Apple's iCloud Becoming Fog in the Background

Jobs introducing iCloud in 2011

“Everything happens automatically and it’s just really easy to tie your apps into iCloud’s storage system,” said Steve Jobs in 2011 when Apple first introduced their iCloud to the world. Since then, the world has been less than impressed. According to Daniel Pasco, CEO of development studio Black Pixel, “we spent a considerable amount of time on this effort, but iCloud and Core Data syncing had issues we simply could not resolve.” This comes from iCloud’s recent inability to deliver a sound cloud product that works as Jobs once described. Moreover, there seems to be issues with their background programming that is hindering the smooth syncing of data that Jobs promised just two years ago. According to MichaelGobel, an Apple iOS developer, “I’ve rewritten my iCloud code several times now in the hopes of find a working solution. Apple clearly hasn’t.”

Satya Nadella Microsoft's president of server and tools business

Apple’s mortal enemy on the other hand, Microsoft, with their Skydrive and new Office 365, considers themselves as one of the leading forces in the cloud industry. According to an Article from Gigaom.com, “when it comes to shared infrastructure, platforms and ready-to-use applications, Microsoft certainly likes to think of itself as one of the four horsemen in the cloud era.” According to Microsoft’s president of server and tools business, Satya Nadella, 3 of the 4 “horsemen” are Amazon, Google, and of course Microsoft. Nadalla goes on to explain that Microsoft has the ability to run large applications and data, like Bing, Skype, and Xbox One, with minimal failure, unlike Apple’s iCloud. Microsoft seems to be all grins when it comes to discussing their new look and functionality across several platforms. Microsoft is looking to the future with their cloud, while Apple is stuck with a foggy outlook.

Apple's annual developer confrence

With WWDC 2013 wrapping up, Apple’s annual developer conference, it is hard to hide the foggy programming that lies behind the cloud. According to a veteran Apple developer, who demands anonymity, “some issues with iCloud Core Data are theoretically unsolvable and others are just plain bugs in the implementation." Apple has great products and markets them very well, but the world is quickly demanding cross device sharing without any technical issues or loss of data. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are quickly rising to the top of “The Cloud” movement, while Apple is slowly turning into a foggy falling cloud. 

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Gaming Has Moved to The Cloud

The Cloud migration has found its way to the gaming world with Microsoft leading the way. On May 21^st Microsoft announced that they would be producing the next generation of their Xbox gaming console called ‘Xbox One.’ The anxiously awaited console will operate much differently than its predecessors and is the next evolutionary step in gaming. The Xbox One has harnessed the power of the cloud in attempts to increase computing speed and expand their server capabilities. According to The Verge, “Microsoft is increasing its number of Xbox Live servers to 300,000, up from only 500 at launch and 15,000 today.”

"Call Of Duty: Ghosts" Gameplay on Xbox One

Today the current Microsoft console, Xbox 360, has to compute and update game information internally, which creates longer loading times for the game itself. With Xbox One’s technology and server expansion of The Cloud, games will take on a whole new look and feel. According to Matt Booty, General Manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms, “there’s going to be living, breathing, complicated, huge scale worlds that the game you’re playing can take place within.” Moreover, Xbox One will also expand the capabilities of Microsoft’s Kinect, which is a sensor bar that scans one’s body movements and enables voice activation that gets translated into the gaming world. Ultimately, creating a better virtual world for one’s avatar to live in.

In addition to the adventurous technology, a new console is exciting and getting the crowd stirred up is always enjoyable. It has been 8 years since the unveiling of the Xbox 360 and 8 years since us geeks got to feel like kids again opening presents on Christmas morning. We’re chomping at the bits to get our hands on any information we can find about Xbox One, just so we can feed our childhood desires once again. Thankfully, like Steve Jobs and Apple, Bill Gates temporally elevates that desire and gives his motivational talk on the Xbox One. He explains, in a hyped up dramatic video, how 30 years of data has gone into the development of Xbox One.