Is iCloud totally worthless?

Woody, I expected much the same thing. I thought I'd be able to sync my keychain, contacts, mail, etc. between Macs. I can't reply directly to your post because I can't see it here, only in my email.

I called Apple about iCloud on a Mac today, and the upper level tech was just as skeptical as we are. He did assure me that I wouldn't lose my files after logging out of iCloud, even with those ominous warnings, so I logged out and will be happy never to hear of it again. The upside of the experience is that I learned of competitors to Dropbox, like box.com and Backify.

It also took longer to get through to tech support than it has for years. I'm sure there is no connection between Steve's departure and this lapse.

I think it is more than clear now that Macs are the ugly stepsisters of Apple's product line, and I'm not happy about it.

to place documents in the cloud from your mac you do the following:

go to icloud.com

click on i work

upload your doctument

then it will go to all your IOS devices

JKN1 wrote:

I too am puzzled why iDisk had to be completely killed off, at least it was a way for me to sync, store and view actually useful files and not iStuff which really, very few people use in any serious manner.

I found iDisk so limiting that I turned to almost any other service (YouSendIt, FilesAnywhere, etc) so that I could get some separation between different people's private files, get better performance, better tracking, better features in general, etc. I'm not surprised that Apple decided to leave the field to others who did it better and cheaper, just as Apple got out of the monitor and printer business after the margins disappeared.

Yes it is totally worthless if you have a mixed network of Macs that are also running Leopard and snow Leopard.

Plus it removes keychain and mail rules sync.

How can you put a value on something that is free?

It's certainly not anywhere near as useful if you have no iOS devices. If you have multiple computers it could be quite useful, keeping your contacts, calendars etc in sync across them, and allowing access via the web on other computers.

But Dropbox can be made to sync important things quite easily.

It can't sync contacts, calendars, reminders, bookmarks, tasks, emails etc with iOS devices in any usable form within the native apps.

Arbitrary files, yes, but not the sort of info you would refer to multiple times per day.

Yes, totally, when you have the same mac products and you are still unable to get the verification email to work so that you can have access to iCloud!

Julian, I wouldn't be so sure.

62 things you can do with Dropbox

JKN1 wrote:

But Dropbox can be made to sync important things quite easily.

Other than files (as Julian mentioned) what can DropBox sync?

Satchmo wrote:

Julian, I wouldn't be so sure.

62 things you can do with Dropbox

62 different ways of describing File Sync.

http://wiki.dropbox.com/DropboxAddons - Dropbox isn't the end-all be-all of cloud management but it is pretty useful and worth the price (free).

I'm not one of those rant-on-the-internet types who says I'm going to storm off and throw away all of my Apple products, but the true nature and limits of the documents portion of iCloud were at worst, not made clear. I am satisfied that Apple will work out the launch bugs of the remainder of iCloud in due time and I have no issues with that portion of it.

From Apple's iCloud description page (emphasis mine): http://www.apple.com/icloud/what-is.html

Your content. On all your devices.

iCloud is so much more than a hard drive in the sky. It makes it quick and effortless to access just about everything on the devices you use every day. iCloud automatically and securely stores your content so it's always available to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. It gives you access to your music, apps, latest photos, and more from whichever device you happen to be using. And it keeps your email, contacts, and calendars up to date across all your devices. No syncing required. No management required. In fact, no anything required. iCloud does it all for you.

Hm - I see this message when I come here from messages in Mail: THERE ARE NO VISIBLE MESSAGES IN THIS DISCUSSION. THIS CAN HAPPEN IF MESSAGES HAVE BEEN HIDDEN BY A MODERATOR, OR HAVE BEEN REPORTED AS ABUSIVE

Well, nothing abusive here, just some people who were not too happy to learn about this particular part of iCloud. The Missing Link, so to speak:)

Anyway, neither am I going to throw away all my Apple-products, but I really hope that they will add this function t iWork on the Mac in the near future. As I have mentioned, I think iCloud works well and more than well, and I guess that also adds to my frustration to see that the smoothness of it doesn't include iWork on the Macs.

I do write a lot on my iPad and I have also seen those practical stands with a keyboard which turns it into a superlight laptop, but I also work on my iMac and my MacBook and that goes for a lot of us.

Julian, I wouldn't be so sure.
62 things you can do with Dropbox

Exactly as I said. Not one of those 62 things involves syncing contacts, calendars, reminders, bookmarks, tasks, emails etc with the native iOS apps.

Dropbox is great - I use it multiple times, everyday, but it cannot do all that iCloud can. And iCloud can't do all the things Dropbox can. They are complementary, and can happily co-exist on my computers and iOS devices.

Julian Wright wrote:

How can you put a value on something that is free?

I place great value on air, yet I pay nothing for it. But iCloud is not "free" it is integrated into the cost of the hardware and the supporting accessories and software Apple sells.

iCloud may not be quite the fiasco that Final Cut Pro X has been, but it is sure not going to win kudos among Mac users; and I've never been a fan of the idea that a buggy, unfinished product officially released is merely a work in progress, immune to criticism.

As I have said (in this thread or another), it appears that Apple is marginalizing the Mac and pushing consumers toward the iOS environment it more tightly controls. The example I have given is that Mac cannot mirror content to Apple TV, while all recent iOS devices can. This is not a technical deficiency, it is a business tactic.