How iCloud works

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Daniel

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The other day iOS 5 was launched, and among the 200 news on iOS 5 is that Apple's iCloud service is integrated into the operating system.

This is a solution that provides all users 5GB of free storage in the cloud; pictures, documents, data from applications, etc., where storage can be increased by paying money. The advantage is that you have data on the network even if a device is stolen / destroyed, and that the contents can be synchronized across devices.

And not only that - acquired content (books, TV shows, movies, music, etc.) do not count in the quota of 5GB, nor the pictures you have taken. They are however only stored online for 30 days, you will take care of the pictures on one of the other devices, be sure to sync during the 30 days.

In the same breath, Apple has posted version 10.7.2 of their operating system for Mac, OSX Lion. It is only with this update iCloud is in place in OSX, the system preferences menu.

To upgrade to v10.7.2 you must press the apple in the upper left corner, select "Software Update" and then choose to install. This requires also a reboot of the machine. Once you've done that, you can also upgrade iPhoto to version 9.2, which also receives icloud support. This is done in the same way and require no reboot.

Windows also has the opportunity to be part of the game. This requires that you have Vista with Service Pack 2 or Windows 7 installed. Steps to install icloud in Windows, Apple's icloud pages.

When iCloud is installed on all devices, you need to get them to talk together, and you do that by logging in with your Apple user (same as you use the App Store) on all devices.

Secondly, you can choose what content you want to copy to iCloud. Examples include documents, contacts, email, notes, bookmarks, images, etc.

These determine the per unit - for example, you may well choose the iPhone to upload all photos from camera roll, while iPhoto images will still only be stored locally. In iPhoto, you have the possibility to take single images (or entire album) to the photo stream so that they automatically show up on your other devices, or you can also make it so that the last 30 days images are always being uploaded to iCloud.

Apps you use will also have access to iCloud. For example, it may be that you are using a camera application that stores images on the separate location instead of in the camera roll (eg. Camera +). The MB is counting, however, the 5GB quota, and you can even choose which apps to get the store to iCloud.

Your data is also available on iCloud.com. Log in with the same username / password and get access to contacts, calendar etc. Currently, I have not found any pictures there, but ...

Edit 1:

All in all, the iCloud service is now standard in iOS 5 and latest version of OSX.

Edit 2:

They charge 24.77 USD per 10 gb per year. (Converted directly from Norwegian kroner).
 
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