Apple's advantages
So where does this leave Apple and its new MobileMe service? The company doesn’t have the financial muscle of Microsoft or the pre-existing infrastructure of Google (though it’s not exactly a slouch in either department), but it does have two distinct advantages it must exploit to the full if it’s to become King of Cloud Computing.
Firstly, there’s usability. As Einstein once said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” Apple has to date succeeded in following this maxim, producing technology that is easy to use, but without sacrificing functionality.
Synchronising digital devices isn’t always a straightforward task, as anyone who’s lost the entire contents of their mobile phone’s contacts book while syncing with a PC will readily attest [tell me about it – Ed]. So could Apple be the first to bring usability to online multi-device synchronisation? It’s a distinct possibility, though the need to sync with PCs means the company doesn’t enjoy the top-down control which has made the Mac so accessible and stable. Maybe it’s now we’ll really see what Apple’s interface designers are made of.
Halo effect
Secondly, there’s the much-talked-about ‘halo effect’. According to the theory, people who first experience Apple technology via devices such as the iPod or the iPhone are more likely to switch to a Mac if they like what they see. As early as 2005, Apple’s Peter Oppenheimer observed that 40% of Mac buyers at dedicated Apple stores were new to the platform. By Autumn 2007, Gartner Consulting vice president Van Barker said of Apple’s record quarterly earnings and machine sales, “It’s primarily the halo effect driving the jump in Mac sales. Consumers visit the Apple Store to buy an iPod, and check out the MacBook Pros while they’re there”.
With MobileMe offering integration services for the iPhone and (presumably) the iPod Touch regardless of whether the user is on a Mac or a Windows PC, it could soon benefit from a similar boost.
But all this must be qualified with a final word to Apple: Upgrade your bloody hardware! There’s no point in having 20GB of storage space if it takes forever to upload a few megs, and even the most user-friendly sync tools are no use if the server keeps dropping the connection. .Mac was cursed by sluggish performance, and if MobileMe is to catch on, it must do better.
Microsoft's Live Mesh
