iCloud

I apologize in advance if this is not the right forum to pose the below question, but I could not locate a better place to put it.

What is this cloud stuff? Can someone explain that to me in the most simple of terms? As best I can tell, there's some invisible cloud thing that will allow my 3 iPads, iPhone 5, and iPhone 4S to all do something or another without plugging them into my MacBook Pro.

The 'cloud' is fundamentally just storage on the Internet.

In the context of your iDevices 'iCloud' is Apples implementation of this Internet based storage
Apple - iCloud - All your content on all your devices.

You can backup each device to iCloud, you can use it to share photos and documents between devices and more.

Okay...thanks...I will give the link a read to learn more about it.

What is this cloud stuff?

Click to expand...

Its pretty vast and covers many things, one quick example is write a document in pages on your Mac at home and save it to iCloud. Go to work open pages on your phone and there is the document, you can edit on the go and save, then when you get home open the edited doc on your mac.

Just brings everything together.

The most convenient thing about iCloud for me is that if I take a photo, add a contact or add a calendar date on one device, it gets sent to all my other devices automatically. It does this by turning on iCloud on all your devices so that they all connect to Apple's servers, where your information is stored. For instance, when you open iPhoto, it will fetch any new photos in your Photo Stream that were taken with your iPhone or iPad. It even syncs your iMessage chats together, so you can start a conversation on your iPhone, pick it up on your computer when you get home, and finish it on the couch on your iPad.

Got it. Seems handy, but not something I'm in need of at the moment. I'll likely start using it in about 6 months. Thanks for all the info.

The summary sentence for me is - "All your data synced across all your devices seamlessly"

Expanded that is - if I am working on a document on my Mac - I can save it, open my iPad and continue working on it. All my Contacts, Calendar, email, reminders and notes are updated on the fly on any device that I use. (Just as previous posters have said)

Pretty much all standard Apple Applications and PIM are iCloud enabled (Probably missing some)
-Preview
-Textedit
-(iWork) Keynote, Pages, Numbers (have to buy it for both iOS and OSX)
-(PIM) Reminders, Notes, Calendar, Contacts, Mail
-Photos - iPhoto and photo stream.
-Safari - note that Chrome has something similar across devices as well using google's login
-iTunes Match ($25/year)
-iBooks
-Apps


The one thing that iCloud doesn't seem to have is a general disk storage area (iDisk used to be it I think but I don't think it is available anymore) - so that is where Dropbox or Sugarsync or Box.net come in. Here I can save files into folders and see them across devices as well. If someone has a built in disk that I am missing I would love to hear about it - but Dropbox is integrated into a lot of Apps and works quite well.

Other Services that could be considered "Cloud" services (not iCloud mind you) That is - all my data available across all my devices
Amazon - Prime Video and Kindle books
Magazine readers like Next Issue and Readr for iPad
Spotify - subscription music
Netflix - streaming movies
to name a few that I use - but that is why it is mentioned that "Cloud" is a pretty broad concept.

I think the primary advantage for me is the syncing of apps without having to plug the devices into my computer. For example, I have my iPhone, my wife's iPhone, my iPad, my wife's iPad, and even my mother's iPad all synced to my laptop. However, I'm in Afghanistan, my wife is in Thailand, and my mother is in the States. In this situation, I can see where the Cloud would be useful.

I figured I'd set it all up when I next see my wife (in April) and when I next see my mother (June-ish). Or, can I get it all set up without having to plug their devises into my laptop?

As best I can tell, there's some invisible cloud thing that will allow my 3 iPads, iPhone 5, and iPhone 4S to all do something or another without plugging them into my MacBook Pro.

Click to expand...

I figured I'd set it all up when I next see my wife (in April) and when I next see my mother (June-ish). Or, can I get it all set up without having to plug their devises into my laptop?

Click to expand...

iCloud works over WiFi, so there is no need to connect anything. Just make sure that the apps you want to use are set to run in iCloud.

Example open iPhone > settings > iCloud then just turn on the apps. Its the same for the iPad, but system preference on your MBP.

Once done they will all sync.

oldscribe said:

iCloud works over the Internet, so there is no need to connect anything

Click to expand...

Fixed that for you.

Thanks

oldscribe said:

iCloud works over WiFi, so there is no need to connect anything. Just make sure that the apps you want to use are set to run in iCloud.

Example open iPhone > settings > iCloud then just turn on the apps. Its the same for the iPad, but system preference on your MBP.

Once done they will all sync.

Click to expand...

On my iPhone I went to Settings > iCloud and did not see any apps listed. Here is what is listed...

Mail
Contacts
Calendars
Reminders
Safari
Notes
Passbook
Photo Stream
Documents & Data
Find My iPhone

Any reason why my the apps aren't showing up?

Because apps are stored on your account in iTunes they are always available 'in the cloud'.

Anyone using the AppleID you purchase apps with can bring the apps down.

If you want have every device that uses that ID to automatically get any newly purchased apps go into Settings - Store and there you can toggle auto download of Music, Books and Apps.

On my iPhone I went to Settings > iCloud and did not see any apps listed.

Click to expand...

On iPhone go to settings scroll to bottom of the page, here you will see your iCloud downloaded compatible apps.
Here is my Mac example and iPhone example, if you have bought the apps like iWork etc they will appear.
The first is iPhone second is Mac iCloud.

That's a list of ALL apps not just iCloud compatible apps.

Hi mrplow,

That's a list of ALL apps not just iCloud compatible apps.

Click to expand...

Yes I agree, was just showing Jason NEFL where to go other than iCloud within iPhone settings

Thanks for the visual. I went to Keynote, and saw the "Use iCloud" button. Oddly enough that was the only app on my iPhone that uses iCloud, so I guess it's not such a big deal if I don't start using it right now. When I get back to the States, and am regularly using my computer, iPhone, and iPad, I'll go ahead and do the whole cloud thing. At that time, I'll set my mother up with her own account, as well as set my wife up with her own account, which will also make things a bit easier since there will be less devices to keep up with.

Thanks again!

Only certain apps will work with iCloud - that's inevitable since developers would have to add support.

Also, don't feel compelled to use iCloud (or any cloud service for that matter). I'm certainly not trying to discourage you but if you have no need to set it up, save yourself the time. I only suggest this because you note that the only thing you want is app synchronization which doesn't require an iCloud account.

I would recommend signing up for an actual iCloud account. First it is free - and you can pick any name you want. As the service becomes more popular you'll end up having to get something with numbers in it - so you might as well sign up now and try to get what you want - @icloud.com

Also - at some point - if you have a family or Significant Other - you'll want to have your iTunes (apps/media) login different from your iCloud login (PIM/Email) so that everyone can get the purchased apps and media but still have their personal information separate.