Now that Mountain Lion has been released and it seems that iCloud storage is very closely tied to Mountain Lion to the point where files are uploaded to iCloud automatically, I thought it would be appropriate to start a discussion on the pros and cons of iCloud.

pros is really only one - the ability to automatically sync documents between Apple devices......o r are there others?

But 'cons' I find more and more -

1. The most obvious one is of course security. There is already a lot of discussion on the net, large firms like IBM have forbidden their employees to store any information on iCloud citing security concerns and as far as I know, there is no way to make an internet accessible server ever guaranteed 100% secure.
So that to me is a major issue with the service, more so if my files on the Mac with 10.8 get uploaded to iCloud automatically and I have no control over that.

But I'm also reading about other 'cons' - wish I could find the web site again that had a comprehensive list of them.
One I remember is that files on iCloud can only be accessed by using the identical application that the file was originally created it - so for instance, a .doc document created with Pages cannot be opened with MS Word or Open Office or any application that will normally open .doc documents, one must have Pages to open that file.
I haven't verified that, but that is a major con in my books.

Isn't the first con, a con for most cloud storage services? I say most because I am not sure which ones are safe (or rather safest).

Also, I think IBM using "security concerns" as a way to block access to iCloud seems a bit suspicious. Personally, IBM probably wants employees to use their storage services that are set up with the company. Seeing as IBM couldn't cite any particular security issues (security breaches, lack of encryption, etc), security can't be the most definitive reason in my opinion.

iCloud is a great service to use if you don't want to get your hands dirty (especially if you have all the right software & hardware). If you have iOS 5 + devices, OS X Mountain Lion Macs, iWork & iLife suite for iOS & OS X, then iCloud would certainly be so seamless if it syncs properly, etc. Unfortunately, not everyone is like this.

Lastly, I don't see iCloud as being a storage service anyway. I see it more as being a web service that offers different kinds of things we use on the internet (E-Mail, Document/Picture Backup + Syncable Content, Music Streaming (iTunes Match), & Others).

Depending on what you need from iCloud, pros and cons are eventually bound to come out. I only use iCloud mainly for the E-Mail right now, so I can't give a greater amount of pros and cons, but I think my post may help out others.

I'm not suggesting that iCloud is any worse (or better) than other "cloud" services when it comes to security.
What I find totally unacceptable, if true, is that with Mountain Lion all documents get sent to iCloud automatically.
This comes from some other threads on ehMac and hopefully that is either a misunderstanding or people haven't figured how to turn that capability off.
It should really be a capability one has to turn on, rather than off, but Apple seems to have that backwards in a few other cases as well.

TE - are you currently on Mountain Lion (ML)?
If so, can you actually control that only your email ends up on iCloud?
Email is usually not encrypted and thus not secure anyway, so having that on iCloud would not be an issue.
It's sensitive documents I wouldn't want ending up on iCloud or any other 'cloud service'

If you read the Pages thread, you will see that I figured out how to avoid the Cloud by changing the default setting, but the default is definitely to the Cloud. That noted, it is still a PIA to save to the desktop or make it a standard setting like you could in Lion to always save a document to a certain folder. You must choose every darn time. Grrr.

If you read the Pages thread, you will see that I figured out how to avoid the Cloud by changing the default setting, but the default is definitely to the Cloud. That noted, it is still a PIA to save to the desktop or make it a standard setting like you could in Lion to always save a document to a certain folder. You must choose every darn time. Grrr.

Hopefully when the Save Box comes up the key command; "Command d" should still aim things directly to the Desktop. Quite a bit simpler than mousing your way there.

If you read the Pages thread, you will see that I figured out how to avoid the Cloud by changing the default setting, but the default is definitely to the Cloud. That noted, it is still a PIA to save to the desktop or make it a standard setting like you could in Lion to always save a document to a certain folder. You must choose every darn time. Grrr.

I did read the Pages thread, it was actually that thread plus a bunch of comments I found on other Mac related sites that prompted me to start this "iCloud" thread.

But just looking back to the Pages thread now, I don't see any post there that you (or anyone else) found a "default" setting that would save the Pages document to a folder on the Mac each and every time (rather than iCloud) automatically without any further intervention by the user.
If you need to choose each time, it's not a "default" setting in my books, you also run the risk of forgetting to make the change once and boom, you sensitive file is in the cloud.

What about other files, I would imagine if this happens with a Pages document it will happen with all other files as well.
Maybe there is a general setting to turn synching via iCloud off completely.

Individual parts of iCloud can be turned on or off via the system preferences pane, documents and data would be the one to disable in this case, alternatively you can always choose not to use iCloud at all by not setting up an iCloud account in the iCloud preference pane.

I'm not surprised in the least IBM and other companies don't want employees using iCloud, this is more or less standard practice for large corporations... The only acceptable place to store sensitive company files is on company hardware/servers...

But just looking back to the Pages thread now, I don't see any post there that you (or anyone else) found a "default" setting that would save the Pages document to a folder on the Mac each and every time (rather than iCloud) automatically without any further intervention by the user.
If you need to choose each time, it's not a "default" setting in my books, you also run the risk of forgetting to make the change once and boom, you sensitive file is in the cloud.

What about other files, I would imagine if this happens with a Pages document it will happen with all other files as well.
Maybe there is a general setting to turn synching via iCloud off completely.

Perhaps I did not explain it well enough in that other Pages thread.

I repeat: If you select the 'On My Mac' option JUST ONCE you permanently remove the default iCloud option, (unless you reselect it at a later date.) When you do, the 'On My Mac' window becomes the default window.

That noted, you then do have to then choose where you want the document to be stored EVERY time.

I hope that clears it up for you that you CAN stop the default use of the iCloud window.

And thanks for that tip Paul82, I removed documents and data from my prefs.

Perhaps I did not explain it well enough in that other Pages thread.

I repeat: If you select the 'On My Mac' option JUST ONCE you permanently remove the default iCloud option, (unless you reselect it at a later date.) When you do, the 'On My Mac' window becomes the default window.

That noted, you then do have to then choose where you want the document to be stored EVERY time.

I hope that clears it up for you that you CAN stop the default use of the iCloud window.

And thanks for that tip Paul82, I removed documents and data from my prefs.

Boy, I'm really dense this morning.....

I guess I need to install ML on one of my Macs to actually try this out...

So, I disabled iCloud (or don't have an iCloud account), so my new Pages document is done, I close it and at that time, I normally have three options - save, don't save or cancel.
Where is the document saved on the Mac if I choose "save"
Or does choosing "save" bring up the equivalent of the 'save as' even so that command is only available in a round-about way on ML?