Apple releases new developer builds for OSX Lion, iCloud

Apple Inc. has released new developer builds for its OS X Lion operating system and for its iCloud service, a tech site reported over the weekend. CNET said that Apple had been actively testing iCloud and its other software that will connect to it, including the OS X operating system for its Macintosh computers, and iPhoto. It said that Apple released the third developer build of OS X 10.7.2 to developers for testing the new iCloud features, along with iCloud beta 9 and iPhoto 9.2 beta 3. The CNET report also said Apple is offering iTunes streaming options that allow one to access new and past purchases from anywhere, and an iTunes Match feature that scans a user’s library and upgrades songs to iTunes-quality media for a yearly fee instead of having to pay to download each song again. CNET said the increase in the number of developer builds suggests Apple is now actively ironing out bugs in preparation for iCloud. Apple earlier promised full and automatic synchronization of users’ data on all supported devices with the iCloud service. The iCloud service potentially allows users to instantly have access to music, photos, apps, calendars, and other documents they created on their systems. It offers a 5GB online storage buffer that is used to transfer files back and forth between devices until they are all synced up. — TJD, GMA News