iCloud

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Will Apple Ever Give More Than 5GB iCloud Storage For Free?

Charlotte Henry ·

Steve Jobs unveiled iCloud in June 2011 and, a decade on, the amount of free storage offered has still not increased beyond 5GB. 9to5Mac has published a good history lesson of the service, including speculation on how the paid tiers could change to help both Apple and users.

There is an argument to be made that Apple’s services revenue would actually benefit from giving away slightly more upfront to reel people in and entice customers into paid plans. 5 GB isn’t enough to even try out iCloud Photos in any meaningful capacity. If instead the free tier was matching Google’s at 15 GB, it would enable Apple users to get a reasonable amount of photos backing up to iCloud, experience some of the benefits of cloud sync, and then be more likely persuaded into committing to a paid plan. To pull this off, you’d have to adjust the paid tiers accordingly. Maybe a lineup of 15 GB free, 100 GB for $0.99/month, 300 GB for $2.99/month and 2 TB for $9.99/month could be compelling. An even cheekier approach could be to only increase the storage offered as part of Apple One, making the higher-value subscriptions more attractive for consumers migrating from the free plan.

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Inside Apple’s Controversial Relationship With the Chinese Government

Andrew Orr ·

On Monday, the New York Times published an investigative piece about Apple’s relationship with the Chinese government, and how it has to comply with its laws there.

Internal Apple documents reviewed by The New York Times, interviews with 17 current and former Apple employees and four security experts, and new filings made in a court case in the United States last week provide rare insight into the compromises Mr. Cook has made to do business in China. They offer an extensive inside look — many aspects of which have never been reported before — at how Apple has given in to escalating demands from the Chinese authorities.

Back Up Your Shortcuts Using iCloud Links With This Shortcut
Cool Stuff Found

Back Up Your Shortcuts Using iCloud Links With This Shortcut

Andrew Orr ·

Apple had some kind of issue on their end that caused iCloud links for shortcuts to stop working. Since shortcuts no longer rely on files within the Shortcuts folder in iCloud, the only way to back up your shortcuts is by generating an iCloud link. The links are working again but only for new iCloud links. Old links don’t work anymore. I’ve been using two shortcuts that I created as a backup. The first one will generate a link for every shortcut you have and create a note in Apple Notes with the links. The second one can back up a single shortcut at a time and appends it to that same note as well as a text file. They can, and should, be modified to fit your own needs and file system. Update: Multiple reports on Friday suggest that old links are working again.

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Apple Gave FBI Access to Rioter’s iCloud Account

Andrew Orr ·

According to court documents, Apple gave the FBI access to a rioter’s iCloud account who was accused of setting police cars on fire in Seattle this summer.

As FBI officers were investigating a Seattle man suspected of setting police cars on fire, they turned to Apple for help […] Apple disclosed the name, email, phone number, and residential address associated with Jackson’s account, then subsequently granted the FBI access to the contents of Jackson’s account in response to a court-ordered search warrant.

Apple was served a lawful subpoena in regards to a lawful investigation, as it does frequently. But the main point is that it contrasts with claims from President Trump and A.G. Barr that Apple hinders investigations because they can’t unlock iPhones. Apple can’t do that, but if a person backs content up to iCloud, then it can be accessed.

Podcast

Repairing iCloud Syncing — Mac Geek Gab 825

John F. Braun · · Add Comment

Should you update? That’s always the question, isn’t it, regardless of whether it’s hardware or software or both. This week John and Dave answer your questions about both, specifically when it comes to Apple’s offerings. That’s not all, of course. Your two favorite geeks roar through a tour of your questions, tips, and Cool Stuff Found, including segments on repairing iCloud syncing, backing up your music the right way, diagnosing CPU spikes, and more. Press play, and enjoy learning at least five new things, all while remaining perfectly socially-distanced!

Podcast

An iCloud of Uncertainty — Mac Geek Gab 823

John F. Braun · · Add Comment

When iCloud works, it’s great. And, for the most part, that’s how it is. But sometimes…it just gets plain wonky. Several of you had several questions about that this week, and Dave and John dig in to get you sorted! That’s not all, though. Cool Stuff Found, routers, and even some future stuff is all up for discussion when your two favorite geeks get together this week. Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things!