I recently installed Mountain Lion and have been annoyed by the aggressive persona of iCloud. It always seems to be looking over my shoulder and wanting to move more of “my stuff” to iCloud. Is there a way to make iCloud less aggressive and more passive … ???
Who is paying for all this “free” iCloud storage, anyhow … ??? I’m afraid I will get a bill someday for $xxx.xx to cover iCloud storage of “my stuff” over the past 3 months. I thought there was NO FREE LUNCH in this world … ???
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Joseph Allen
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How To Make iCloud Less Aggressive
Comments: 4 Responses to “How To Make iCloud Less Aggressive”
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I never thought of describing something like iCloud as "aggressive." Before iCloud you had only one choice of where to save files -- your hard drive. So was your hard drive then even more aggressive?
I don't see how the option of being able to store files in the cloud could make you feel like it is "looking over my shoulder."
It is just a storage option. A good one, with more functionality than simply storing something on your drive. With iCloud the file is stored on your drive and then also synced to a server where it is then available to other Macs and iOS devices you own. It makes the problem of sharing files between devices trivial instead of difficult. It means that if your computer breaks or is stolen that you can get another one and access your files instead of losing them. It means you can work on a document on your iMac at work, your MacBook in your home office and your iPad in your living room without needing to save and transfer the file carefully to different places each time you change devices.
As for the cost. You ARE paying for it. It is part of the cost of your Mac, iPad or iPhone. Apple isn't alone in doing that. Google and Microsoft both offer free cloud services. If Apple didn't, then they would fail to be competitive.
Thanks, Gary. I'll try to think of iCloud as as "good parent" trying to get me to do my homework and eat my vegetables. However, I still have a problem with the financing of iCloud storage. I think that Apple must plan to eventually charge us for this storage based on our demands/requirements. How else can Apple provide some users with (say) 2 TB of iCloud storage space year after year ... ??? I just don't think that a one-time charge at the time of an Apple hardware purchase is the long-term game-plan ... .
2TB! That's is a lot of storage. Apple doesn't give us that for free. They give us 25GB (1/80th of your number). And for people who want more, they can pay for more. So they are making some money there.
Look at Google. They have been offering free Gmail for many more years. I think each user has about 10GB of free Gmail space -- per account. And then you get more with other online Google apps.
With many Apple users buying a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad they are averaging about one new device per year. I think Apple is doing just fine getting a good return with iCloud.
Thanks for your perspective.