Pros and Cons of Using iCloud
Pros and Cons of Using iCloud
Whether we're ready or not, iCloud is poised to take over our digital lives. With the last remnants of Mobile Me officially dead and buried, Apple is launching iCloud onto the main stage with Mountain Lion and, once iOS 6 comes out, bringing tighter integration between our Macs and iOS devices, and promising immediate access to files, websites, media and just about anything else we need, right when we need it.
But while it may seem all rosy on the surface, some people might be a bit leery about sinking their teeth into Apple's data buffet. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of the fledgling online service (besides that awful iCloud.com email address).
What we like
Convenience
The best part of iCloud, obviously, is how all of our files are at our fingertips no matter what device we happen to be using. iWork documents, iTunes purchases, Safari tabs, iBooks, and of course, email will all sync across our iPhones, iPads and Macs with the Mountain Lion-iOS 6 tandem, blurring the line between home and away, and helping us stay organized.
Simplicity
MobileMe users know all too well how something that's supposed to be easy can become mired in extreme levels of difficulty. With iCloud, Apple has gone to great lengths to assure us that everything will work without a hitch, and so far we can't complain. An email address and a few on-off sliders are all that stand between beautiful synchronization across every one of our Apple gadgets.
Harmony
Apple's products have always "just worked" right out of the box, but iCloud kicks it up a notch by automatically customizing our devices with all of our apps, photos and media inside of just a few steps. So whether you're buying an iPhone 5 or replacing a shattered iPad, iCloud will make it seem like you've been playing with your new toy for months.
What we don't like
Privacy
It's not that we don't trust Apple, but there isn't much they don't know about us: name, credit cards, likes, dislikes, emails, passwords, friends, family, trips, guilty online pleasures, birthday lists--even what we need to pick up at the grocery store after work. We wouldn't trust most of our relatives with that kind of information, but with iCloud, we have little choice but to hand it over to the most powerful corporation in the world.
Security
Even if Apple isn't going to compromise our data--and we have no reason to believe that's ever going to happen--someone else might. Insidious hackers are always trying to break into Apple's fortress, and iCloud is the Holy Grail of cyber break-ins. It's bad enough when LinkedIn or Yahoo gets hacked, but the thought of our entire online trove falling into the wrong hands is a frightening notion.
Confinement
We shudder to think of the day something better than the iOS ecosystem comes along, but if it does, we're going to have an awfully hard time getting all of our stuff out of iCloud--and some of it will never be freed. Apple, of course, wants every relationship to last forever, and with iCloud, it's making it that much harder to break up.
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