Apple Cloud Services for iPhone, iPad, iMac
Apple Cloud Services
Brief History :
Apple has released the new software to work with online services (Find My iPhone for iOS and iDisk for iPad), then updates the design of various components. And if you add a rumor here that MobileMe can be free, it becomes clear. Apple's now more than ever before are working to MobileMe. And, most likely, not only as a convenience to existing users, but for the fact that MobileMe on the basis of a full and extensive cloud platform. In favor of this theory suggest a new use information that Apple plans to make a cloud version of iTunes. And in this revolutionary project certainly will not do without those developments that have been made to MobileMe.
MobileMe - a set of online services Apple. General information about MobileMe, we have already stated. We are not repeated and we recommend that you read the first article. Today we look at the changes that have occurred c MobileMe after publication of the article.
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As we remember, the design MobileMe has caused apple some criticism. The new version has a single interface look much nicer. This is evident from the start page (functionality which, however, remained the same).
True, the start page, we will see only if work on the computer. If we log on me.com via Safari on the iPad, we will be asked to download and install applications and iDisk Find My iPhone, as well as customize existing applications to work with MobileMe. This means that to access your e-mail or open a document through a foreign iPad (for example, borrowed your friend) will not work. Why Web-based MobileMe not available from mobile devices - an enigma.
Mail :
So, we went into the MobileMe from your Mac and immediately got in the mail. What do we see? Earlier in MobileMe mail was like two peas similar to Mail in Mac OS X, the new design is very similar to mail Mail interface in mobile devices, Apple - especially in the iPad.
List of letters is now located in a narrow vertical column. A text of the selected letters - in a big box on the right. The strip search in the new interface is located directly above the column letters, and icon settings - in the upper right corner. Furthermore, there is a folder Junk (spam). Does the emergence of a separate folder, that spam has become more? According to Apple, the spam filter in the new version of MobileMe has been improved. However, before that MobileMe was one of the best postal services in terms of protection against spam. Now simply add convenience. Another of the amenities: a new version of MobileMe any letter can be sent to the archive. But this is minor compared with the main (in my opinion) innovation: now you can send a box me.com mail from any mailbox, and when you reply to them to choose from what address should get a letter.
This innovation is far more important than it might seem at first glance. The fact is that before a big disadvantage MobileMe mail was binding to me.com. That is, setting the stage for MobileMe, you had to use the inbox me.com. Experience the benefits of service with the other post, you could not. Now, however, this possibility has appeared. Here is an example. Do you have a working e-mail. You are getting MobileMe and get a box at me.com. Setting up a redirect from a working e-mail on me.com, then at your disposal is a common tool for working with both addresses. Use any e-mail clients other than Apple Mail you will not need access to email (and working, and personal) is any device Apple. Moreover, those who write to you on business issues, may not even know that you are using me.com.
Re: Apple Cloud Services for iPhone, iPad, iMac
So, call forwarding, in my opinion, is the most important innovation MobileMe. Incidentally, there has not been without a spoon of tar: redirect possible through the web interface on the computer. Make this with mobile devices I could not. Why is Apple so limits the possibility of using MobileMe via iOS? Perhaps this should be considered temporary flaw. However, I still do not understand why you can not open a full-featured access to MobileMe via Safari. After all, it turns out that even users of devices on Android and other competing operating systems are getting more opportunities.
But - try to look at the situation from the other side. What is making Apple, releasing (and gradually improving) the application to work with MobileMe and compelling mobile users to work with the service it is through them? Perhaps, Apple plans to completely abandon the term Web-based interface for working with cloud services? This idea seems delusional, because one of the advantages of cloud technologies that are accessible from any computer without any installed applications. But Apple, it seems, is developing a different strategy: The user should not have to feel that he works on the internet! No browser it does not need! As he worked with text files, and works. How to use Address Book for contacts, and uses. Just now, files, contacts, and photos are not on your hard drive or in memory of a mobile device and a remote server. But for the user, nothing has changed. Of course, this strategy assumes that all applications must be fully functional and optimized for the device. It is inadmissible to this situation, which was a month ago with the iPad: the device could not work properly with iDisk, as a Web-based MobileMe is not available, and applications iDisk, optimized for iPad, was not released. Now the problem is corrected, you can install the iDisk on iPad and fully compatible with the documents (including, and edit them if you have installed the application from iWork).
Switching services and Calendar :
Now let's see how things stand with other features MobileMe. List of services remained unchanged: in addition to almost the Calendar, Contacts (Address Book), Gallery, iDisk file storage and utility Find My iPhone.
To switch to another service MobileMe (for example, from Mail to Contacts or iDisk), clicking on the icon with the image of a cloud (in the upper left corner), and appeared before us a complete "menu." Select the icon you want the service and get into it. This is another innovation. Well if it? On the one hand, yes. Small ugly icons in the old version design spoiling. On the other hand, the convenience of this is not added, even the contrary: we must do one more click to switch to another service. As for the service, here in the first place it is worth noting the new Calendar interface. While the update is being beta (MobileMe users can send a request to test), but there is no doubt that soon the update will be available to all, and from the old interface Calendar, Apple refuses to do.
As in the case of mail, calendar was very similar to its mobile counterpart of the iPad. In the new interface screen is divided into two parts: the left - a list of upcoming cases on the right - the hourly net on the day on which you can enter new appointments and business. In this connection the question arises: whether to wait for changes in the interface iCal and Mail in Mac OS X? The answer to this question, we will only Mac OS X 10.7. Meanwhile - back to MobileMe.
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iDisk :
The interface file storage iDisk virtually unchanged compared to what we have seen a year ago. However, my feeling is, iDisk was working a few quick.
Briefly list the possible iDisk.
- Saving and sorting files. You can use not only those folders that exist on the default iDisk, but also create their own folders. True, this is done non-obvious way: clicking on the Settings (cog in the upper right corner) and select where New Folder.
- Any file can be made available to your colleagues or friends. To do this, select the file and click on Share File, then you will be prompted to enter e-mail, which will link to your file (the letter will go to your mailbox on me.com, a copy will be in the mail folder Sent). However, you can manually copy and send the link (for example, if you want to use ICQ). In the file, you can put a password and set the duration of the link.
- Along with catalogs Home (it contains all your folders) and Shared Files (it displays the files that are currently distributed), there is also a folder Public. This is another opportunity to distribute files. If you need to send someone more than one file, but several, we can rewrite them in Public, and then send a link to the whole folder. The default folder is open to all, but if necessary it can also set a password.
- Another option available to users of Mac OS X. You can work with iDisk through the Finder, not using the browser. iDisk will appear as a hard drive, you can open a text file on iDisk (the file will be immediately loaded into a temporary directory, and memory), edit it, then it will be enough to click Save, the change applied to a file on the iDisk (downloaded to a hard copy file is automatically deleted). Thus, the process of working with text, located on the iDisk, the user will not differ from working with the same file on the hard drive.
However, in addition to the advantages and disadvantages: in particular, still can not view the text and illustrations on the iDisk without downloading, while preview images are not available. It is unclear why it was impossible to integrate with other service iDisk MobileMe - Gallery. Similarly with music. Why not make the online play audio files recorded in the Music folder on iDisk? Most interestingly, the situation is somewhat better at iOS-annex iDisk. Here we are, for example, can play downloaded music on the iDisk or video without leaving the application. The only condition: the file format must be supported by mobile QuickTime.
Even easier user Mac OS X: if the audio or video you are trying to open iDisk through Finder, available in your library in iTunes (for example, if you downloaded some music in iTunes, and iDisk), it will play the file which is already in your library. If the file is not found, it is simply loaded into the library, and even before the download is complete it can be heard. Note that no verification of the license file Apple suit will not. That is, theoretically, you can download the iDisk video and music from any source (of course, no one in this case does not guarantee that they will be correctly played, but the same can be said about the files that are downloaded to a hard drive).
Thus, iDisk ceychas is in an intermediate position: a convenient file storage is already there, but the integration with other services MobileMe not.
Gallery and Find My iPhone :
The last two service MobileMe, which will be discussed today - Gallery and FInd My iPhone. We joined them for the reason that both the service recently acquired mobile applications. Benefits of Mobile Find My iPhone are obvious: you can now find your phone number or iPad not only from the computer, but also with other mobile devices - such as the iPod touch or someone else's iPhone (of course, provided that you will install on it Find My iPhone ). And not only can you locate (approximately), but also remotely lock it or (if there is no chance to return devays) delete all content. Clearly, all described above only works if the desired device is connected to the Internet (even on GPRS / 3G).
However, Find My iPhone - the simplest (but very useful) tool. As for the Gallery, the situation is more complicated. First, let's talk about service in general. Apple has provided us with a convenient storage for photos and, organized it in the image of iPhoto (the application from the iLife package for Mac OS X), with him as closely linked: any pictures from iPhoto with a single click you can publish at Gallery on MobileMe. Especially for this in iPhoto is in the lower right corner of the icon with a cloud. But that's not all! Galleries from MobileMe can be viewed and edited directly in iPhoto, just as if it were their own galleries iPhoto. If you go to the Gallery is not through iPhoto, and a mobile device or through a browser, the functionality will be much more modest (in particular, from the editing functions in the Gallery is only available to rotate a photo 90 degrees). Nevertheless, the basic functions are present: you can increase or decrease the size of the preview, create a new album or upload photos to existing albums. You can send a link to another album, though, did not say to a very intuitive: you click on a link that opens a new window and that window has to be an icon Tell a Friend of a mail envelope. If you click it, it will generate the same letter, as in the iDisk.
Re: Apple Cloud Services for iPhone, iPad, iMac
Now see Annex Gallery for the iPhone. It is made on the model of standard application Photos, which is in every iPhone / iPod touch. Photos can be enlarged, reduced two fingers to scroll a familiar gesture, in general - all of which we are accustomed in Photos. You can also send by mail a link to any photo (sorry, we can not send the very photograph attached file) and export the photos in the Photos (by opening the photo, hold your finger on the screen, then click Save Image).
And here the question arises: why could not completely integrate Gallery in the Photos? Why do we have to create a separate application and force users to install it MobileMe? Is not it easier just slightly change the Photos? Why share online gallery and photo albums in the phone / player? I think sooner or later, Apple unite Gallery and Photos.
Impressions :
I am using MobileMe slightly less than a year, and I can say with confidence that I will use it and more (even if the subscription will be paid). With MobileMe, many everyday things have become much easier. For example, returning from vacation, I connected the camera to a Mac, one-click export photos in iPhoto, then another click sent them to the Gallery on MobileMe. Now you can send a link to the family and friends. All operations took less than 5 minutes. Put a large file to download to the user MobileMe also no problem. And, of course, greatly simplify the work with contacts and mail. The question is no longer synchronized. However, once I MobileMe seriously summed up: after adding a new contact for no apparent reason lost all the contacts. Naturally, they disappeared, and with the iPhone, and from the Address Book on your Mac. Restore them failed. I can offer that I had done something wrong. But in any case, before you remove all the contacts, service was a hundred times I asked. Perhaps there has been a failure on the server. But what a difference the end user, what's the problem? In fairness, we note that the probability of falling hard drive or, say, the virus much more than such a critical failure of cloud service. Therefore, even though the above described unfortunate episode, I would not say that to keep contacts on MobileMe is less reliable than the local computer. Just remember that 100-percent reliability will not give us none. So if you decide to get a MobileMe, duplicate somewhere all contacts. Caution does not happen too much.
What next?
What are the prospects for MobileMe? In what direction will move the development of cloud services, Apple? It is clear that more or less accurately to this question can be answered only by Steve Jobs. But in principle, the steps that makes Apple, quite eloquently, to make them definite conclusions.
First, Apple will gradually move away from working with a cloud through a browser. The company now makes MobileMe subscribers to install a separate application for mobile devices, while developing and deepening the integration of online services with Mac OS X, iLife and iWork. And this is a fundamentally different strategy than, say, from Google. If Google is promoting the operating system, in which the main component - a browser, Apple, on the contrary, implanting the online capabilities of the existing (or made on the model of existing) program, provoking users refuse to work through a browser. Clearly, this is only possible for owners of Mac computers and is contrary to the idea of universal access to services MobileMe. But it is the users of Apple devices, and are the target audience of MobileMe.
Secondly, we should expect new cloud services, which will no doubt be closely vzaimosvyany with MobileMe. One of them is already close to release. This is a cloud iTunes - a promising development, rumors of which are persistently circulating on the web. Presumably, Apple will try to make the cloud iTunes looks virtually indistinguishable from the ordinary - except that with a few more features. And, of course, here we can expect that iTunes will work with iDisk, that digital booklets and covers can be exported to Gallery.
Third, do not forget about one more - already existing - the web service Apple: iWork.com. He is still under beta, and there really is something more elaborate, but important fact that Apple is working and in this direction. Now iWork.com integrated only with the package iWork. However, it would be logical if iWork.com became the link between iWork and MobileMe (iDisk, Mail).
Thus, we can conclude that Apple is trying to create not just a set of services, but an extensive cloud platform, which is based on MobileMe, will gather around him, and mobile and desktop applications, Apple. How valid this conclusion? And so successful will be the result? The answers will give us only time. But now we can take advantage of cloud technologies, which are a couple of years ago seemed to be something infinitely far from the ordinary user.
