iCloud, the other ''big Apple'' and our techno-appetites
Steve Jobs proved yet again this week why he deserves not only a billion-dollar payday, but the Nobel Peace Prize, a joint session of Congress, the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval and being grand marshal of the Tournament of Roses parade.
The Man in the Black Crewneck Sweater brought the tech-loving world to a standstill once more, with the announcement of online services he calls "iCloud." Think of a cumulus cluster with a bazillion gigs [I was going to say "googolplex" instead of ''bazillion,'' but you know where that would take us…]
Jobs is a technological genius. He is also almost as ingenious as Sarah Palin when it comes to getting "free media’’ coverage.
Listen to how well Jobs persuades people how much they need what he has to sell:
"Today it is a real hassle and very frustrating to keep all your information and content up-to-date across all your devices.
"Keeping these devices in sync is driving us crazy."
Absolutely. That is the very first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning: my out-of-sync devices are driving me crazy. My coffee maker isn’t speaking to my BlackBerry, and my GPS won’t have anything to do with my Netbook.
It is a brilliant strategy: Create the demand and the supply will follow -– not too much supply, though. Got to keep those lines long to keep people thinking they absolutely, desperately have to have whatever the latest is, before the supply runs out -- or the next generation of gadgets comes along.
For what it’s worth, Chinese news media are reporting that a 17-year-old kid arranged -– over the Internet, of course -- to sell a kidney for $3,392 because he wanted to buy an iPad2. Because, after all, what’s more important: kidney function, or front-and-rear-facing video cameras and the power of an A5 chip?
The iCloud is not a cold-fusion breakthrough that means limitless free and environmentally safe energy. It’s not a loaves-and-fishes techno-miracle that can feed the world. It isn’t even a cure for the cancer that is ailing Steve Jobs.
It’s simply another way to move and store data –- like the 20,000-songs-for-$24.99 deal. That’s some jukebox.
Maybe the next time Apple makes another huge play for our attention, we won’t be so quick to bite.
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When banking and technology collide: Nothing could go wrong, right?
-- Patt Morrison
Photo: Apple CEO Steve Jobs delivers the keynote speech on the opening day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Credit: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images / June 6, 2011
Hater... Guy makes you pay attention - priceless!
Posted by: Daniel | June 07, 2011 at 11:30 PM
Oh, yes. That's it. Apple sells millions of devices because it's good marketing. That's all. It has nothing to do with the products actually being good, or working well, or solving problems that similar products have. No, it's just plain ol' hype.
The reality is, Apple's stuff is just better than everybody else's. It's as simple as that.
Posted by: James P | June 08, 2011 at 12:06 AM
This is hype, IMO. And a way to eliminate illegal downloading..people wont be upload their torrented music and movies to this magical apple in the sky. And we will have to pay for it. I dont see the benefit of this service.
Posted by: madsircool | June 08, 2011 at 12:18 AM
@James P Apple would have to have one of the best marketing campaigns on the planet and that has had a huge influence on there sales. Remember the iPod commercials? The dancing silhouettes? That made alot of people buy the iPod. Not because it was "Better". I admit, Apple products are bloody fantastic. I mean I have several of them. However I wouldn't say they were the best. Apple has there positives and negatives.
Posted by: Hayden | June 08, 2011 at 01:55 AM
iFart, and that special air joins this iCloud
Posted by: east hollywood | June 08, 2011 at 02:03 AM
"Maybe the next time Apple makes another huge play for our attention, we won’t be so quick to bite."
At least it's not about Anthony Wiener :)
Posted by: David | June 08, 2011 at 03:08 AM
The cloud is a game changer. It formally takes the personal computer/network interface out of the "personal" computer and into the network. Like everything else, there will be good and bad about it (some being scary). And I'm not going to rave rhapsodic here about all the wonderful things it can do, but Jobs, et al, basically took Microsoft's game plan and wrapped it around their necks.
Apple showed Microsoft that it is not about the gadget or device or networking parameters but instead about the benefit to the consumer. As a side-note to the demonstration, Apple stated in so many words that it was not going to play that Windows game anymore.
Apple will not accede to Flash (a PC technology), Windows on a Mac (who cares) and all the other Windows ( we gotta provide it because business wants it) etc. And as long as Jobs sells convenience and get things done, instead of confusing windows interfaces, then Gates and company will end up with technically competent dinosaurs (I didn't see a Widows to iCloud path in the presentation) Sorry Bill.
Posted by: Donald Lais | June 08, 2011 at 05:00 AM
It's all about accessibility. And it's a free service, so if you are a Mac lover, you will test the waters. :)
Posted by: salsabella | June 08, 2011 at 07:55 AM
"Almost as ingenious as Sarah Palin" in free media coverage? Puh-lease, Steve Jobs & Apple create useful products/services that have transformed global industries (cellular services, music, movies, television). They've created an ecosystem that employes tens of thousands of people.
What has Sarah Palin actually done?
Posted by: Drake Bullet | June 08, 2011 at 08:02 AM
ugh!
Posted by: keldwalker | June 08, 2011 at 08:35 AM