Hey guys it’s Greg with Apple Explained,and today we’re going to explore the history of iCloud, which is Apple’s current cloudcomputing service
This topic was the second place winner inlast weeks voting poll and if you didn’t get to vote, make sure you’re subscribed,that way the voting polls will show up right in your activity feed and you can let me knowwhich video you’d like to see next
Now iCloud was introduced in 2011, but itscloud-computing technology stretches back to the early 2000’s
But before we get into that, let me clarifywhat iCloud is for those for those of you who may not know
Basically, iCloud is a service for Apple devicesthat lets you store files on remote servers rather than on your own device
This frees up storage space on your Appledevice and allows your files to be accessible from any device connected to your iCloud account
So if you take a photo on your iPhone, it’llautomatically be available on your Mac, iPad, and Apple TV
It’s a pretty cool concept that may soundsimple, but implementation was extremely challenging and took several iterations to work correctly
To fully understand the role of iCloud andall its preceding services, we’ll have to zoom out and take a look at the developmentof the entire cloud computing industry
So, the whole “cloud” concept really beganwith mainframe computing as early as the 1950’s
The cost associated in this era with computerstorage, both financially and in terms of actual space, was pretty massive – and mostcompanies that were using computers just didn’t have enough capacity to give every employeethat needed computing power their own full resource
Enter mainframe computing, which allowed abunch of employees to connect to the same mainframe computer through dumb terminalsand share access
Over time, computers became more affordable,more portable, and more accessible to the general public
In the 1990’s, home computer users startedgain access to more and more options for accessing, storing, and retrieving information outsideof the limits of their own, usually limited, personal devices
Local access networks allowed users to connectto each other in ways that, before the internet, were pretty amazing, and eventually virtualizedprivate networks offered the ability to tap into public resources like never before
That brings us to about the late 90’s – whatmany consider the beginning of modern internet as we know it today
Finally, broader networking capabilities allowedcomputer users, from personal hobbyists to major corporations to connect, share capabilities,and centralize resources
But there was still a big need here, and Applewas among the biggest pioneers to really come up with some serious methods to make the cloudconcept a marketable tool
So, before iCloud, Apple played around witha few other cloud computing tools, many of which didn’t really go over well
First, we have to give an honorable mentionto a service called AppleLink
AppleLink was a dial-up-exclusive serviceavailable to the more tech-savvy Apple users starting in 1985
It included an email service, Q&A board, andlimited download service
The “personal” edition was released in1988, but required both an annual subscription and an hourly use fee, so almost no one boughtit
AppleLink was nixed a decade later, but itdid give way to America Online, or AOL – one of the more beloved dial-up services in history
Apple already benefited pretty big from AOLthanks to the fact that it was so well-supported on the Mac platform, but it tried to get evenmore out of the deal with a cloud-based add-on called eWorld
This was a short-lived service that mimickeda town square – users could click on the post office to access their email, a highwayfor the “Internet On-Ramp”, or a number of other cartoonish buildings to access news,help articles, and basic programs
Like AppleLink, eWorld didn’t last verylong
Another three years passed without Apple attemptingany other online services for its users
But Apple’s cloud computing journey hadjust begun, and a few of their following services really paved the way for iCloud as we nowknow it
At the 2000 Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs introducediTools during his keynote address
iTools was an innovative and expansive newservice that was not only more stylish than previous services like eWorld, but it wasfree and included for all users running Mac OS 9
The most important innovation of this servicewas that it offered users an @mac
com email address, but there were plenty of other featuresthat received a positive response as well
iTools included KidSafe, a list of websitesthat were friendly for children, a website publishing service, a greeting card tool,and, of course, iDisk – a free, online storage system
While iTools was initially free for Mac users,iDisk space and @mac
com email addresses were in such high demand that Apple upgraded thesystem to a subscription-based service and changed the name to
mac in 2002 – but only100,000 people subscribed in its first year since a lot of users complained that the servicewas overpriced
The next big change didn’t happen until2007, when subscribers received a storage limit of 10GB that they could split betweenemail accounts or their iDisk, although they could purchase up to 30GB of extra storage
Finally, in 2008, iTools went through a cosmeticchange and became MobileMe, the direct precursor to iCloud
But a big difference between the two was thatMobileMe cost $99 a year rather than being free like iCloud, and MobileMe didn’t actuallywork as advertised
Users who transitioned to MobileMe experiencedall types of issues like lost files or no access to previous email accounts, and sometimesthe service just flat out failed to sync anything across users devices
Users in some countries had their credit cardscharged the $99 annual fee during their free trial
Steve Jobs was rightfully upset about thewhole situation, holding a meeting where he famously asked, "Can anyone tell me what MobileMeis supposed to do?" And when an executive explained the service,Jobs replied: "So why the f— doesn't it do that
” Apple ended up giving subscribers three monthsof MobileMe for free so they could work out issues with the service – which cost Applequite a bit of money and damaged their reputation especially when it came to online services
Even though the transition was a bit of adisaster, MobileMe did have some pretty cool features once it got on track
So, from 2008 to 2011, you could use MobileMenot only as a storage service for 20GB of files, but for transfer of up to 200 GB monthly
Users also had the option to upgrade to familymemberships for $149 a year that could partition storage amounts into smaller sub-accountsfor each family member
Aside from cloud storage, MobileMe offeredcalendar and to-do list synchronization, public online photo sharing, a web publishing service,instant messaging, a PC sync option, and a find my phone function that allowed usersto display their phone’s location and play a sound even from a silenced phone
Despite its benefits, MobileMe couldn’tescape its bad reputation
So, in 2011, Steve Jobs announced iCloud
This was after several months of a MobileMephase out, where Apple removed all subscription links from their websites and all physicalretail boxes from stores
MobileMe users were given a heads up a yearin advance that on June 30th, 2012, all of their photos, iDisk files, and iWeb siteswould be gone if they didn’t download or move them to the new iCloud service
And while some files were still downloadableafter June 30th, MobileMe was officially dead and all subscribers were encouraged to makethe switch to the new, and hopefully improved, iCloud service
Even with a year to prepare the transitionto iCloud, it still didn’t go very smoothly
In 2012, a class action lawsuit was filedagainst Apple by the U
S
Court in the Northern District of California by MobileMe users
The prosecution claimed that Apple causeddamage to users who lost access to their accounts and important files because Apple failed toaccurately represent what services iCloud would offer and how well it would actuallysync
Some users couldn’t merge their Apple ID’sand lost data during the transition, while others claimed that the few hours of downtimeduring the switch between MobileMe and iCloud was detrimental to their lives and businesses
So, Apple’s cloud services have never reallygotten off to a great start
But iCloud has experienced much more successand included some important upgrades from MobileMe, iTools, and all other previous iterations
First, iCloud is free and offers 5GB of storageper user
That’s a big deal, considering one of themajor complaints about MobileMe was that it was way too expensive for remote storage – especiallywhen other, free cloud services started to become available
Now although iCloud managed to develop a muchbetter reputation than MobileMe by solving many of its previous issues, iCloud stillexperienced its share of troubles
First, the service faced a lawsuit from iCloudCommunications, a company in Arizona that shared the same name, over trademark infringement
But the smaller company ended up changingtheir name to Clear Digital Communications and voluntarily dropped the lawsuit in theface of mounting legal fees, and Apple held on to the name
Another small problem surfaced with a bugin iCloud Drive where users found that if they moved files into the drive before syncingthem, they would disappear forever
But a much bigger controversy arrived in 2014when hackers managed to use the service in a brute-force attack to access Apple ID’sand iCloud data, including a significant number of nude photographs from celebrities likeAriana Grande, Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and more
Apple ultimately denied that this leak hadanything to do with specific vulnerabilities in Apple services and instead was a deliberateattack on the celebrities themselves – all of whom had unwittingly given out their logininformation in phishing scams
Although Apple did work with the police toinvestigate if hackers used iCloud or any other Apple service in the attack, but therewas no evidence to support an iCloud vulnerability on such a large scale
So iCloud may not have had a flawless past,but it has proved to be a much more reliable and worthwhile service than its predecessors
And since we’ve focused quite a bit on someof the missteps of Apple’s journey with cloud technology, I want to focus on someof the cool features that iCloud offers today
iCloud is still free with storage up to 5GB but you can choose to pay more for extra space
You can add files to the cloud manually, orback them up automatically from any iOS device running iOS 5 or later – that includes photos,videos, settings, contacts, messages, visual voicemail, and app data
You can also use iCloud to back up to yourcomputer remotely
And when you purchase a new iPhone, iCloudautomatically loads your new phone with almost all the files from your previous phone, makingthe transition much faster and easier
iCloud still offers a Find My iPhone servicethat helps users track their phone’s location, but now users also have access to “FindMy Friends”, which lets them share their current location with contacts in real time
Other unique features include iTunes Match,which lets users match tracks from offline sources like CDs to audio tracks in the iTunesstore without having to re-purchase them, and iWork for iCloud, which is an online officesuite that can be used directly on the web in Chrome, Safari, or Internet Explorer
iCloud can be used on any iOS device fromiOS 5 and up and any Mac running OS 10
7
5 Lion and up, and it requires a compatibleweb browser like Safari or Chrome for many of its features
With over 750 million active iCloud users,the service shows no signs of slowing down and we can expect more exciting updates inthe future, like a potential increase to a 500 GB limit and support for multiple users
So that is the history of iCloud, and if youwant to vote for the next video topic, don’t forget to subscribe
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you nexttime
This topic was the second place winner inlast weeks voting poll and if you didn’t get to vote, make sure you’re subscribed,that way the voting polls will show up right in your activity feed and you can let me knowwhich video you’d like to see next
Now iCloud was introduced in 2011, but itscloud-computing technology stretches back to the early 2000’s
But before we get into that, let me clarifywhat iCloud is for those for those of you who may not know
Basically, iCloud is a service for Apple devicesthat lets you store files on remote servers rather than on your own device
This frees up storage space on your Appledevice and allows your files to be accessible from any device connected to your iCloud account
So if you take a photo on your iPhone, it’llautomatically be available on your Mac, iPad, and Apple TV
It’s a pretty cool concept that may soundsimple, but implementation was extremely challenging and took several iterations to work correctly
To fully understand the role of iCloud andall its preceding services, we’ll have to zoom out and take a look at the developmentof the entire cloud computing industry
So, the whole “cloud” concept really beganwith mainframe computing as early as the 1950’s
The cost associated in this era with computerstorage, both financially and in terms of actual space, was pretty massive – and mostcompanies that were using computers just didn’t have enough capacity to give every employeethat needed computing power their own full resource
Enter mainframe computing, which allowed abunch of employees to connect to the same mainframe computer through dumb terminalsand share access
Over time, computers became more affordable,more portable, and more accessible to the general public
In the 1990’s, home computer users startedgain access to more and more options for accessing, storing, and retrieving information outsideof the limits of their own, usually limited, personal devices
Local access networks allowed users to connectto each other in ways that, before the internet, were pretty amazing, and eventually virtualizedprivate networks offered the ability to tap into public resources like never before
That brings us to about the late 90’s – whatmany consider the beginning of modern internet as we know it today
Finally, broader networking capabilities allowedcomputer users, from personal hobbyists to major corporations to connect, share capabilities,and centralize resources
But there was still a big need here, and Applewas among the biggest pioneers to really come up with some serious methods to make the cloudconcept a marketable tool
So, before iCloud, Apple played around witha few other cloud computing tools, many of which didn’t really go over well
First, we have to give an honorable mentionto a service called AppleLink
AppleLink was a dial-up-exclusive serviceavailable to the more tech-savvy Apple users starting in 1985
It included an email service, Q&A board, andlimited download service
The “personal” edition was released in1988, but required both an annual subscription and an hourly use fee, so almost no one boughtit
AppleLink was nixed a decade later, but itdid give way to America Online, or AOL – one of the more beloved dial-up services in history
Apple already benefited pretty big from AOLthanks to the fact that it was so well-supported on the Mac platform, but it tried to get evenmore out of the deal with a cloud-based add-on called eWorld
This was a short-lived service that mimickeda town square – users could click on the post office to access their email, a highwayfor the “Internet On-Ramp”, or a number of other cartoonish buildings to access news,help articles, and basic programs
Like AppleLink, eWorld didn’t last verylong
Another three years passed without Apple attemptingany other online services for its users
But Apple’s cloud computing journey hadjust begun, and a few of their following services really paved the way for iCloud as we nowknow it
At the 2000 Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs introducediTools during his keynote address
iTools was an innovative and expansive newservice that was not only more stylish than previous services like eWorld, but it wasfree and included for all users running Mac OS 9
The most important innovation of this servicewas that it offered users an @mac
com email address, but there were plenty of other featuresthat received a positive response as well
iTools included KidSafe, a list of websitesthat were friendly for children, a website publishing service, a greeting card tool,and, of course, iDisk – a free, online storage system
While iTools was initially free for Mac users,iDisk space and @mac
com email addresses were in such high demand that Apple upgraded thesystem to a subscription-based service and changed the name to
mac in 2002 – but only100,000 people subscribed in its first year since a lot of users complained that the servicewas overpriced
The next big change didn’t happen until2007, when subscribers received a storage limit of 10GB that they could split betweenemail accounts or their iDisk, although they could purchase up to 30GB of extra storage
Finally, in 2008, iTools went through a cosmeticchange and became MobileMe, the direct precursor to iCloud
But a big difference between the two was thatMobileMe cost $99 a year rather than being free like iCloud, and MobileMe didn’t actuallywork as advertised
Users who transitioned to MobileMe experiencedall types of issues like lost files or no access to previous email accounts, and sometimesthe service just flat out failed to sync anything across users devices
Users in some countries had their credit cardscharged the $99 annual fee during their free trial
Steve Jobs was rightfully upset about thewhole situation, holding a meeting where he famously asked, "Can anyone tell me what MobileMeis supposed to do?" And when an executive explained the service,Jobs replied: "So why the f— doesn't it do that
” Apple ended up giving subscribers three monthsof MobileMe for free so they could work out issues with the service – which cost Applequite a bit of money and damaged their reputation especially when it came to online services
Even though the transition was a bit of adisaster, MobileMe did have some pretty cool features once it got on track
So, from 2008 to 2011, you could use MobileMenot only as a storage service for 20GB of files, but for transfer of up to 200 GB monthly
Users also had the option to upgrade to familymemberships for $149 a year that could partition storage amounts into smaller sub-accountsfor each family member
Aside from cloud storage, MobileMe offeredcalendar and to-do list synchronization, public online photo sharing, a web publishing service,instant messaging, a PC sync option, and a find my phone function that allowed usersto display their phone’s location and play a sound even from a silenced phone
Despite its benefits, MobileMe couldn’tescape its bad reputation
So, in 2011, Steve Jobs announced iCloud
This was after several months of a MobileMephase out, where Apple removed all subscription links from their websites and all physicalretail boxes from stores
MobileMe users were given a heads up a yearin advance that on June 30th, 2012, all of their photos, iDisk files, and iWeb siteswould be gone if they didn’t download or move them to the new iCloud service
And while some files were still downloadableafter June 30th, MobileMe was officially dead and all subscribers were encouraged to makethe switch to the new, and hopefully improved, iCloud service
Even with a year to prepare the transitionto iCloud, it still didn’t go very smoothly
In 2012, a class action lawsuit was filedagainst Apple by the U
S
Court in the Northern District of California by MobileMe users
The prosecution claimed that Apple causeddamage to users who lost access to their accounts and important files because Apple failed toaccurately represent what services iCloud would offer and how well it would actuallysync
Some users couldn’t merge their Apple ID’sand lost data during the transition, while others claimed that the few hours of downtimeduring the switch between MobileMe and iCloud was detrimental to their lives and businesses
So, Apple’s cloud services have never reallygotten off to a great start
But iCloud has experienced much more successand included some important upgrades from MobileMe, iTools, and all other previous iterations
First, iCloud is free and offers 5GB of storageper user
That’s a big deal, considering one of themajor complaints about MobileMe was that it was way too expensive for remote storage – especiallywhen other, free cloud services started to become available
Now although iCloud managed to develop a muchbetter reputation than MobileMe by solving many of its previous issues, iCloud stillexperienced its share of troubles
First, the service faced a lawsuit from iCloudCommunications, a company in Arizona that shared the same name, over trademark infringement
But the smaller company ended up changingtheir name to Clear Digital Communications and voluntarily dropped the lawsuit in theface of mounting legal fees, and Apple held on to the name
Another small problem surfaced with a bugin iCloud Drive where users found that if they moved files into the drive before syncingthem, they would disappear forever
But a much bigger controversy arrived in 2014when hackers managed to use the service in a brute-force attack to access Apple ID’sand iCloud data, including a significant number of nude photographs from celebrities likeAriana Grande, Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and more
Apple ultimately denied that this leak hadanything to do with specific vulnerabilities in Apple services and instead was a deliberateattack on the celebrities themselves – all of whom had unwittingly given out their logininformation in phishing scams
Although Apple did work with the police toinvestigate if hackers used iCloud or any other Apple service in the attack, but therewas no evidence to support an iCloud vulnerability on such a large scale
So iCloud may not have had a flawless past,but it has proved to be a much more reliable and worthwhile service than its predecessors
And since we’ve focused quite a bit on someof the missteps of Apple’s journey with cloud technology, I want to focus on someof the cool features that iCloud offers today
iCloud is still free with storage up to 5GB but you can choose to pay more for extra space
You can add files to the cloud manually, orback them up automatically from any iOS device running iOS 5 or later – that includes photos,videos, settings, contacts, messages, visual voicemail, and app data
You can also use iCloud to back up to yourcomputer remotely
And when you purchase a new iPhone, iCloudautomatically loads your new phone with almost all the files from your previous phone, makingthe transition much faster and easier
iCloud still offers a Find My iPhone servicethat helps users track their phone’s location, but now users also have access to “FindMy Friends”, which lets them share their current location with contacts in real time
Other unique features include iTunes Match,which lets users match tracks from offline sources like CDs to audio tracks in the iTunesstore without having to re-purchase them, and iWork for iCloud, which is an online officesuite that can be used directly on the web in Chrome, Safari, or Internet Explorer
iCloud can be used on any iOS device fromiOS 5 and up and any Mac running OS 10
7
5 Lion and up, and it requires a compatibleweb browser like Safari or Chrome for many of its features
With over 750 million active iCloud users,the service shows no signs of slowing down and we can expect more exciting updates inthe future, like a potential increase to a 500 GB limit and support for multiple users
So that is the history of iCloud, and if youwant to vote for the next video topic, don’t forget to subscribe
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you nexttime
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