iOS 7 final for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and iTunes 11.1 for Windows and OS X wasn’t the only thing that was released yesterday by Apple. In addition to giving the general public access to the latest revision of iOS, Apple has also made some very important changes to their iCloud bookmark synchronization services that will provide additional functionality to those who use a Windows based PC. More details can be found after the jump.
iOS wasn’t the only thing that went flat at this year’s WWDC. Apple also took the liberty of taking its newly found design language and put it in other places, too.
One of the major talking points of iOS 7 ever since its unveiling at this year's WWDC has pertained to the design. Hardware design lead Jony Ive has been tasked with the job of updating an interface long overdue some change, and although the expulsion of skeuomorphism hasn't gone down well with everybody, the crowds do seem to be warming to the new look as the betas roll on. Being a company of uniformity, we'd expect the new philosophy to manifest across the board, and as iOS 7 continues its transition from old to new, the Cupertino company has made some similar changes to the beta version of the iCloud.com website.
It may have taken the Cupertino based company a while to get there, but Apple has officially rolled out two-step verification for those users who have an active Apple ID (iTunes, App Store, iCloud etc). The initiative is essentially a process that makes it a lot more difficult for those with scrupulous morals to get access to someone else's Apple ID by implementing an additional security element. Those who are keen to implement an additional security layer will find that making purchases or logging into the ID on a new device will trigger an authentication process that takes the shape of a four-digit code entry.
One of the driving forces behind the popularity of cloud computing and services like Dropbox and Apple's iCloud is the level of accessibility that it brings, and in a lot of circumstances it can make day-to-day computing activities a lot simpler than before. Rather than having to make constant backups of information or carrying external hard drives or USB drives around with us, having important data and files stored in the cloud allows us to quickly get access to that information from pretty much wherever we are as long as we have a network connection.
With iOS 6 beta 3 having just been seeded to developers, details within the changelog concerning the domain names of email addresses are are just beginning to become apparent, and those with a .me account should be aware that the transition to iCloud.com is now underway.
New discoveries suggest that iOS 6 could be shown off at WWDC, with a beta iCloud web portal potentially giving away the secrets of the developer get-together that kicks off next month.
In an attempt to push people towards iCloud and away from the imminently defunct MobileMe, Apple is reportedly offering users of the old cloud syncing service a free copy of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
Much discussion surrounding Apple's ecosystem lately has been about them cutting the cord to the computer through iCloud. However, iTunes remains an important product that some may still need to use (or want to, if they haven't gone entirely to the cloud). And, with that being said, 9to5Mac are hearing from some sources close to Apple that the company has begun seeding iTunes 11 - the next major release of the software - internally.
At one point in time not so long ago, Dropbox was the definitive chosen method for users who required some kind of cloud-based storage for their documents, files or any sort of information. The Dropbox service gives away 2GB of free of charge cloud storage with the option to increase that said storage if required through the purchase of premium accounts, but it also has powerful native Mac, iOS and Android apps which make things a lot easier for users of the service.
