Getting clouded

Apple wants you to move. Steve Jobs,the iconic companys iconic head,announced two new developments at a developers conference on Monday. One was a new operating system,which he hoped would get more people onto Apple hardware; and one was something called the iCloud,which he hoped would get people to move their files into Apples control. The idea behind the iCloud is a familiar one,that of cloud computing,in which the connectivity of our age is harnessed to allow us to untie ourselves from any particular machine. Our phones,our work and home PCs,our laptops and tablets and netbooks,should be able to access the same files and the same data; and Apple,through the iCloud,intends to make that happen.

Of course,only if all the devices in question are Apple machines. Apple doesnt play well with others. So far,the company has only gained through its all-or-nothing approach,dominating the market for music through its iPod and iTunes near-monopoly,for example. But that might well be the flaw in the strategy here,for cloud computing is a totally different animal in concept. We can all instinctively understand what it should mean: that once something is ours,it should go somewhere up or out there where it is instantly accessible to us,wherever we are or whatever platform or phone or PC were using. Will that instinct be satisfied by a closed,Apple-only system? Jobs answer is always that people dont like to worry too much about things like interfaces,so they should let Apple do it for them,and so far thats worked.

Google and Amazon already run cloud systems,and this once again positions Apple as Googles direct competitor. Microsoft is being slow: cloud-ready Windows 8 and Office 365 are not due till later this year. Theres a significant difference in openness,and in ease of usage; Googles system,which also lets you upload documents and music and access them anywhere,works with standard office packages; but Apples will sync in your pocket,Jobs promises. Theres no question that leveraging connectivity for convenience of access is the next great step in computing. Watching two of the three great computer companies go head-to-head with different ideas of how to go about should be fun.