iCloud

Apple's already outed its plans to bring iOS apps like Notes and Reminders to OS X later this year, and it looks like those apps are now headed to iCloud.com as well.

As spotted by 9to5mac this morning, Apple's testing two alternate versions of its iCloud Web site for developers -- one called "beta" and one called "dev" -- that adds those two iOS apps in Web app form.

In order to use the beta version of that site, Apple notes that users must have a developer account, though developers have noticed that … Read more

A notification banner, first noticed by MacRumors, which bares a striking resemblance to iOS notifications introduced with iOS 5, appears to only be a placeholder. It is vaguely titled "Default Title for English" with a message of "English - This is a test message description."

The message appears when you log in to your icloud.com account directly from the Web site.

Apple's preview of Mac OS X Mountain Lion shows off a similar banner notification system, which may be related to the iCloud notifications. Certainly syncing notifications across all iOS devices and your Macs … Read more

Microsoft is pitting its SkyDrive cloud storage against Apple's iCloud and makes many valid points. However, cloud services aren't a zero-sum game.

The software giant has launched a SkyDrive vs. iCloud comparison and makes a bevy of good points. As far as marketing SkyDrive goes, Microsoft's effort is good for awareness.

But the idea that any one cloud storage service will dominate is pure folly. The reality is that most of us will use multiple cloud services. Small businesses will too. This cloud service multiplication will become more prevalent as uploading content -- say an iTunes library … Read more

If your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch is running iOS 5 or higher, you can now receive software updates over the air. What this means, to you, is that you'll no longer have to tether to a computer to download and install the update. Instead, you'll be alerted on your device of an available update. You can then can download and install it while on the go. Here's how it works.

To check for an available update, to go Settings > General > Software Update.

If an update is available, you'll see a screen similar to … Read more

With more and more computing devices becoming mobile or located in different areas besides the desktop, the need for online storage and syncing options to manage files created or edited on these devices is increasingly important. To tackle this need, Apple has explored various approaches to online document management and sharing with its MobileMe and .Mac services, but these options have been phased out in favor of newer and more integrated approaches to online storage and syncing options.

Apple has its online storage offerings that so far have culminated into its iCloud service, but there are others as well, which … Read more

If you have Apple's iWork productivity suite and have used Apple's iWork.com collaborations, Apple has sent out another notice to remind users that this service will be canceled on July 31. The service, which was always in a beta release status, was an attempt to provide an online storage and collaborative environment for iWork programs, similar to Microsoft's SkyDrive and SharePoint options for its Office suite.

Apple's decision to shutter iWork.com comes after its transition of its MobileMe service to iCloud, which provides an online syncing and storage option that is system-wide and usable … Read more

Google Drive. Dropbox. Box. SkyDrive. Cubby. iCloud.

All cloud storage services. All offer a free plan, with varying levels of storage and features. All offer paid upgrades for more storage and yet more features. With pricing becoming such a hot topic, especially with the launch of Google Drive, let's take a look at the free upgrades some of these services are offering, and how you can take advantage of them today.

With so many different cloud storage options out there, some of the service providers are offering free storage in exchange for promoting the respective service or recruiting friends … Read more

Samsung already has its sights set on Apple for May 3 when it will unveil the Galaxy S III smartphone, but it might also be ready to target iCloud, according to a new report.

Korean news outlet Maeil Business is reporting today (Translate), citing a leaked Samsung "consolidation plan," that Samsung will unveil an iCloud competitor, called S-Cloud, at its May 3 event in London. As with iCloud, S-Cloud will allow users to send content up to the cloud and sync that across multiple devices. However, the news outlet says that S-Cloud won't come with the content-uploading … Read more

Apple has a plan to nudge more MobileMe users on to iCloud.

The cloud-based storage service will replace MobileMe in June, but only users running OS X Lion (version 10.7) will have access to iCloud. Apple has realized that many MobileMe users are probably running an older OS and may be left behind by the cost of upgrading their systems.

So Apple is giving users of older operating systems a gentle push by making the first step toward upgrading easy: the company is giving away Snow Leopard -- the 10.6 version of OS X -- to MobileMe users, … Read more