Apple has launched its beta iCloud service for iTunes, letting you store your purchased music, books, and apps (boy can they eat up hard drive space) to download anywhere. The service is part of the iTunes 10.3 update available for both PC and Mac and currently it’s free. In the fall, Apple will launch iTunes Match which will allow to you store even music you haven’t purchased on iTunes for $24.99 a year. Regardless of quality, Apples says they will stream back your music at 256-Kbps iTunes Plus quality.
If you’re running PC, you’ll need a 1GHz Intel or AMD processor, 1024×768 or greater screen resolution, QuickTime-compatible audio card, and a few other items for the full iTunes experience. Mac users need an Intel, PowerPC G5 or G4 processor and OSX 10.5 or higher. (you can get more info at Apple).
Content from iTunes is still purchased a la cart (vs. monthly plans), but the ability to store songs you aren’t listening to anymore in the cloud and the flexibility of downloading your purchased content to any supporting device (without needing a cable sync) is definitely a plus.
Along with iCloud, Apple has also released iOS 5 and OS X Lion.
UPDATE: Due to an error with syncing purchased content with iPhones, Apple released a quick update as 10.3.1. You can find the downloads for Mac and PC on the Apple website.
The Apple TV doesn’t exhibit lag because it does a good job downloading and buffering the content. Netflix may downgrade its quality if the situation is really bad, but iTunes doesn’t at all. Playback may stop if the Apple TV suddenly experiences network lag and can’t buffer enough of the movie.I think it’s still worth it, especially with AirPlay functionality from your iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad. If you have apps that can playback video and support AirPlay, then you can watch it on your TV.right?apple is rerally cool.thanks for the info.
Certainly not surprised. I’m surprised that there aren’t a bunch of comments from Apple users pissed that you would say anything even remotely critical. Thanks for the update.