Apple shutters iCloud push services in Germany

Apple has halted its iCloud push service in Germany as a result of losing a patent dispute with Motorola.

Although customers will still be able to access their email through iCloud and MobileMe on their iOS devices, they'll have to physically log in to their mailboxes to do so.

"Affected customers will continue to receive their iCloud and MobileMe email," explains Apple's German support page.

Du weis nicht

"New messages may only be loaded on their devices when the mail program is opened or if the device periodically retrieves new emails, depending on the configuration of the iOS settings.

"The push email service for desktop computers, laptop computers and the internet, and other service providers such as Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, are not affected."

There's no indication of how long the push services will be down though, as Apple still maintains that Motorola's claim over the relevant patent is invalid and plans to appeal the court's decision.

While all eyes will be on MWC 2012 next week, Apple will be staying characteristically quiet (unless it steals all the thunder by announcing the date of its iPad 3 event, presumed to be imminent).

Motorola is also expected to be fairly quiet in Barcelona; perhaps because it's focusing all its efforts on suing Apple and selling itself to Google instead. Or because it already launched its Droid Razr Maxx and the new Xoom this year. Either way.

Apple Updates AirPort Utility, AirPort Base Station Firmware - Adds iCloud Remote Access

Apple just pushed out a slew of updates to its WiFi related products which we've covered and reviewed already, including the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule. The latest update brings the Base Station firmware version to 7.6.1, and adds performance fixes as well as iCloud remote access for attached disks. From the release notes:

This update is for all 802.11n AirPort Express, 802.11n AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule models. It fixes an issue with wireless performance and provides support for remote access to an AirPort disk or a Time Capsule hard drive with an iCloud account.

I've just updated my own AirPort Extreme and 802.11n AirPort Express, and we'll update if we see anything major. The other part of the update includes AirPort Utility 6.0 which matches the style and theme of the recently released AirPort Utility for iOS. Thus far the update seems to be primarily aesthetic, though a number of old options panes have been consolidated in some places.

One notable change is the repositioning of the wireless client RSSI graph, which now gets reported after clicking on the base station as a pop-up. Interestingly enough, older AirPort devices will be configured using AirPort Utility 5.6 going forwards, and it's in this client that you can access options absent in 6.0, including the logs and wireless client graphs.

Gallery: AirPort Utility 6.0 on OS X, Base Station Firmware 7.6.1

We're playing around with the updates and will update soon with more details. Both updates are currently available over Software Update.

Source: Apple (1), (2)

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Tutorial: How to set up iCloud on your Mac

How to set up iCloud on your Mac

There's been a lot of fanfare about iCloud, Apple's free online storage system.

It doesn't just allow you to back up your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch; iCloud keeps your vital data in sync between multiple devices, be they Macs, Windows PCs, iPhones, iPads or iPod touches.

Designed to ensure you've always got your important stuff with you, it works seamlessly with many of your Mac's built-in apps, including Mail, iCal and Safari. Even if you only have a single Mac, it's worth setting it up to use iCloud, so that you've got an online backup of your data.

We're going to show you how to set it up on your Mac. Then we'll show how to use Find My Mac, a key feature that enables you to pinpoint your Mac's location, should it go astray.

iCloud can keep a range of things in sync for you. These include your emails, notes, contacts, calendars, Safari bookmarks, documents and data from compatible apps, and your photo stream. You can decide which of these things you'd like to keep synchronised.

What it doesn't do is back up much of the contents of your Mac's hard drive: you'll still need to use your Time Machine or online backup system to take care of that.

iCloud is free, but you do need to be running OS X Lion to use it, so if you haven't already upgraded, now's a great time to do so. Get it from the Mac App Store, or order a USB drive with it on from www.apple.com/uk/store. And to use it on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, these devices will need to be on iOS 5: plug your device into your Mac, open iTunes, click it in the left column, then click Check for Update on the right.

You'll need an Apple ID to use iCloud (the same you use for iTunes or App Store downloads). If you don't have one, set one up in the iCloud System Preferences pane (step 2).

How to set up iCloud on your Mac

01. Check you're up to date

You need to be running the latest version of OS X Lion to take advantage of iCloud. Choose About This Mac from the Apple menu: if it says you're on version 10.7.2 or later, you're good to go. If it's 10.7.1 or 10.7, click Software Update… to get the newest version.

02. Enable iCloud

All your important iCloud settings are in Apple > System Preferences > iCloud. Type your Apple ID and password into the boxes and click Sign In. You can't fine-tune things at this stage: we suggest you tick both boxes, but you can always manually add or remove elements later.

03. Allow location use

If you're using Google Sync, this has to be switched off. If you're happy with this, click OK. You'll now need to authorise Find My Mac to access the location of the computer. Go ahead and click Allow, and you'll be taken to the main iCloud settings screen.

04. Fine-tune things

You can now turn sync services on and off. Tick or untick the boxes as you wish. You may see an exclamation symbol next to the Find My Mac entry: if so, click More…. In our case, we needed to enable Wake for network access in Energy Saver.

05. Buy more storage

You get 5GB of free iCloud storage. But as you add more things to it, you may find the capacity bar at the bottom filling up. To buy more storage, click Manage…, then Buy More Storage…. An additional 10GB costs £14 a year, 20GB is £28, while 50GB is £70 per annum.

How to find a lost Mac

01. Sign into iCloud.com

Provided you've set up Find My Mac as above and it's connected to the internet, you'll be able to pinpoint where it is in the world. On the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, download the Find my iPhone app. On a Mac or PC, go to www.icloud.com and click Sign In.

02. See it on a map

Type in your Apple ID and password and press Return. Then click Find My iPhone: a map will load with your registered devices shown as pins. To see where a device is, click its name in the panel on the left. If it can't be located, you'll be shown when and where it was last sighted.

03. Remotely control it

If you're concerned your Mac has fallen into the wrong hands, or have simply misplaced it, click the 'i' next to its name on the map to see your options. You can make it play a sound, send a message to appear on its screen, or you can remotely lock or wipe it.

iCloud, iOS 5, iTunes 10.5, and OS X 10.7.2 Released

In accordance with last week's keynote, Apple users have some downloading to do: iOS 5, iTunes 10.5, and Mac OS X 10.7.2 have all been released. These updates collectively enable Apple's new iCloud service, which will eventually replace the older MobileMe service and provide syncing and backups for users' documents, pictures, and other data.

iOS 5, which supports the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S, all iPads, the third and fourth-gen iPod Touches, and the Apple TV 2, enables a number of other new features: a new notifications system and the Notifications Center, the iMessage protocol, wi-fi syncing, and over-the-air OS updates. You can download the update to your devices after downloading iTunes 10.5. Expect our full, in-depth review of the new OS soon.

Mac OS X 10.7.2 doesn't bring major new features to the OS, but it does apply a range of security and reliability patches to the operating system which should help with some of the teething issues most new OS X releases have. Release notes for the update haven't yet been published, but we'll update the article to link to them when they're live.

Along with these updates, Apple has also published a Lion Recovery update, which updates Lion users' recovery partitions to work better with the new Find My Mac feature.

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iCloud Communications Sues Apple Over iCloud Name

Apple recently announced their new cloud service, called iCloud, and Apple purchased the domain name iCloud.com from Swedish company Xcerion along with the trademarks for the iCloud brand.

Read more »

WWDC 2011: iCloud

We've already talked about Lion and iOS 5, Apple's other WWDC topics, and both look like worthwhile extensions of existing products, but Apple squeezed its most interesting announcement in at the end of the keynote: iCloud, its long-anticipated cloud computing service.

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WWDC 2011: iCloud

We've already talked about Lion and iOS 5, Apple's other WWDC topics, and both look like worthwhile extensions of existing products, but Apple squeezed its most interesting announcement in at the end of the keynote: iCloud, its long-anticipated cloud computing service.

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Apple iCloud service to replace low-quality tracks with pristine ones?

Apple's iCloud music service is set to upgrade your low-quality tunes to higher bit-rate tracks stored in its cloud-based music locker, thanks to its licensing agreements with major record labels.

Business Week cites three sources who confirm that the license deals Apple is in the process of putting in place with labels will allow the company to scan a user's music collection and 'mirror' it virtually, avoiding the hassle of uploading your 1,000 song strong collection.

Apple has reached agreements with three major labels and is close to inking a deal with the fourth, Universal Music, according to BusinessWeek's sources.

All about the Benjamins

It's all about clawing back revenue from consumers who shifted to the free music model all too easily, regardless of the ethics.

Labels are said to be "negotiating aggressively" to make sure a slice of the cloud-music pie ends up firmly on their plates, revenue that will come from users' subscription fees.

It's looking likely that the iCloud service will be bundled with MobileMe, Apple's data back-up and synch programme, which currently costs £60 a year.

"It may be the last opportunity to stem rampant piracy and years of plummeting sales," says Business Week, which seems a little bit fatalistic to us.

Of course, nothing's set in stone until an Apple exec gets up on stage to tell us all why we won't be able to live without the music service; no doubt we'll hear all about it on 6 June at WWDC.

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iCloud, Mac OS X Lion and iOS 5 confirmed for WWDC

Apple has announced that it will indeed be releasing iCloud at this year's WWDC in June, although it looks like the launch of the iPhone 5 will be subject to delay.

In a rare email, which maps out what will be shown at WWDC, Apple explained:

"Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a team of Apple executives will kick off the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 6 at 10:00am.

"At the keynote, Apple will unveil its next generation software - Lion, the eighth major release of Mac OS X; iOS 5, the next version of Apple's advanced mobile operating system which powers the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch; and iCloud, Apple's upcoming cloud services offering."

No iPhone 5

There's no word on the iPhone 5, so it seems that Apple is launching iOS 5 first and then focusing on the launch of the iPhone 5 at a later date.

The release continued: "WWDC will feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers. Mac developers will see and learn how to develop world-class Mac OS X Lion applications using its latest technologies and capabilities.

"Mobile developers will be able to explore the latest innovations and capabilities of iOS and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance and design of their apps. All developers can bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers."

So, the rumour and conjecture over Apple's cloud plans is over - the Apple iCloud UK release date is set for 6 June at the WWDC.

There's been a lot of talk about Apple getting the majority of music labels to sign on to iCloud, a service that's set to take MobileMe and add music streaming and possibly movie streaming to the mix.

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Report: Apple iCloud signs-up all major music labels

Apple has secured the rights to stream music from each of the four major record labels ahead of the launch of its iCloud service next week, according to reports.

Following today's surprise revelation from Apple that its music streaming service will arrive at WWDC, it appears that there'll be no restrictions on which artists users will be able to access.

With the Sony, Warner Bros and EMI deals already completed, Apple will ink an agreement with the last major label Universal later this week, according to the WSJ.

Record labels might control the right to the all-important recordings of songs, but there's one more big hurdle Steve Jobs and co. need to clear before next week's big launch.

Labels? Check. Publishers...

With the big-four labels seemingly in the bag, Apple's focus will be on agreeing deals with music publishers, which control the copyright to lyrics, tunes and melodies.

According to the WSJ report, talks with publishers aren't as advanced, leaving Apple facing a race against time to have everything completed in time for Steve Jobs' keynote on Monday.

Rumour killer

Apple took the unprecedented step of emailing the media today to announce what it'll be launching at the Worldwide Developers' Conference, almost a week before Jobs steps on stage.

As well as the iCloud streaming service, we'll get our first look at iOS 5 and the final version of Mac OS 10.7 Lion.

While there's always the hope that we'll see a surprise "One more thing" from Jobs, everything we've heard points to that not being a new iPhone.

Source: WSJ

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iCloud to be free to Mac OS X Lion users?

Apple could be set to offer certain parts of the new iCloud service free to Mac users who upgrade to OS X 10.7 Lion, according to reports.

The iCloud brand is set to encompass Apple's existing MobileMe service, which includes e-mail and remote file storage as well as the syncing of bookmarks, contacts and the calendar.

AppleInsider sources claim that Cupertino is preparing to offer this portion of iCloud - currently worth $99 a year - to those who buy an "aggressively priced" version of the new Mac OS 10.7 Lion.

The report claims that Lion could be even cheaper than the £26 price-tag of its predecessor. Snow Leopard, especially if purchased from the Mac App Store

No free streaming

iCloud and Lion, as well as iOS 5, will be fully unveiled to a baying public at WWDC on Monday in San Francisco.

The AppleInsider report points out that the music streaming part iCloud brand will not come free with Lion, although their may be an introductory period which enables users to access the service for free.

All will be revealed on Monday.

Source: AppleInsider

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