cloud

24 'cloud' stories September 2010 - March 2016

Report: Apple developing at least 6 cloud infrastructure projects incl. servers to prevent snooping

Jordan Kahn Mar 23 2016 - 8:58 am PT

Following two reports earlier this month detailing Apple’s deal to move iCloud partly to Google’s Cloud Platform, as well as the company’s efforts at building out its own cloud infrastructure, The Information today offers new details on the projects.

Adding to a report from VentureBeat earlier this week, today’s report offers more details on what Apple is doing with“Project McQueen” that could see the company replacing third-party vendors with more of its own cloud infrastructure. The Information reports that Project McQueen is actually just one of at least six internal efforts at Apple including building its own servers, networking equipment, and “systems that could one day help developers to power their apps.”

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Report: Apple’s iCloud to soon be partially powered by Google Cloud Platform

Abner Li Mar 16 2016 - 2:28 pm PT

20 Comments

According to CRN and other sources, iCloud will soon be partially powered by the Google Cloud Platform by way of a deal that could also be used as leverage to cut its cloud costs with Amazon and Microsoft. Such a move is a big win for Google’s burgeoning cloud enterprise business.

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Microsoft announces new partnerships and cloud storage options for Office on iOS & web

Greg Barbosa Jan 27 2016 - 12:13 pm PT

2 Comments

Early last year, Microsoft unveiled the Cloud Storage Partner Program enabling various cloud storage providers to integerate their tools into Office Online and Office for iOS. Microsoft’s latest announcement takes that a step further for partners in the CSPP by giving them access to real-time collaboration, and Office for iOS integration for all partners.

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Former OS X chief Bertrand Serlet offers a new peek at his UpThere cloud startup

Zac Hall Oct 29 2015 - 11:12 am PT

4 Comments

Former OS X chief Bertrand Serlet is finally ready to talk about his cloud startup UpThere after founding the company in 2011. While Sertlet isn’t completely taking the wraps off the company he assembled after leaving Apple four years ago, UpThere is opening a beta for its cloud service today following nearly three years of silence. The service is said to be similar to iCloud, Dropbox, and similar cloud solutions, but UpThere’s strategy is fast access to data stored online and not syncing content across devices. The beta will preview two products coming down from UpThere…
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Apple purchases 200 acres of land in Oregon to further expand its server farms

Chance Miller Sep 29 2015 - 8:56 pm PT

3 Comments

Oregon news outlet The Bulletin reports that Apple has purchased nearly 200 acres of land in Prineville, Oregon this week. The property purchased this week is directly adjacent to Apple’s already existing facility in the city. Apple reportedly paid $3.6 million for its new 200 acre plot.

Apple hasn’t specified its plans for the land to Prineville yet, although in April it filed for an application to expand its data center operations. In that application, Apple said it wants to build two more “pods” to house its server farms for its cloud-based services. The project is expected to cost over $6 million.

McCabe said he expects Apple to apply for the same Oregon enterprise zone tax abatements it already enjoys on its existing facility. The 15-year agreements, created by the state to encourage development in counties with high unemployment rates, save companies millions of dollars in taxes on equipment and site improvements. In return, they must create a specific number of jobs that pay well above the county median wage.

Apple originally purchased 159 acres in Prineville back in 2012 to start its campus. With today’s new addition, Apple now holds 359 acres of land in the city for its cloud-based operations.

Use Bushel to manage + deploy business iOS devices from anywhere, for free (+ win an iPad Mini 3)

Apple radically upgrading its cloud data infrastructure in run-up to streaming music launch

Ben Lovejoy Jun 8 2015 - 6:09 am PT

10 Comments

Bloomberg provides some detail on our report that Apple is working to dramatically upgrade its cloud infrastructure as it prepares to launch its Apple Music streaming service. The company is said to be working on designing its own storage and network equipment, rather than relying exclusively on third-party companies, and to build its own private fiber optic links between its key data centers in California, Nevada, North Carolina and Oregon.

Apple’s data centers currently use mostly off-the-shelf equipment: HP servers, Cisco switches and NetApp storage. Now it is working on designing its own equipment, to increase efficiency and reduce costs …
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Opinion: Google’s new Photos may just have won my library away from Apple

Jeremy Horwitz May 29 2015 - 1:14 pm PT

189 Comments

Google Photos

My relationship with Apple’s hardware is simple: I’m happily locked in, and not changing platforms any time soon. But my relationship with Apple’s software is complex: I want to love it, but every time Apple decides to “throw everything away” and “start over” with an app, it’s disruptive — and for many users, unnecessary. From my perspective, users weren’t complaining that Apple’s popular photo apps iPhoto or Aperture were hopelessly broken or even deficient in major ways, yet Apple discontinued both of them last month to release Photos, a bare-bones alternative no one seems to love. On the relationship scale, I didn’t abandon Aperture; Aperture abandoned me (and a lot of other people).

So yesterday’s announcement of the free cross-platform photo and video storage app Google Photos couldn’t have come at a better time. Apple has struggled to explain why it now offers two separate photo syncing services, neither with the virtually unlimited photo and video storage Google is now giving users — notably all users, including Mac and iOS users. Moreover, Apple has offered no sign that it’s going to drop the steep fees it’s charging for iCloud photo storage. With WWDC just around the corner, Apple has a big opportunity to match Google’s photo and video initiative, thrilling its customers in the process. If that doesn’t happen, I’m moving my collection into Google Photos, and not looking back…

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Dropbox’s Carousel photo & video gallery app arrives on iPad & web

Jordan Kahn Nov 20 2014 - 10:05 am PT

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First launched on iPhone earlier this year, Dropbox announced today that it’s launching its Carousel photo and video gallery app for iPad users. The company is also bringing the experience to the web at carousel.dropbox.com.

Part of making the best home for your photos is giving you a fast, simple, beautiful way to engage with your pictures, however and wherever you want. Today, we’re excited to announce big steps towards that goal: Carousel for web, iPad, and Android tablet.

In addition, the iOS apps add the ability to share to Instagram and WhatsApp with today’s update.

The Carousel app offers easy sharing of one or multiple photos to contacts or email addresses and allows users to get around many of the upload limitations usually associated with sharing photos. With everything backed up in full resolution directly to Dropbox, the app is essentially a standalone experience for managing to photos and videos stored in Dropbox.

A look at the Carousel UI for web is below:

The Carousel for iPad app is available on the App Store now for free.

What’s New in Version 1.7

We’ve updated Carousel with one of your most requested features: support for iPad! Now, view your photos and continue conversations on a bigger screen.

Plus, we’ve added support for posting to Instagram and WhatsApp!

Microsoft OneDrive now provides unlimited cloud storage for Office 365 subscribers

9to5 Staff Oct 27 2014 - 12:48 pm PT

6 Comments

Microsoft on Monday announced that it will be eliminating its top-tier cloud storage plan and offering unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 subscribers at no additional cost. The change will begin rolling out today for Office 365 Home, Personal and University customers and will continue over the coming months.
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Review: Hyper’s iStick, the first USB drive w/ integrated Lightning connector

Jordan Kahn Oct 3 2014 - 2:36 pm PT

32 Comments

While most of my content goes straight to the cloud these days and is usually easily accessible to move around, download or stream from any of my devices, I still found myself getting a lot of use out of Hyper’s new iStick. It’s one of the first made-for-iPhone USB flash drives that also includes an integrated Lightning connector to easily transfer content to and from the device to others. Hyper’s companion app is what makes the experience more than just storage, however…
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Box adds secure collaborative notes to its iPhone and iPad apps

Zac Hall Jun 23 2014 - 9:00 am PT

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We showed you Box’s big 3.0 rewrite of its iPhone and iPad app earlier this year and today the cloud service is adding a major feature for its users: Box Notes. Box introduced its Notes feature to users last month, and now it is extending support for Box Notes to iPhone and iPad users.

The company says it’s focus on security for business users makes its approach to collaborative note capturing and sharing differently than other offerings. Box’s new Notes feature on iPhone and iPad is presented in the same app as other media stored in the cloud service as it’s a single app to know and manage.

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CloudApp, Droplr both updated with new design, features on Mac

Zac Hall Jan 9 2014 - 9:51 am PT

1 Comment

Popular (and competing) cloud sharing services CloudApp and Droplr both announced big updates to their Mac apps this week with new features and designs.

CloudApp 2.0 (seen above) now features thumbnail previews, the ability to share links before an upload is complete, Notification Center support, hot key support to open the menu bar popover, and a lot more.
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Apple acquired mapping firm BroadMap’s talent, location-infused Evernote competitor Catch

Mark Gurman Dec 23 2013 - 9:53 am PT

2 Comments

<a href="http://benjaminfeenstra.com/2012/11/google-vs-apple/">Apple HQ in Cupertino</a>

Apple has been on a roll this year in terms of acquisitions. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the Cupertino firm acquired 15 companies this year, but only ten have been revealed. That list includes mapping companies such as Embark, chip makers like Passif, search specialists such as Cue and Topsy, and hardware companies such as PrimeSense. Because only 10 of the 15 Apple acquisitions of 2013 have been revealed, we have been digging and asking around to find the few remaining Apple pickups. Based on evidence and chatter from sources, Apple seemingly acquired mapping firm BroadMap in the first half of this year and Evernote-competitor Catch within the last few months…

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Google Play Music finally hits iOS with a free month of All Access and programmable radio in 21 countries

Seth Weintraub Nov 15 2013 - 8:00 am PT

33 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVukJXI5NXM]

After much anticipation, Google finally released its native Google Play Music app for iOS today. The All Access and Radio service was originally announced at Google IO in May with the promise that it would be ported to iOS devices a few weeks later. Then it was rumored last month. Well, today it is really here and Google was nice enough to give us a great look at the service yesterday (video above).

Google’s music ecosystem differs greatly from Apple’s and more closely resembles Spotify or Amazon with a focus on the Cloud. On Macs and PCs you can use it through a browser with an interface that is remarkably robust for a webpage, but obviously not quite as responsive as iTunes, especially with local music.

Play millions of songs, instantly, on any device, including all the music you’ve ever bought…from anywhere.

Google’s Music is in the Cloud (mostly) so you can seamlessly move from device to device, though there is a 5 app limit (but no limit on devices with web browser access). You can upload 20,000 songs for free, create playlists and share with friends, listen to your music anywhere there is a web browser or iOS/Android device. Kind of a no-brainer…
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Feedly launches new cloud backend & web interface, hits 12M users ahead of Google Reader demise

Jordan Kahn Jun 19 2013 - 7:59 am PT

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From 9to5Google:

Following Google’s announcement that its RSS Reader product would be retired on July 1st, apps like Feedly that relied on the Google Reader backend announced big plans to help itself and other apps through the transition. Feedly has been preparing its move to its own “feedly cloud” back end since the announcement, and earlier this month transitioned its own iOS client to the platform. Today, Feedly is officially launching the new back end and API, as well as a brand new web interface and the first apps to integrate the feedly cloud platform:

As of today, feedly cloud is now live, providing a fast and scalable infrastructure that serves as the backbone to feedly, as well as a number of connected applications. Feedly cloud is open today to all users visiting http://feedly.com, providing a simple one-click migration path from Google Reader. And thanks to the great developer community that has gathered around it, providing multiple safe and sound alternatives to Google Reader. With the release of feedly cloud, feedly today transitions from a product to a platform. We are also today delivering a new, completely stand-alone Web version of feedly.

On top of the new API and feedly cloud back end, the company is also delivering on one of the most requested features for the service: a standalone new web interface that doesn’t require any plugins or browser extensions.

While there are many others trying to provide an alternative for Google Reader, Feedly tells us it’s had significant traction since Google’s announcement and hit 12 million users at the end of May. That’s up 8 million from the 4 million users it had before Google announced Reader would be retired back in March. It’s also currently processing around 25 million feeds a day.

As part of its ‘Normandy’ project, Feedly has been building its own backend and API for third-party RSS apps and readers that also previously relied on the Google Reader API. It isn’t the only one: Earlier this week Digg teased images of its Google Reader replacement coming to the web and mobile devices on June 26th. It too is planning to offer an alternative API for third-party devs.

Today Feedly is announcing the first apps to integrate with its new backend but promises more will be added in the coming weeks as more than 200 developer have shown interest:

-IFTTT
-Sprout Social for iOS/Android
-Nextgen Reader for Win 8 and Win Phone
-gNewsReader for BlackBerry 10/Symbian/MeeGo
-gReader for Android
-Press for Android
-Newsify for iPhone/iPad
-Pure News Widget for Android
-Menere for Windows

Developers and users interested in learning more about the new and improved Feedly can do so here.

Feedly offers one-click migration from Reader to its service to ensure an easy transition and reminds us just 10 days remain before Google Reader officially shuts down.

Verizon Cloud service now available on iOS devices

Jordan Kahn May 23 2013 - 12:59 pm PT

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After announcing that it would be rolling out a new Verizon Cloud service to iOS and Android users back in April, the carrier provided an update today informing us that the service is now available to iOS devices and additional Android users. The app, available for free on the App Store here, will allow users to securely back up and access their content in the cloud.

Verizon Cloud is now available for iOS devices and additional Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the DROID DNA by HTC… Whether customers are looking to save text messages, call logs, contacts, music, multimedia or other files, Verizon Cloud allows for up to 125 GB of storage.

The service will also allow for users to transfer some content from the cloud to multiple devices, including the ability to sync photos and videos, stream music, and access documents. You’ll also be able to backup your computer via a desktop app for Verizon Cloud.
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Google Drive sharing of files now ‘right-click easy’ on Mac

Seth Weintraub May 6 2013 - 10:47 am PT

4 Comments

Google just announced a nice little upgrade to Google Drive which allows you to share your Google Drive Files from your desktop on your Mac (or PC). Once you click, you get the following message screen:

Apple’s iCloud servers once again experiencing major outages for a growing number of users

Jordan Kahn Apr 23 2013 - 5:34 am PT

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Update, 9:34 AM: Apple has now updated its System Status page to confirm the outages we reported earlier this morning. Apple reports some users experienced issues with account & sign in for iCloud, purchases for iTunes, Game Center, and creating new Apple IDs:

Over the last couple of months Apple’s iCloud servers have been experiencing major outages approximately every couple of weeks and today a growing number of users are once again complaining of issues accessing various iCloud services.

9to5Mac readers in several countries have reached out to Apple support who confirmed the outages, although Apple is yet to update its System Status page to reflect the downtime. Apple is typically at least a few hours behind in reporting outages.

As highlighted by hundreds of users on Twitter, the outages appear to be affecting multiple iCloud services including Mail, third-party apps attempting to access iCloud credentials, and Find my iPhone. Others are simply receiving an error message when attempting to access any iCloud service. Some users are also reporting that iCloud is requesting they reset their passwords as if their account is experiencing a security issue.

We’ll update this post when/if Apple finally reports the outages.

So, is iCloud coming down, or are we hallucinating? http://t.co/fKAepnEhzO

— Ulysses Team (@the_soulmen) April 23, 2013

#iCloud seems to be down. Or account hacked? Hopefully not…

— Juhana Venäläinen (@juhana_) April 23, 2013

iCloud – AppStore – iTunes : Hors Service pic.twitter.com/6llTx5pu8o

— Vincent Chapeau (@iChaps_) April 23, 2013

https://twitter.com/himanzoo/status/326669089533722624

https://twitter.com/KhaledYousry/status/326666876124033024

Anyone else having #server issues with #Apple #icloud this morning?

— Kevvy (@kevvyrowley) April 23, 2013

the strangest thing is happening to my #icloud email account on my phone. hope messages will return… :-((

— bernardo (@bjchan) April 23, 2013

https://twitter.com/ridewithgarrett/status/326664553310081024

@flexibits Fantastical keeps asking for my password for my iCloud cal. Ideas?

— Meron Bareket (@MeronBareket) April 23, 2013

Review: Readdle brings Documents to the small screen

Mike Beasley Apr 11 2013 - 6:49 am PT

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Readdle has finally brought their popular Documents iPad app to the iPhone and iPod touch with the latest update. The iPhone version has all of the features you would expect in a file management app and a few extras.

The main file manager window displays all of your files in a grid or list sorted by name, date, or size. You can create folders, zip and unzip archives, and view a variety of file types from this view. PDFs, plaintext files, audio, pictures, and more can be added to your collection. The audio player works when the app is in the background so you can continue listening to your music.

Your most recently used files will accumulate in a special folder automatically so you can find them again easily. A search feature on the main page allows you to search any file by name, but you can also enable an indexing feature lets the app search the contents of your documents as well.

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Study finds iCloud/iTunes Match on top in cloud storage wars with 27 percent market share in US

Jordan Kahn Mar 21 2013 - 9:57 am PT

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According to a recent survey by research firm Strategy Analytics (via Engadget), Apple is dominating the cloud storage space with 27 percent of respondents picking iTunes Match and iCloud as their go-to service. Closely behind is Dropbox at 17 percent, Amazon Cloud Drive at 15 percent and Google Drive at 10 percent. The report is quick to point out that Dropbox is the one major player that has gained its share of the market without actually selling content associated with its service. It might not be entirely accurate of usage worldwide, as the survey included around 2,300 people only in the United States.

Usage of cloud storage is heavily skewed towards younger people, in particular 20-24 year olds, whilst Apple’s service is the only one with more female than male users. Amongst the big four, Google’s is the one most heavily skewed towards males.

Cloud storage is overwhelmingly dominated by music; around 90% of Apple, Amazon and Google’s cloud users store music. Even Dropbox – which has no associated content ecosystem – sees around 45% of its users storing music files. Dropbox’s recent acquisition of Audiogalaxy will add a much needed native music player to the platform in the coming months.

iCloud hasn’t had its coffee yet today folks, multiple services remain down

Jordan Kahn Feb 28 2013 - 5:55 am PT

0 Comments

After experiencing some outages earlier this month, iCloud users continued to experience service disruptions across a number of services today. Earlier this morning, Apple reported on its System Status page, which at the moment appears to be experiencing some hiccups, that 11 percent of iCloud users were affected, and it listed all iCloud services as impacted by the outage (pictured above).

Apple later updated the system status page and listed only three services with outages: Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, and Backup. It also changed the 11 percent of users affected for all services to “Multiple iCloud Services- Some users affected.”

Unfortunately, Apple’s system status page doesn’t seem to be functioning properly, and it is not displaying values for outages tracked for each hour of the day. As witnessed on Twitter, many users continue to experience issues with several iCloud services including some not currently listed as being down by Apple.

Fox movies finally available for re-download in iTunes in the Cloud

Seth Weintraub Jul 19 2012 - 7:13 pm PT

0 Comments

Multiple tipsters wrote in this evening saying 20th Century Fox movies are appearing in their purchased movie iTunes accounts ready for re-downloading over iCloud. Sure enough, Fox’s Horton Hears a Who! is on my kid’s iTunes account ready for downloading on iCloud (above, left). There is also no longer a disclaimer saying, “This movie is not available for iCloud downloading,” in iTunes (above, right) which existed before.

When Apple launched Movies in Cloud in March, both Fox and Universal held out. Universal went live on iCloud in April, and it appears Fox is going live today. The deal has been expected for awhile, as HBO allowed iCloud users access to both studios’ catalogs in March. The reasons for the delay aren’t specified but they often involve complicated contract negotiations with multiple rights holders.

Today has been a big day on the iTunes Store with Poland and Hungary both getting iTunes Match, while 37 different countries got iTunes in the Cloud for movies.

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UK retailer PC World beats Apple to iTunes in the cloud

9to5 Staff Sep 6 2010 - 3:09 am PT

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High street electronics retailer, PC World has launched its own cloud-based music service for Apple device owners, iPad Media Streaming, beating Apple’s own rumored music locker service aside in one fell swoop.

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