If there’s one word that gets the tech sector tingling all over, it’s “the cloud”. So what is this cloud thing? Simply put, it’s storing your e-stuff on a server far away, instead of on your device. This way all your devices are automatically in-sync wherever you are. And Apple has not just jumped on the cloud computing bandwagon, it’s also decided to make it user friendly. Not surprisingly, it’s called iCloud.

Cloud storage is not exactly new. If you use webmail, then you are already a cloud user. But cloud storage for services other than webmail hasn’t met with much success. Microsoft has tried for years to push its Xdrive (now called Windows Azure Drive), while Google and Amazon both launched cloud music services earlier this year. The problem is that the user has to upload all his music on the cloud.

To circumvent the tedious upload process, Apple is introducing a nifty service called iTunes Match, which will be available late this month in the US for $24.99 a year. Apple has entered a licensing agreement with different music labels. iCloud scans the users’ music to see which songs they have and then checks it against its database of 18 million tunes. So the user actually listens to the song already stored in the cloud and it saves him or her the hassle of uploading his or her music collection. The good news is Match does not care if the music on your computer is ripped from a CD or downloaded from a file sharing service. If you want to upload iTunes purchased music, there is no fee and no storage limit! The bad news is uploading tunes not purchased from iTunes comes with an annual price of $24.95. We Indians will have to shell out the cash since we can’t buy music from iTunes.

iCloud was launched on October 12 as a free download for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch users running iOS 5 or a Mac running OS X Lion with a valid Apple ID. The 10.7.2 Update is recommended for all OS X Lion users and apart from some general operating system fixes, it adds iCloud support.

To set up iCloud is easy. For starters you’ll need the iOS 5 update, which will work on 3GS or later models of iPhones, third or fourth generation iPod Touches and any iPad. For your Mac, you will need OS X Lion (10.7.2). After installing the update, OS X will automatically present an iCloud setup panel. Simply enter an existing Apple ID or create a new one and then follow the on screen instructions. You automatically get 5GB of free storage but if you need more, you can buy a storage upgrade from your device.

To stream music and movies to your devices, you need to upgrade to iTunes 10.5. You can buy music from any device or computer and a copy will automatically be downloaded to your Mac and iOS devices. You can also download your old music, videos, apps, and book purchases at no additional cost, though previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store. Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch will automatically sync with iTunes as long as they’re both on the same WiFi network.

If you create a document using Pages on your iPad, it is automatically sent to iCloud. When you use Pages on another iOS device, you can open the same document with your latest changes and pick up editing or reading right where you left off. Apple’s iWork apps for iOS, Pages, Numbers and Keynote will take advantage of iCloud storage.

And PC users, you can get yourself on the iCloud too. You will need either Windows Vista or Windows 7 with Outlook 2007 or 2010, or an up-to-date browser for accessing you emails, contacts, and calendars. And, of course, one Apple device. You will also need WiFi connectivity, and, as always, some features may not be available depending on the country you live in.

In the 1960s John McCarthy said “Computation may someday be organised as a public utility”. It took a genius like Steve Jobs to make that happen.

Corrigendum

In the newspaper dated 17.10.2011 a printer's devil crept in whereby it was mentioned that iCloud was launched on October 12 last year. In fact, it was launched on October 12 this year.

Send your computer-related problems to askdoss@abpmail.com The solutions will appear soon