Icloud

Seen in the wild: An Apple trade show booth

Apple doesn’t often make a formal appearance at trade shows or conferences outside of its own. But it looks like getting engineers for its iCloud may have preempted that policy since the device maker has a sleek presence at the Surge Conference in Baltimore.

iCloud 101: Know your family’s Calendar

Knowing family members’ schedules is useful, but it’s also a way to stay connected. There is more than one way to keep an entire family up to date with the various events in our lives. Here are three techniques an iCloud-using family can use.

Woz worries about cloud computing

Not everyone is enamored of the notion of cloud computing. Count Apple co-founder and tech icon Steve Wozniak among the skeptics. Woz worries that consumers putting their information into the cloud sign away their rights to it. “I want to own things,” he said.

Apple building another smaller data center in North Carolina

Apple is building another smaller data center, next to its massive iCloud data center, in Maiden, North Carolina, according to local reports. The new planned 21,030 square-foot data center will store clusters of servers; for comparison the current data center onsite is 500,000 square feet.

Why Apple has to iCloud-ify the next version of iTunes

Apple is reportedly going to integrate iTunes with iCloud, which makes sense: iCloud is said to be a core strategy. But it’s clear that Apple doesn’t really have a choice. It has to move iTunes into the cloud to more fully embrace its post-PC worldview.

How many Apple IDs should your family have?

If your family owns multiple Apple devices and has many Apple IDs, it can be overwhelming or even maddening figuring out where your content is. It doesn’t have to be that way: Here’s a guide to finding the best Apple account management solution for you.

This is how you should buy music online

With Google Music, Amazon Cloud Player and iCloud, there has never been an easier — or more confusing — time to buy music. Avowed music geek Dan Kantor of exfm tells you everything you need to know about how (and where) you should buy your music online.

Apple asks Motorola to put up $2.7B in mobile patent suit

Apple told a German court Friday that if it granted a temporary ban on some Apple products in the country for infringing a Motorola email syncing patent, $2.7 billion is the amount of money Apple could potentially lose. The judge was reportedly skeptical about the amount.

iTunes Match: What are your first impressions?

On Monday, Apple made iTunes Match available to any U.S. iTunes account holder for $24.99 per year. On the surface, having your entire iTunes library stored in and accessible from the cloud is great, but getting from Match subscription to usable library isn’t exactly easy.

November has arrived, but iTunes Match has not

Apple announced at its iPhone 4S event that iTunes Match would launch by “late October,” but that self-imposed deadline has come and gone, and consumers have yet to gain access to the service. The cloud music storage service has been available to developers since August.

Apple brings iCloud to the desktop with OS X 10.7.2

In addition to the iOS 5 updates, Apple has released the latest version of OS X 10.7, which allows users to access iCloud on the desktop. The update adds an iCloud System Preferences pane, and prompts you to sign up for the service immediately upon install.

iTunes in the Cloud goes international

One part of Apple’s iCloud service that went live originally back in June is “iTunes in the Cloud,” which let U.S. users download past music purchases to any device associated with your iTunes account. Now, international customers can join in the fun, too.

Apple’s iCloud punishes honest iTunes users with DRM

Apple officially abandoned DRM for its iTunes music store more than two years ago. However, users who re-download any of their past copy-protected purchases as part of Apple’s new iCloud offering once again get files with DRM. Is the company punishing its most loyal customers?

iTunes 10.3 beta now available, with a touch of iCloud

The iTunes 10.3 beta is now available for download for any and all from Apple’s official site. The iTunes build brings support for some basic iCloud functionality. Specifically, you’ll be able to view and download any past purchases you’ve made through the iTunes store.

Apple May Have Snapped Up iCloud.com

What will be the name of Apple’s cloud-based music service? No one knows. However, a tipster of mine says that it could be iCloud, indicating rumors that Apple has just purchased the iCloud.com domain name from Seattle-based desktop-as-a-service company, Xcerion.