Revealed - iCloud Features
[SOURCE: Redmond Pie]
Features
iCloud includes features that were previously available in MobileMe, as well as others we’re just finding out about now. They include:
Online Apps: many of iCloud’s features have roots in MobileMe, such as online Contacts and Mail Apps, which have been written from scratch, since according to Jobs, they the company has "learned a lot" since it built MobileMe.
Heavily Enhanced Syncing: back in the MobileMe days, syncing was merely limited to e-mail and contacts. With iCloud, important files, such as documents and pictures, can be synced across different devices. In addition, iWork users will be able to edit documents over this service and see the changes in real time, even between a Mac and an iPad, for example. That’s unheard of on other Office suites. The same happens with photos, which can be streamed to any device on the fly. Similarly to what happened before, information that’s added or modified on one device will be immediately pushed down to the remaining devices.
Backup: iCloud will allow data such as settings, books, pictures, video and even Apps to be backed up and show up across all your devices. That will eliminate the need for huge set ups during system reinstalls, for example.
iTunes in Cloud (Your Music Locker): this service allows any newly purchased content, such as songs, Apps or iBooks, to be automatically synced over the air to up to 10 devices. For already purchased content, users will have the option to download each song, App or book individually.
Availability
iCloud and all its features will be available this fall, although there’s no release date set as of yet. Developers can try out iCloud starting from today.
Probably the most surprising fact about this service is it’s price, or lack of it: iCloud is completely free. There’s a 5GB limit, although purchased items and Photo Stream won’t add to it.
Revealed - Mac OS X Lion Features
[SOURCE: Redmond Pie]
Features
Mission Control replaces Exposé, Dashboard, Spaces: Exposé, Dashboard and Spaces were introduced in Mac OS X Panther, Tiger and Leopard, respectively. 6 years later, Apple has felt the need to merge those into a single view: Mission Control, which allows users to visualize all their open windows, full screen applications, widgets and spaces. The new view can be brought up using a simple gesture, or a single keystroke, whichever you’re the most comfortable with.
Launchpad: Launchpad gives users quick access to all the applications installed on the machine. Instead of having to navigate through the Applications folder, like we’ve always done, we’ll now simply need to bring up Launchpad. The new view also allows for better organization, like grouping applications into folders, like we’re already used to in iOS; and maybe more importantly, save the state of applications when they’re closed and opening them later.
New Mail Application: After standing still for years, Mac OS X’s e-mail client is finally getting a rather significant upgrade. E-Mail folders are now displayed a cross the top, not on the left, better message previewing and "Conversations", allowing users to consolidate messages from the same contact into an easy view.
Similarities with iOS (Full-Screen Apps and Multi-Touch Gestures): if you’re finding Lion at all similar to iOS, you wouldn’t be the only one. Apple itself is taking this release to "take lessons" from iOS and apply them to the Mac operating system. Launchpad, for example, is clearly the Mac version of Home Screen. That said, there are other features have have taken more subtle cues from the way iOS operates: for example, applications can now been launched in full screen. Built-in applications will include full-screen support, as well as third-party ones, if developers wish to. There’s also support for even more trackpad gestures, now built more tightly into the operating system than ever before: for example, switching between windows in Mission Control is just a swipe away.
Enhanced App Store with In-App Purchases: the Mac App Store first came to Mac OS X earlier this year, allowing users to download Mac Apps from a convenient location, being now the #1 source for buying computer software, ahead of Best Buy and Walmart. In Lion, Apple is adding sandboxing to improve security, push notifications and in-app purchases.
Versions: Versions extends Time Machine’s functionality into documents. That means that users can choose to "go back in time" and restore old versions of said documents from the application itself, like Pages, for example. Users can compare different versions and and even copy and pate between them, it’s that flexible!
There are other enhancements, such as Resume, a new technology that allows the computer to restart while preserving the user’s state: all opened applications and data within them will be saved, and be brought back up when the system is restarted; Air Drop, allowing users to share files back and forth with other Mac machines; File Vault with XTS-AES 128 encryption; and an enhanced Photo Booth, which now includes better face recognition, allowing for more effects:
Availability
Mac OS X Lion will be available exclusively in downloadable form, from the Mac App Store, for $29.99, similar to Snow Leopard. That’s an incredible price drop from typical version of Mac OS X with significant new features, which were usually priced at $129.99. The operating system will be a 4GB download and will be available in July, as we mentioned above.
Revealed - iOS 5 Features and Availability
[SOURCE: Redmond Pie]
Features
Notifications Center: all current iOS users know that the current notifications system was showing its age. Apple has turned that around by building a new system, which unobtrusively displays all notifications at the top of the screen, even during games, and on the Lock Screen. By sliding them down, users will be able to visualize all unread notifications, or dismiss them completely by hitting an "X" button next to them. Very straight-forward. Notification can include missed calls, voice mail messages (which can be played right from the Notifications Center and even notifications from other Apps.
This system is very similar to MobileNotifier, which isn’t surprising, since the company has recently hired its main developer.
Reminders: this feature, as the name implies, allows users to set different reminders for different times of the day, and different places. Thanks to the geolocation support present in devices, users can now configure Reminders to pop up a notification at a certain time and at a certain place, and even sync across devices using iCal. It’s really to-do lists on steroids!
Enhanced Safari: The iOS browser now looks a lot more like its desktop counterpart, with a few extra features of its own. Tabbed browsing now looks identical to the way it looks on the Windows and Mac versions, with tabs displayed across the top, at least on the iPad. The new Safari also brings the Reader feature, displaying a website’s content in an easy text only view, but unlike what happened before, users are now able to bookmark content onto a "Reading List" for later or send it to friends.
Twitter Integration: as rumored, the new iOS 5 includes deeper system-wide integration with Twitter. While there’s no support for other social networks, this feature is integrated with many apps, including the Camera App, allowing you to quickly tweet out what you’re working on. You can log into Twitter from System Preferences. It’s a single log in.
New Mail client: similarly to what happened in Lion, the iOS mail client is also receiving an upgrade. The App now supports draggable addresses, as well as the ability to flag messages and search them and dictionary lookup, by tapping on a word and selecting "Define".
iMessage: it’s like iChat for iOS users. It lets you send text messages, photos, videos and even have group conversations, similarly to any other messaging client. This application is also a great new example of how Notifications Center, since this App interacts beautifully with it. With this out the gate, I one is left to wonder what will happen to iChat.
Independence from computers: Previous versions of iOS required users to connect them to a computer in order to set them up, update them or sync them. iOS 5 will put an end to all that, by allowing users to update the device over-the-air. There’s also a new set-up wizard for new devices, allowing them to be configured for the first time without the need for a desktop computer. Can those who hate iTunes finally proclaim victory?
Tens of small additions: iOS 5 includes a number of small improvements, such as direct game downloads in the Game Center, a new optional keyboard, enhancements to the Music App on the iPad and an enhanced Camera app.
If you’re a developer and have an iPhone 4 or 3GS, a 3rd or 4th generation iPod touch or a first or second-gen iPad, you’ll be able to grab iOS 5 from Apple Developer Center today for testing purposes, so you can get your Apps ready for many of the features we’ve talked about, such as Notifications Center.
To Be Unveiled - iOS 5, Mac OS Lion and iCloud - WWDC 2011 June 6, 2011
Here’s what people have predicted and will come true.
In a press, release, Apple confirmed that an iCloud service will be unveiled at WWDC on Monday, June 6th, as well as iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, Apple’s next-generation computer operating system. Too bad... no new iPhone hardware is going to be announced this time around.
“Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.”
The press release also revealed that Steve Jobs, who stepped aside in January in order to "focus on his health", will be giving keynote address at the said event. While he made an appearance at the company’s iPad 2 unveiling two months later, many didn’t expect him to appear at a faster-paced and way more crowded conference like WWDC.
Continue Reading...
In a press, release, Apple confirmed that an iCloud service will be unveiled at WWDC on Monday, June 6th, as well as iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, Apple’s next-generation computer operating system. Too bad... no new iPhone hardware is going to be announced this time around.
“Apple® CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 a.m. At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software – Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS® X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple’s advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch®; and iCloud®, Apple’s upcoming cloud services offering.”
The press release also revealed that Steve Jobs, who stepped aside in January in order to "focus on his health", will be giving keynote address at the said event. While he made an appearance at the company’s iPad 2 unveiling two months later, many didn’t expect him to appear at a faster-paced and way more crowded conference like WWDC.
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