Apple’s Cloud Services – Becoming Clearer?

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:41:01 +0000

Last December when Apple acquired the music service LaLa, most thought that it would be an easy plug-in to use this technology to give Apple a broader music footprint. Launched in 2006 and shut down by Apple in May 2009, LaLa possessed a unique technology that scanned hard drives for existing music libraries and then enabled users to play back the same songs from LaLa’s servers via Web-connected devices. Great in theory since drive space is getting filled up quickly especially with Steve Jobs notion that downloads will be the death of the Blu Ray and standard DVD discs. This is the key reason why Apple has no plans for a Blu Ray Super Drive to be released anytime soon. Something that makes a loyal Mac user like myself wonder if my next computer will be a Mac if it doesn’t include a Blu Ray player.

Originally all Apple had to do was acquire the music licenses from the top four labels to create what is known as the Cloud partnership. To date Apple still hasn’t been able to negotiate the kind of licensing deals it would need to distribute music from the Cloud (their servers). In addition, after the merger Apple told LaLa executives that they would receive “key positions helping shape music strategy for the iTunes Store’. However, the industry speculated if outspoken label managers would fit the mold of the Apple code of secrecy.

The situation with the former LaLa management team is hazier now. According to CNET, two music industry sources said Monday that one of LaLa’s four founding members, someone who moved to Apple after the acquisition, has recently left the company. The sources didn’t know whether this would affect Apple’s cloud plans.

With the popularity of movie and music downloads, this Cloud server will be welcomed by many users who have maxed out their hard drives both internal and externally. In addition it is rumored that the major film studios have said this year that Apple plans to create “digital shelves” that enable iTunes users to store movies and other media on Apple’s servers.

Apple is supposedly building a Server Farm in North Carolina to store this massive amount of information once the Cloud clears up its internal start up struggles. ‘The Orchard’ is what Apple executives are calling this futuristic farm. Cloud storage could provide unlimited space for Apple’s top gadgets. The Cloud could help make hard drives irrelevant and help users avoid losing content that can occur when hard drives malfunction. Thus the main reason why people still aren’t convinced that soft product is the best way to go.

Of course, if Apple goes down a certain path then Google must follow and from what I understand their competing service is coming close to launch. The search engine has recently hired Elizabeth Moody, an attorney with deep experience negotiating digital-music deals. Record executives expect Moody will help cut the first Cloud music licensing agreement. Google has told label managers that it wants to launch its music storage service this year.

Apple will not nor do they need to show the world that they have the same urgency for the Cloud service, since they know first hand all the obstacles to overcome. Also, in case you have been hiding under a rock for the past few years Apple iTunes is the largest music retailer both on and offline. Where did those retailers run off too?

Whether consumers even want the Cloud remains to be seen. But one thing is certain and that is the way we store our movies and music is a big business that is growing right before our eyes. This business will play out over the next decade as both Apple and Google lead the way into this new world and option for the end-user.

The thought of storing my music and movie collection on a company server is a good one but being from the old school, I enjoy collecting CD’s, DVD’s and Blu’s. Even with the Cloud service, or a drive sitting on my desk, I get a kick out of looking at some of my old CD’s and wondering if one day that original Duran Duran debut CD will be a collector’s item? Last time I thought about it, you breathe air rather than collecting it. Not quite the same thing as owning the actual product.

The Benefits of Raking the Healthcare from the Mavenlink

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:53:49 +0000

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Apple’s Cloud Services – Becoming Clearer?

The Benefits of Raking the Healthcare from the Mavenlink