Apple This

Apple is experimenting with a new cloud-based music service, but as anyone in the business market knows, a service or product is only as good as the name you give it. Apple has been taking some time to come up with that name but now they just may have found one that most people will be quite pleased with.

Apple has recently acquired the domain name iCloud.com from the Swedish-based Xcerion who is known for providing “hybrid cloud computing.” This report comes from GigaOm who cited an anonymous tipster. GigaOm’s source has stated that Apple reportedly paid $4.5 million for the domain name.

However, despite GigaOm’s “source” neither Apple nor Xcerion has confirmed a sale. It is also noteworthy to mention that the site’s Whois data shows that the domain name is still owned by Xcerion. Xcerion used to operate its cloud-based storage service on iCloud.com, however, earlier this month moved the service to CloudMe.com.

Speculation is circulating that Apple is nearing the launch of a cloud-based music service which would allow customers to store their music libraries on the Web for easy access from anywhere they have internet access.

Amazon.com last month launched its very own digital music cloud-based service which allowed customers to store all of their music on the internet. Amazon’s service also allowed customers to store their videos and e-books online as well. However, this service launched without any licensing content from record labels, potentially putting the service at a disadvantage compared to others that have the licenses and can, essentially, deliver a more well-rounded service with a lot more features.

Reports surfaced last week stating that Apple signed a deal with Warner Music Group in order to license that label’s content for its online services. Google, on the contrary, may be partnering with music-streaming service Spotify in order to power its own version of a cloud-based music service.

Source: CNET – Report: Apple floats $4.5 million for iCloud domain

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If you are a fan of Apple computers, then it will do you well to know that you can have an ultra-portable MacBook or one that is filled with all the most up-to-date technology. The only problem is that you can’t have both. But if internet rumors are anything to believe, you just may be able to have both pretty soon.

The latest rumors from parts suppliers in Asia indicate that Apple is all set to begin mass production of MacBook Airs equipped with Thunderbolt and Sandy Bridge late next month. These new MacBook Airs are also supposed to hit store shelves June.

This news comes from Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst from Concord Securities, who also gave his interpretation of the Air production to AppleInsider. Aside from being pretty consistent with the rumor mill, a new refresh of the Air in the summer makes sense. Being extremely lightweight and fairly inexpensive, it is highly regarded by students and June is the time when a lot of people do back-to-school shopping.

Kou did not, unfortunately, give any information on pricing, but it wouldn’t surprise anybody if this new MacBook Air shared a similar price to the current MacBook Air, which starts at $1,000 for the base 11-inch model and runs up to $1,600 for a fully loaded 13-inch version.

Other things, such as storage capacity and graphics, were also not volunteered but many are speculating slight bumps in both categories as SSD drive prices have been dropping. If Apple can manage to squeeze a 128GB SSD drive into the base 11-inch Air with an i5 processor and Thunderbolt, then other ultra-portable laptop creators are going to have some serious competition.

Source: CNET – Thunderbolt, Sandy Bridged MacBook Airs in June?

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In recent Apple news, it appears that the technological juggernaut is increasing its storage capacity with a recent order of storage equipment from Isilon Systems which tops off at around 12 petabytes.

This news was recently picked up by AppleInsider and comes from a source at Isilon who told another site, StorageNewsletter, that Apple was the buyer and that they were making a purchase to “manage the video download of its customers using iTunes.”

EMC announced that they planned to acquire Isilon five months ago for roughly $2.25 billion which was a 29% premium on the company’s stock price at the time. The company is known for going after large-scale data management projects and also has customers like Sony and Kodak as well as media companies like ABC and XM Satellite Radio.

A lot of you are probably thinking that this is irrefutable proof that Apple is planning on launching a storage locker for user content. But before you get your knickers in a twist, it is worth pointing out that Apple is still in the process of readying their North Carolina data center which, according to Apple, will go online this spring. Apple also has an existing data center facility located in Newark, California which it purchased in 2006 which could very well be due for a hardware upgrade.

According to a report published by Bernstein Research last month in regards to Apple’s new data center, the company spent an estimated $1.7 billion on IT assets during fiscal 2010. This number could increase to as much as $2.6 billion this year in an estimate from the report.

The new facility in North Carolina, estimated to be 500,000 square feet, can hold between 95,000 to 120,000 servers, something the Bernstein Report noted could “easily” cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The report from StorageNewsletter says that the purchase of the 12 petabytes “probably” makes Apple the largest Islion customer to date.

Source: CNET – Report: Apple orders 12 petabytes of storage

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