SmarterBits

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

——-

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,.

March 1st 2011

Well, if Everyone Else is Doing it.

TUAW’s Victor Agreda Jr, on not respecting Apples Mac OS X 10.7 Developer Preview NDA:

“So, from here on we’re going to ignore the NDA like every other Mac news outlet on the internet. We’ll play Apple’s game and help teach the masses about Lion.”

Reading the rest of the article, the incredulity of their reasoning (That their behaviour is ok because others are doing it) or their ability to discern intent (Apple wants us to break their NDA) goes without saying. Had I been writing that piece, I might have added :

“Besides, if we don’t break this NDA, you wouldn’t be visiting our site anyway.”

TUAW, like lots of other technology websites, must live by the law of page views and, where writer’s voice’s are drowned by the deafening sound of websites trying to one up each other in a variety ways, in some sort of race scoop one another, a kind of equivalent to being the “first” commenter. In a world like that, it’s understandable you get to point where your making ridiculous rationalizations like TUAWs to save face.

Luckily, this isn’t the only way to make a living writing on the web. There’s a whole stable of writers and journalists proving it’s possible to make a living through the skill of their prose to cultivate an audience interested in their thoughts and opinions, broken NDA’s or not.

P.S. : TUAW, perhaps you’ve never been invited to an Apple event because they’ve already invited all the major news networks from across the world, not because they haven’t noticed your “five years of reporting on the company with laserlike focus.”

(Via Ben Brooks)

Posted at 4:32pm and tagged with: tuaw, apple, mac os X, lion, NDA,.