iCloud set to be launched by Steve Jobs
By Deborah Bates
01/06/2011
Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, is set to unveil details of the company's newest development - a cloud computing service named 'iCloud'.
The Boston Glove confirmed that Jobs, who has been on medical leave of late, will confirm details of the new service at Apple's developer conference next week.
This will relieve the suspense of the world's die-hard Apple fans who are waiting to hear what exactly the service will entail; whether it will provide a full-on storage system, or simply be used for Apple's core channels - music and entertainment.
BBC News remarked on the announcement, claiming: "iCloud is likely to offer services rivalling that of Google and Amazon. Rumours of the iCloud have been circulating since it was reported that Apple bought the 'iCloud.com' domain in April."
"It is unclear whether the iCloud will be a purely music streaming tool or it if will be a wider cloud service for storage," it added, but said that since Amazon and Google have been unable to secure big record labels for their music service, Apple had a good shot at becoming a substantial rival.
Whatever iCloud provides, one thing that is sure is that any companies wishing to take advantage of it will need to ensure their network management system is completely secure before investing - as some industry experts have expressed concerns over the security of cloud computing.
Alongside the cloud service, Apple will also launch its new OS - Lion - and its latest iOS software for its iPhones at next week's conference. One IT specialist, Carl Howe, speculated that these two new systems would be "much more tightly coupled to one another", giving food for thought for Apple fans.
