We could have made it an all-iCloud edition—we really could have—but we decided to spare you, in anticipation of next week. So, in addition to our cloud-themed numbers, read up on shortages of Time Capsules and AirPort Extremes, as well as just how excited Nokia’s new CEO is about iPhone-toting employees—the answer might surprise you. The remainders for Thursday, June 2, 2011 are putting all their eggs in separate baskets.
WWDC 2011 banners at Moscone Center show new iCloud icon (AppleInsider)
Passersby who peeped into Moscone West have snapped shots of workers hoisting banners for WWDC. A few of the pictures even capture a glimpse of iCloud’s icon, which appears to be some sort of…it’s a cauliflower, right? Anyway, if you think you’re sick of the cloud now, wait until the uproar next week when it turns out that Apple’s “cloud services offering” is just a new way of doing skywriting.
Apple’s Retail Stores Running Dry of AirPort and Time Capsule Stocks? (MacRumors)
Reports say that Apple Stores are running out of AirPort Extremes and Time Capsules. And, since it’s the week before a big Apple event, rumors are running rampant that a refresh of the venerable products will rear its head. That’s right, folks, this is Apple’s ace in the hole. iCloud? More like iSmokescreen.
Apple signs Universal Music to iCloud (CNet)
The last reported holdout to Apple’s cloud music venture, Universal Music, has apparently signed on the dotted line. CNet also reports that the company’s music locker may only support music purchased from iTunes at launch, which I guess means I’m going to be streaming The Beatles on repeat for a while.
Apple tries to put the kibosh on iPad and iPhone giveaways (Fortune)
We’ve also seen plenty of those pop-up ads offering free iPads, but if Apple has its way, they’ll soon go the way of those old “punch the monkey” banners. Cupertino’s reportedly trying to enforce a ban on giveaways using the iPad or iPhone, as well as limiting iPod touch giveaways to a minimum of 250 units. There are a few other rules, too, such as not prominently using the word “free” in conjunction with an Apple product, such as in a headline or an ad, or creating promotional materials using the Myriad Set font. So get ready for a lot of ads for 250 free iPod touches written entirely in Comic Sans.
Stephen Elop’s Nokia Adventure (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Was new Nokia CEO Stephen Elop ticked off that some of his employees were using iPhones? No, he was annoyed that more of them weren’t using iPhones. “I’d rather people have the intellectual curiosity to understand what we’re up against,” Elop said. At least Elop, a former Microsofter, didn’t follow his old boss Steve Ballmer’s practice of having traitorous employees locked in a room with Microsoft Bob.
Apple Execs Are Absolutely Giddy Right Now Says Goldman Sachs (Business Insider)
And if there’s one company that knows giddy, it’s Goldman Sachs.