accuracy , I ’ve never check a single mechanical man - using supporter take vantage of the feature of speech , and that ’s tell . But even the best practical pinch typist can talk faster than they can tap . If Apple and Nuance can get this right , and a cloud - base service can dramatically simplify sure kinds of text input signal on my iPhone , then I am very excited .
Which is n’t to say that it will happen . For all I know , iCloud will be all focalise on metier store . ( And the society has patenteda clever approachfor lay in the first part of a song , and swarm the rest . ) But I desire that ’s only half the tale . If iCloud also makes it easier to keep my files ( and other data ) in sync , and can make me more productive overall , I ’ll be as happy as , well , a developer at WWDC .
[ Lex Friedman is a stave author at Macworld . ]
