Tomorrow is the big day for Apple fans as the keynote address for the Worldwide Developers Conference kicks things off. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to address the keynote and in an unusual move for Apple the company has already given some general info about what will be discussed during the keynote. It will include updates on the Mac OS, the iOS for its portable products and most importantly iCloud, its new streaming media service.
There have been lots of rumors about how will iCloud work and this weekend AppleInsider.com, using unnamed sources, stated that one of the surprises to be announced on Monday is that some of the iCloud features will be offered to Mac users for free. There is a small catch. Those users, according to the article, would have to update to the next version of the Mac OS X version, code named "Lion", in order to receive the free iCloud features.
ICloud is supposed to replace Apple"s MobileMe program which offers remote file storage, among other things, for about $99 a year. According to the article, "That price tag may remain for users who do not make the upgrade to Lion, or for Windows users. But it is expected that the cloud services will become free to Mac users who run the latest version of Mac OS X." The article also reports, again via unnamed sources, that Apple might offer updates to Lion for a sale price.
The article does point out that the streaming music service portion of iCloud will likely have a fee attached for everyone, even Mac OS X Lion users. However it"s possible that Apple might offer a cheaper introductory price for those services.