iCloud

Apple once again expanding its North Carolina data center

Cody Lee ∙ February 20, 2014

According to permits filed with Catawba County, Apple is once again expanding its data center facilities in Maiden North Carolina. The plans say the new data center building will cover 14,246 square feet with walls 25 feet tall, made of concrete panels and steel columns.

The building will look very similar to the 'tactical' data center that Apple added to the site in 2012, and have a similar layout with banks of computers in the main portion of it and 11 air units to cool it. It will also feature various security measures, including a 'man-trap' door...

Bug in iCloud web portal hints at future Bookmarks support

Cody Lee ∙ January 29, 2014

It's been discovered today that an error on Apple's iCloud web portal displays a "Coming Soon" message for iCloud Bookmarks, suggesting that the feature may soon be available on the website. This would allow users to remotely access their bookmarks using virtually any browser.

The page, which you can see in the screenshot above, appears briefly when visiting this URL from your computer. It was originally accessed by installing the Chrome extension for the iCloud Control Panel for Windows on a PC, and so far, no one is quite sure what to make of it...

New features added to Keynote, Pages and Numbers for iOS/OS X, iMovie gets bug fixes

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 23, 2014

Apple is on a roll today in terms of software updates. The company has just seeded the third OS X 10.9.2 beta to its registered Mac developers and revamped Pages, Keynote and Numbers on the web (excuse me, iCloud) with a slew of new capabilities, including - finally! - password protection for your iWork documents. Earlier in the day, Apple has managed to post a minor Podcasts app refresh and a bug fix focused update to iMovie for Mac.

And now, new versions of Pages and Numbers for iOS and OS X have arrived plus an enhanced version of Apple's presentation software Keynote with new transitions, improved presenter display options, better Microsoft PowerPoint and iCloud compatibility and more.

These software updates allow for a nice feature parity across Apple's iWork suite of apps on the web, iOS and OS X platforms...

Apple updates iWork for iCloud with iOS 7 design, new features and more

Cody Lee ∙ January 23, 2014

Apple posted a major update for its iWork for iCloud app suite today. The web versions of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers all received a makeover with a flattened, iOS 7-inspired design, a handful of new features, and various other improvements.

Among the new features is the ability to add passwords to iWork documents, and to share those password-protected documents with others. You can also now view a master list of iWork documents that others have shared with you, and more...

Sunrise Calendar criticized over request for iCloud credentials

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 31, 2017

We're big fans of the Sunrise Calendar app here at iDB. We named it one of our Apps of the Week in October of last year, and it has a permanent spot on our list of Best iPhone apps. It's a great-looking, full-featured alternative to Apple's stock Calendar.

But Sunrise has been taking a lot of heat lately for one of its newer features: iCloud support. You see, in order for you to add your iCloud account, the app requires you to enter your Apple ID and password. And some people see this as a huge security risk...

How to prevent iOS screenshots from being uploaded to Photo Stream

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

On any given week, I take dozens of screenshots of my iPhone or iPad for either personal reason, or as part of my workflow at iDB. For each post I publish involving an app for example, there are at least two screenshots, as you can see above.

Of course, every time you take a screenshot on your iOS device, it is automatically uploaded to your iCloud Photo Stream. Over time, these screenshots can be really annoying and distracting, especially if, like me, you use your Photo Stream as the screen saver of your Apple TV.

Thankfully, a jailbreak tweak called Screenshot Dam is available to stop screenshots from uploading to Photo Stream automatically...

Apple believed to have acquired mapping firm BroadMap, note-taking app Catch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

During Apple's latest earnings call, Tim Cook noted that the company made 15 'strategic acquisitions' during its fiscal 2013. But out of those 15 purchases, we've only heard about 9 or 10 of them, begging the question: who else did Apple buy this year?

Mark Gurman over at 9to5Mac has a pretty good theory about at least two of them. Citing sources inside Apple, as well as evidence from LinkedIn and other sites, Gurman is reporting that Apple also acquired mapping firm BroadMap and Catch this year...

Mailbox app updated with support for iCloud, Yahoo Mail and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

The Dropbox-owned Mailbox app received a major update today, bringing the email client to version 1.7. The update adds a highly-anticipated feature: support for other email services like Yahoo, iCloud, and others.

Up until now, the popular Mailbox app only supported Gmail accounts. But with today's release, users can now use the app to access and manage their Inboxes from Yahoo Mail, and various Apple email extensions...

How iCloud keeps your data safe

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 27, 2013

With the advent of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, Apple has enabled even tighter iCloud integration across its operating systems.

A good example is a new feature called iCloud Keychain which keeps your web site and Wi-Fi passwords, login and account information and credit card numbers in sync between any number of trusted Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices authorized with the same Apple ID.

It's also another example of Apple's growing reliance on iCloud. But with great power comes great responsibility so privacy-minded users may ask themselves how exactly iCloud manages this growing mountain of personal information while keeping it safe and secure...

Is iCloud Keychain available in my country?

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 25, 2013

With Tuesday's free release of OS X Mavericks, Apple users can now opt to have their Safari web passwords securely synchronized across their iOS devices and Macs through the power of iCloud. The useful feature dubbed iCloud Keychain made a brief appearance in iOS 7 betas before being pulled from iOS 7 Gold Master, only to re-surface in iOS 7.0.3. What you probably don't know is that iCloud Keychain isn't necessarily supported everywhere so Apple's published a handy list detailing iCloud Keychain availability by country...

Some Disney and Pixar movies go missing from iTunes, iTunes in the Cloud

Cody Lee ∙ October 24, 2013

Uh oh. Some users are noticing that Apple has pulled various Disney and Pixar titles from its iTunes Store and iTunes in the Cloud. While the missing movies were initially shrugged off as a glitch, it appears that the move is much more serious.

It looks like the problem has to do with a licensing agreement between Apple and Disney. And not only does it mean that users can't buy or rent the titles, but folks who previously purchased them are no longer seeing them in their Purchased tab...

Apple: ‘great new features’ coming to iWork for iCloud ‘in just a few short hours’

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 22, 2013

It was two months ago that Apple opened iWork for iCloud to everyone and now it seems the company is getting ready to launch Pages, Keynote and Numbers web apps for public consumption. While visiting beta.icloud.com and logging in with your Apple ID doesn't give it away, try clicking on, say, the Pages icon and you'll be greeted with a message saying "we're updating Pages for iCloud" and a typical Apple tease, "In just a few short hours, you'll be able to create and edit documents, and enjoy great new features"...