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Apple Blows an Opportunity To Change the World - What Rubbish
apple2I tend to usually like stuff that I pick up through BNET - and rarely write about it, though I do post the links. On this occasion though, I am prepared to make an exception. This article is such a load of ‘attention grabbing headlining hooey’, I can’t resist, so I am going to write about it.
I don’t think Erik Sherman (the writer of the piece) knows what was announced. Or if he does, maybe he doesn’t understand it. I have just plucked a few of the comments that he made throughout this lousy piece of journalism (and I use that word VERY advisedly).
To note - I am not an analyst and certainly don’t have the time to do this stuff in detail - imagine what Daring Fireball would make of this !
(TOO LATE - he has a post up already on an unrelated yet connected topic) ::
Josh Topolsky questions the lack of a web interface in Apple’s iCloud announcement: Let’s be clear about what happens when iCloud goes live — according to what was described on stage at the event, and what I’ve confirmed with Apple PR — the service will effectively replace the current web offerings of MobileMe. That means that when the cutoff date of June 30, 2012 comes around for users, the web-based email client, calendar, contacts app, and other components of the web suite will cease to exist. You will no longer be able to log in and check your mail through a browser, change calendar events, or edit contacts. It’s unclear right now if the photo and video sharing aspects of MobileMe will continue, but there was certainly no mention of sharing or web views at the conference. Your devices will become not just the primary place where Apple intends for you to do your work and get your content — they’ll be the only place. I think that’s a bad assumption. I would wager that, sometime between now and 30 June 2012, iCloud will offer a web interface just as good as if not better than MobileMe’s (and quite possibly, under the hood, based on MobileMe’s). They just haven’t announced it yet, and if Apple hasn’t announced it, they won’t talk about it. In short, there is no reason to assume that iCloud as it will exist 12 months from now will be limited to what was announced one week ago.
I repeat ::
In short, there is no reason to assume that iCloud as it will exist 12 months from now will be limited to what was announced one week ago.
That aside - there’s a pile of stuff that has been announced that people simply don’t get - mainly I suspect because they continue to try to force Apple’s approach into their paradigms Four Items Selected At Random From This Piece - there are a lot more to pick holes in - but again - T I M E is not on my side - already this is being finalized a little later than I wanted!
One
New features that will likely kill off some popular apps, such as Read It Later and Instapaper.
HUH ? If Instapaper is going to die because Apple announced a ‘Read Later’ functionality in their browser - why isn’t Omnifocus, Things et al going to die because they also announced a To DO manager.
By the way - if you examine exactly WHAT Apple is delivering - well - BTW - read Marco Arment’s blog on why he writes that he highly doubts that Apple will kill Instapaper with this product - I am right with him,
And the official Instapaper blog is here
and while I can hear you say - well Instapaper would say that wouldn’t they …. read the analysis, and tell me why he is wrong.
Two
You’ll be able to upload photos automatically to the cloud, but you’re limited to 1,000 images that will disappear after 30 days.
HUH ? Whilst technically true - that is assuming you do nothing with your photos - in otherwords - as you take pictures, thry get sent to iCloud. Do nothing - and indeed at 1,000 you are capped - but if you are managing your photos into books, albums, sites etc - they are ALL there. Really. The 1,000 limit is the stream limit. I quote Apple’s own web site : “Once they appear in your Photo Stream, you can save your favorite shots to your Camera Roll or any other album on your device.” Three
Real-time messaging for iOS called iMessage that will offer some significant competition to RIM’s BlackBerry.
HUH ? - RIMs messaging system works on RIM’s stuff = Apple’w works on Apple’s stuff … RIM / Apple are the competitors … the functionality they offer is their differentiation.
Four
The writer ‘poo poos’ the iMatch offer … because
“Music that you’ve acquired elsewhere (like ripping CDs or … ahem … legal downloads) requires a $25-a-year service called iTunes Match: Apple identifies high-quality equivalents to your MP3s in its song library and make them available to you via the cloud. Meanwhile, there seems to be no provision for purchasing additional backup space.”
Back up space - agree, not announced yet - no but as always they are going to tread carefully - and not put a foot wrong. For example as a MObile Me user today, I get 20Gig as part of my program. They would sell me more if I wanted it. Are Apple really going to watch dollars run out the door by giving me 5Gig for free - and NOT take dollars at some level to move me back up to 20Gig (probably something less than I currently pay for the enchilada.
Oh - and the small print from Apple
“Requires iOS 5 on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation), iPad, or iPad 2, or a Mac computer with OS X Lion or a PC with Windows Vista or Windows 7 (Outlook 2007 or 2010 recommended). Limit 25,000 songs.
BTW - iTunes purchases do not count against that limit.
In other words - for 25 bucks a year they are going to allow you to turn 25,000 ripped and potentially illegal songs into possibly a higher quality and make you legal - and this count is OUTSIDE of the 5GB space that they have already given you as part of iCloud. It’s done efficiently because they aren’t looking for you to upload the files … etc etc
BTW - all your photographs that are stored are ALSO outside of that 5GB limit …
I could go on - but it is pointless, I don’t have the time. This single article is enough to make me unsubscribe from BNET, but I won’t for now - but seriously hope that they look to the quality of what they push out a little more - rather than attention getting headlines.
Full Article :: WWDC: Apple Blows an Opportunity To Change the World [Update]
Supported by :: How Apple’s iCloud Could Change Everything — Again
Passed on - with thanks to :: BNET
As additional reading - you might enjoy this from Ira Kalb - MUCH better journalism - also refuting (kind of) the original piece - though I disagree on the disappointment factor - but bottom line Ira’s point is under promise - over deliver. Sure. But first get what is promised RIGHT.