I was going to make a full list of predictions for WWDC tomorrow but there are so many articles on the subject that there is no point trying to subjugate you with detailed predictions of my own. Instead, I’ll make 10 guesses in no particular order and tomorrow afternoon we can all have fun picking me apart on how wrong I was. 1 Without further delay:
1. iCloud includes a tiered payment plan. Free for a small amount of storage, say 2GB. Pay for more.
2. iCloud will sync versions and autosaved files on Lion. Dropbox probably dead for most people.
3. Media streaming in some fashion. Only over Wi-Fi. See here.
4. Users will now be able to perform initial and future syncs of apps and data on iOS devices over Wi-Fi.
5. Speaking of iOS, there will be a developer API for syncing data, games saves etc…Not necessarily linked to iCloud.
6. MobileMe rebranded to focus on email, calendar and contacts only. Gets cheaper.
7. iTunes purchases moving forward are either stored in your iCloud for streaming (over Wi-Fi) or downloaded as usual with the device restrictions currently in place.
8. Revamped notifications on iOS 5 and app integration. Twitter, I’m looking at you.
9. Lion and iCloud ship within a month. iOS 5 in time for arrival of new hardware. Lion GM beta highly likely available tomorrow.
10. Cold water on Time Machine conspiracy theories. Refresh probably only to include some sort of simil-iOS and ARM chip powering the device. More likely to see it include AirPlay media streaming than iCloud server functionality. 2
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1. Or I can gloat about how right i was. Whichever.
2. It would be really surprising to me that you could use a Time Machine as your own server. It would imply that users be able to specify where iCloud should sync data to and from. At that point, Apple might as well just let you use your own external disk or your home computer to do the same thing. Besides, picking where to sync your data would add a layer of complexity for the average user that I’m convinced Apple is trying to avoid in the first place. What happens if you’ve already paid for a year of service and decide to get a Time Machine afterwards? Or what if you start with a Time Machine and then switch only to the online service? What if you have more data on the TM that you can get with an online account? How would the two sync together? That’s just more layers of complexity.
Posted at 12:42am and tagged with: readlater, one column, apple, WWDC, tech, iCloud, lion, iOS, 5, rumors,.
