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Apple’s iCloud promises to make whatever you<br />
have on one gadget accessible on all the others.<br />
Here’s how to get the most out of this service.<br />
by Sean Captain<br />
Even before Apple’s iCloud came along, the idea of<br />
“the cloud” was, well, nebulous. Apple’s definition<br />
is a method for synchronizing all your data—such<br />
as photos, music, calendars, address books, and eBooks—<br />
wirelessly between all your devices over the Internet. No<br />
sync cables, no drag and drop. The cloud also provides<br />
backup, since copies of all that data live not on puffy white<br />
cushions but on servers in a warehouse.<br />
Apple’s new, mostly free iCloud service is a latecomer<br />
to the genre. Google’s been at it for nearly a decade. Gmail,<br />
Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Reader—basically all<br />
its apps—live on servers and can sync across gadgets including<br />
Android phones, PCs, Macs, and even Apple mobile<br />
devices. Amazon has offered a Cloud Player for storing and<br />
syncing music since last March.<br />
But Apple promises to replace the handful of tools you’ve<br />
needed for syncing different types of data with one service.<br />
Well, as long as you own newish Apple products. (Android<br />
users are out of luck.) However, iCloud does work with PCs.<br />
For a brand-new service, iCloud works pretty well. But it<br />
has bugs and peculiarities that are important to understand.<br />
Here’s a comprehensive guide to the service, with a breakdown<br />
of what iCloud’s features and tips for maximizing the<br />
service’s usefulness.<br />
72<br />
Laptop | January 2012<br />
www.laptopmag.com
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