Next Version of iTunes Restores Local Contact and Calendar Syncing

[winglet69]

And put the books back in Tunes too. If they do that I'll never complain again...well until they do something stupid again.

You can easily restore Books back to iTunes and trash iBooks, which is a horrible app. No metadata editing...really?!

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5489558?tstart=0

As far as restoring local sync...YAY! I already shelled out the $20 for Mavericks Server and do my syncing locally anyway, but why they felt the need to remove USB sync, which was rock-stable and worked EVERY TIME, unlike any cloud-based solution...I don't know which was worse, the decision, or the lack of communication about it.

I want to be able to update all my devices in the field, not "wait until the next time I have wi-fi access", in which case screws up the sync anyway half the time, making duplicate entries with my Notes across iPad, iPhone and MB Pro. I just hope Notes is included in the restored features. The cloud is highly overrated.

I do get the advantages of cloud-based computing, but trying to push it that hard without consultation, without regard for unintended consequences is just stupid and shortsighted. Both approaches have very large pros and cons (security and lack of connectivity seem like fairly important issues - no?) Why not have both so end users can CHOOSE?

For all those who like to sneer "oh I didn't even notice it was gone", no doubt the same people who post their entire lives to social media and think nothing of it, living their whole lives on their Facebook app on their smartphone... but not all of us live near constant broadband nor want to rely on the internet to sync two devices sitting on the desk in front of us.

 

[moderately]

Nobody is forcing you to use iCloud; that's either FUD or lack of understanding. Put your calendar, contacts and mail into Yahoo, Hotmail, Google or even AOL/AIM and turn off your iCloud mail/etc configuration. They are all "cloud" sync services, and in terms of the content synced through iTunes, they're interchangeable. Local syncing invariably results in the need to do conflict resolution, particularly when more than one device is involved; at the very least you have to connect and re-sync those other devices. It's archaic and clumsy and the way of the past. Like floppy disks and CDs.

I think you are missing the point. They did force us to use "the cloud" whether it is "Yahoo, Hotmail, Google or even AOL/AIM". As to conflict resolution- this was my experience with iCloud, "Your file has been edited on multiple devices which copy do you want to keep?" I was trying to see how a spreadsheet looked in each platform. It was slow. With iTunes I would simply make the choice to put this copy there.

When I recharge my iDevice I plug it into my computer. So iTunes sync can just happen. No muss no fuss.

 

[Adamsappel]

I think you are missing the point. They did force us to use "the cloud" whether it is "Yahoo, Hotmail, Google or even AOL/AIM". As to conflict resolution- this was my experience with iCloud, "Your file has been edited on multiple devices which copy do you want to keep?" I was trying to see how a spreadsheet looked in each platform. It was slow. With iTunes I would simply make the choice to put this copy there.

When I recharge my iDevice I plug it into my computer. So iTunes sync can just happen. No muss no fuss.

Use Companionlink or Sync-Mate if you want USB or local sync.

 

[MDJCM]

Use Companionlink or Sync-Mate if you want USB or local sync.

Do either of those allow syncing of Mail settings from Mac to phone? When you have 10+ mail accounts it's a dull chore to punch changes in manually, twice.

 

[Adamsappel]

I have no idea, perhaps look at http://www.sync-mac.com and also at http://www.sync-mac.com

Use best versions of eithet. Expert or whatevet it is called. Trialware downloadable as well.

Companionlink works better with Windows, seemingly the most reliable companipn for iPhone.

 

[H2SO4]

Actually I think it's Apple that didn't like it. For many good reasons. As proven by the fact that it was removed as a design decision.

That doesn't prove jack really does it? It's being returned now so that proves Apple does like it eh?

 

[H2SO4]

I have no idea, perhaps look at http://www.sync-mac.com and also at http://www.sync-mac.com

Use best versions of eithet. Expert or whatevet it is called. Trialware downloadable as well.

Companionlink works better with Windows, seemingly the most reliable companipn for iPhone.

I'll help you with that question. NO.

 

[Adamsappel]

I'll help you with that question. NO.

I started fooling around with computers, electronics and novice programming in 1977 and as a career on 1982.

The past few months, after I left MS and Linux, had taught me that the world of ICT has many nasty surprises on store. The speed at which hardware and software fails, especially after updates, is almost hilarious. Nope, Apple has its supporters but I cannot see why.

A very cheap Nokia with S40 on it syncs better with Outlook than my iPhone5 does with my MBP.

No Nokia ever failed me and I had many. My 3210 left the car at 120km/h which is 75mph. It just worked fine after the phone, cover and battery were remarried.

My iPhone 5 had a hardware failure within its first three months and required replacement. Not without a six week battle, either. This phone cost more than all of my Nokias combined.......8 of them!

I came to Apple for sync. I paid through my neck as we pay up to 55% more in my country. So Apple promptly messed up sync and other features. Those in my family with Windows and Blackberry and Nokia have functional systems.

Apple falls short from its tree.

 

[sualpine]

That doesn't prove jack really does it? It's being returned now so that proves Apple does like it eh?

Absolutely it proves jack. All this means is that idiots can reverse a good decision if there are enough of them. It's pretty clear that Apple wants to remove SyncServices from the picture. This was a controversy only because of a generational gap. The next generation of Apple (and Google and Microsoft) customers will have no concept of local syncing vs cloud syncing. This is progress impeded by the stubborn, pure and simple. It won't last long.

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I think you are missing the point. They did force us to use "the cloud" whether it is "Yahoo, Hotmail, Google or even AOL/AIM". As to conflict resolution- this was my experience with iCloud, "Your file has been edited on multiple devices which copy do you want to keep?" I was trying to see how a spreadsheet looked in each platform. It was slow. With iTunes I would simply make the choice to put this copy there.

When I recharge my iDevice I plug it into my computer. So iTunes sync can just happen. No muss no fuss.

No one is saying you have to use a public caldav/carddav server. Set up your own. http://baikal-server.com/

 

[Adamsappel]

Incorrect. Let me explain.

Global broadband internet access will take at least another decade to get there. Systems architects as well ad other stakeholders are just not well informed. Take a good lopk at this website but make it interesting by doing it alongside a world map that gives demographics. You will then realise what small fraction og users really have broadband that is fast, stable and also affordable.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

 

[sualpine]

Incorrect. Let me explain.

Global broadband internet access will take at least another decade to get there. Systems architects as well ad other stakeholders are just not well informed. Take a good lopk at this website but make it interesting by doing it alongside a world map that gives demographics. You will then realise what small fraction og users really have broadband that is fast, stable and also affordable.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Caldav / carddav servers do not need internet access. They can be on your wifi. If you want to talk about fringe case issues, then youre going to have fringe case resolutions.

 

[Adamsappel]

Sorry, I meant that Apple & Microsoft are wrong in making it cloud-only. Of course, Baikal does local sync and is a magic bullet to some. Thanks for pointing this out.

It does not seem to sync Notes. Can Baikal be configured for Notes sync?

 

[pmz]

i have never used icloud. I will never use icloud. and just cause I use OSx don't force me to use icloud.

its one of the reasons i'm migrating off Win8.1. forcing me into using an online account for stuff i'm entirely capable of using for local content is a no no for me. A big, Fat no no

if i WANT to use. let me use it. but never, Ever arbitrarily tell me i must use it

Well its not "arbitrarily" if that's what the product is. It just happens to be that local sync used to be the way of doing things, and you want that continue, as well as continuing to update your software/hardware.

Can't have it both ways.

 

[Martyimac]

Well its not "arbitrarily" if that's what the product is. It just happens to be that local sync used to be the way of doing things, and you want that continue, as well as continuing to update your software/hardware.

Can't have it both ways.

Your comment here tells us that you still don't get it. We DID have it both ways, that's what they gave us, then took it away. They are forcing us to do it a specific way after years of doing it another way. Breaking the paradigm? That may be part of it but I really think there are things going on we don't understand or know.
And the way they go about forcing this change upon us is jarring: "It's this way or the highway bub", no if, ands or buts. Yet there is. AND, there is no obvious benefit to what they force upon us.

I remember the days when manufacturers built and supplied what the CONSUMER wanted. Not what the manufacturers wanted themselves and that may the cause for some of the pushback you are seeing.

 

[rexone]

Well, we happen to live in a linear world. We need A before B before C...

With all due respect but you've missed my point... One of the attractive things about Apple has always been the 'organic' nature of the OS.
To achieve a task or get an outcome you didn't just have to go one way to get there, in other words the OS was flexible.
Apples push towards making the desktop OS operate more like iOS has seen everything start to become more 'linear' - no options, one pathway.
Example - in the OS you could previously set folders to open in a new window. This allowed you to move around in multiple directions by having windows open you could jump back and forth from. A very organic way of working (and thinking).
That option has been removed since Mavericks so now you can only drill into a folder & then either close that pathway or back-out the way you came in - linear operation or thinking. Just like the way iOS works.

Personaly I hate the push to the cloud. I live in Sydney, Australia. I'm with the countries second largest telco on a top-shelf 4G plan on an iPhone 5s & I can tell you that mobile internet (& mobile signals...) are patchy at best.
All of our telcos have also recently dropped the data allowance on mobile plans too which is costing people big-time especially as they are likley using the cloud without even being aware of it!

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We DID have it both ways, that's what they gave us, then took it away... AND, there is no obvious benefit to what they force upon us.

Agree 110%
Apple is pointlessly changing many things seemingly in a push to make desktop machines work like giant iPads.
Mavericks saw the totally pointless removal of features such as 'open folder in new window' and the change of coloured folder tags to coloured dots. Both of which have been long-standing and useful features of the OS.
Did their existance place massive drains on system resources? I doubt it.
Would their retention have caused dramatic OS conflicts? Unlikely.
More likely some team of OS techs decided to stamp their mark on the OS by removing things they assumed no-one used just because they didn't use them.
And therein lies the whole point - just because you do or don't use or like a function doesn't mean everybody else is of the same mind.

 

[Adamsappel]

Personaly I hate the push to the cloud. I live in Sydney, Australia. I'm with the countries second largest telco on a top-shelf 4G plan on an iPhone 5s & I can tell you that mobile internet (& mobile signals...) are patchy at best.
All of our telcos have also recently dropped the data allowance on mobile plans too which is costing people big-time especially as they are likley using the cloud without even being aware of it!

----------



Agree 110%
Apple is pointlessly changing many things seemingly in a push to make desktop machines work like giant iPads.
Mavericks saw the totally pointless removal of features such as 'open folder in new window' and the change of coloured folder tags to coloured dots. Both of which have been long-standing and useful features of the OS.
Did their existance place massive drains on system resources? I doubt it.
Would their retention have caused dramatic OS conflicts? Unlikely.
More likely some team of OS techs decided to stamp their mark on the OS by removing things they assumed no-one used just because they didn't use them.
And therein lies the whole point - just because you do or don't use or like a function doesn't mean everybody else is of the same mind.

Africa is 3 times the size of the USA and over a billion of inhabitants. It has 54 independent states. Like in Australia and also most South American countries, we may have enough submarine cables connecting our continent to others. It also is a fact that petty government policies keeps service providers from using the ample bandwidth, then there is the matter of actually delivering broadband that is reliable. Here in Cape Town, South Africa, one can go for hours without a proper signal. Not too long ago, I shouted at my wife who was almost two blocks down in the central city area, because I could neither call nor Whatsapp her even though she was within earshot and in plain sight!

Trying to convince some that we do NOT have a signal despite having a bouquet of data highways, is not easy and I have even been reprimanded privately by a moderator. They said that I was not well informed about the areas that I frequent and where I daily see how the cloud does NOT work for the majority.

Australia is 6,15 times the size of South Africa but with only about 40% of our population. It means that, Down Under, so much more infrastructure need to be set up with a lesser user base from which to recoup capital investment costs. Anyone not understanding the world outside of US & Europe, can have a glance here: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Even so, do NOT even think that they have practical, usable internet everywhere it says they have. Signal is intermittent and unreliable. My city has close on four million residents, yet only a very small percentage have broadband access. Take away local sync and they are facing serious challenges.

I really think that some people are not well informed and no, I am not trying to insult or sneer at anyone; I am just trying to point out that public opinion is sometimes just that: opinion and not fact. I really do not like to deal with opinion but with hard facts. I hail from a background of financial management and auditing, including forensic auditing, as well as ICT, until 2000. I have it in my bone marrow to deal with facts and not opinion. If someone is offended by this and have me moderated yet again, please go look inside your own mind first and challenge your own perceptions by confronting it with facts. Opinion is worthless when one has to state your case.

Show me the effectively working broadband generally available across Africa and I will show that the moon is made of cheese. That is an opinion.

 

[Chriscotech]

Does all this privacy stuff really matter?

Well . . . maybe for most people it doesn't, at the moment, but that could change.

From scratching around looking for media work it turns out I am now a signatory to an official secret act with the government of my country, regarding disclosure of any shared information. Putting calendars and contacts up on the cloud certainly comes under this agreement. I could treat it lightly and risk loosing a pretty important client for a freelancer (to say the least) and/or face 10 years in jail, or I could, (as I have done), wait for Apple to realise the consequences of their grab at information control and only change over to Mavericks when they restore local sync. This is really cool as I am cashed up and ready to but a new Mac Pro workstation to move to the next level.

There are many positions people hold that require security agreements. A friend of mine in a science institute in San Diego said all 700 employees were told they could not run Mavericks for security reasons. A lot of people had to abandon their Macs or risk loosing their jobs. That might have been wrong but I think the CEO of that company had a point. If you really want to know how bad dumping your personal info on the cloud can be, just ask the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her Privacy effects most of Europe and it was violated by the NSA. Privacy is important, please respect it.

The cloud has some great aspects, especially in terms of coverage but it definitely should be used with caution. Anyone who thinks it is 100% secure is kidding themselves. Local sync (where this thread started) is one way of protecting from attack.

 

[pmz]

Your comment here tells us that you still don't get it. We DID have it both ways, that's what they gave us, then took it away. They are forcing us to do it a specific way after years of doing it another way. Breaking the paradigm? That may be part of it but I really think there are things going on we don't understand or know.
And the way they go about forcing this change upon us is jarring: "It's this way or the highway bub", no if, ands or buts. Yet there is. AND, there is no obvious benefit to what they force upon us.

I remember the days when manufacturers built and supplied what the CONSUMER wanted. Not what the manufacturers wanted themselves and that may the cause for some of the pushback you are seeing.

You don't have to buy it, or continue using it. That said, its not like they took away the ability to make phone calls.

And if you really believe the bold above, then its over your head anyway. If you don't understand why Contacts & Calendar were made for cloud sync and not the laborious headache of manual sync, then like I said, its over your head.

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Does all this privacy stuff really matter?

Well . . . maybe for most people it doesn't, at the moment, but that could change.

From scratching around looking for media work it turns out I am now a signatory to an official secret act with the government of my country, regarding disclosure of any shared information. Putting calendars and contacts up on the cloud certainly comes under this agreement. I could treat it lightly and risk loosing a pretty important client for a freelancer (to say the least) and/or face 10 years in jail, or I could, (as I have done), wait for Apple to realise the consequences of their grab at information control and only change over to Mavericks when they restore local sync. This is really cool as I am cashed up and ready to but a new Mac Pro workstation to move to the next level.

There are many positions people hold that require security agreements. A friend of mine in a science institute in San Diego said all 700 employees were told they could not run Mavericks for security reasons. A lot of people had to abandon their Macs or risk loosing their jobs. That might have been wrong but I think the CEO of that company had a point. If you really want to know how bad dumping your personal info on the cloud can be, just ask the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Her Privacy effects most of Europe and it was violated by the NSA. Privacy is important, please respect it.

The cloud has some great aspects, especially in terms of coverage but it definitely should be used with caution. Anyone who thinks it is 100% secure is kidding themselves. Local sync (where this thread started) is one way of protecting from attack.

If your computer or iPhone has ever connected to the internet at all, then your data is no more secure, and your privacy no less at risk, than someone who uses iCloud for everything.

Believing anything other than that is a delusion.

 

[Adamsappel]

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[/COLOR]

If your computer or iPhone has ever connected to the internet at all, then your data is no more secure, and your privacy no less at risk, than someone who uses iCloud for everything.

Believing anything other than that is a delusion.

So true. The best firewall, the best security solution is to disconnect from the net. No cracker can hack into your data that way.

 

[Martyimac]

You don't have to buy it, or continue using it. That said, its not like they took away the ability to make phone calls.

And if you really believe the bold above, then its over your head anyway. If you don't understand why Contacts & Calendar were made for cloud sync and not the laborious headache of manual sync, then like I said, its over your head.

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If your computer or iPhone has ever connected to the internet at all, then your data is no more secure, and your privacy no less at risk, than someone who uses iCloud for everything.

Believing anything other than that is a delusion.

Over MY head? I would say otherwise. Why is it so hard to understand that the LACK of local sync has no added benefit? Maybe the lack of understanding works both ways here. At least that's what it appears like to me. I fully understand why contacts etc. are made for cloud sync and I think it's wonderful for those folks that want to use it and get benefit from it. That is not the issue. To spell it out for you, again, they had local sync and took it away FORCING us to use the cloud, no option!!! There was no added benefit to FORCING us to use the cloud.

And thank goodness I don't need your personal approval about what is or isn't over my head. My self worth/image is fully intact. And yes, I realize Apple really doesn't care if I, personally, never buy another product, which may happen.

 

[pmz]

Over MY head? I would say otherwise. Why is it so hard to understand that the LACK of local sync has no added benefit? Maybe the lack of understanding works both ways here. At least that's what it appears like to me. I fully understand why contacts etc. are made for cloud sync and I think it's wonderful for those folks that want to use it and get benefit from it. That is not the issue. To spell it out for you, again, they had local sync and took it away FORCING us to use the cloud, no option!!! There was no added benefit to FORCING us to use the cloud.

And thank goodness I don't need your personal approval about what is or isn't over my head. My self worth/image is fully intact. And yes, I realize Apple really doesn't care if I, personally, never buy another product, which may happen.

I hear what you're saying, and I really don't know why took it away. Regardless, they've added it back. Maybe it was a mistake. Who knows.

Just prepare for a future version of iTunes that no longer has local sync of ANY kind. Might not be this year or next, but its coming eventually.

Truth be told, I would have a hard time believing that if there never was local sync, and iCloud was the only way to sync everything since day 1 of iPhone....I doubt you would NOT be an iPhone user, or NOT be an iCloud user.

Just saying...you make it seem like local sync is essential to your use of the products. If you want to do the things the hard way under the false pretense of security...well I hope they let you for the time being.

 

[rexone]

Just prepare for a future version of iTunes that no longer has local sync of ANY kind. Might not be this year or next, but its coming eventually.

Should such a thing be forced upon us I certainly won't be using iTunes (or any other apps) any longer.
As I, & others, have pointed out before not everyone everywhere has quality high-speed, reliable mobile 3 or 4G internet.
I live in Sydney, the largest city in Australia.
I am with the country's 2nd largest telco.
In straight line-of-sight I am around 15k's from the CBD.
I cannot get a reliable mobile or mobile internet service at my home (which includes my home-office), inside or outside. I have to walk out onto the footpath to get a passable signal.
This week I decided to buy & try the new Word for iPad using Microsoft's OneDrive (SkyDrive) cloud-synch while I drove around Sydney visiting clients.
I have a one page Word document that's a simple report I fill out after I visit each client. Not a big file, 16Kb.
In one day I visited 8 clients. 3 of these I couldn't access the documents at the time I needed to - unable to connect to server - and had to do so later. The others took as long as a minute to load the 16Kb document.
After that experience I switched to local synch instead.
That is the reality of the user experience.
Liking local synch isn’t just some yearning for things to stay the same. For many folks it’s a necessity.
Anyway… the bigger question is why remove it? It’s a pretty benign option that if folks want it they should be able to choose it. Removing it is pointless and creates problems for users.
It strikes me as a classic case of a ‘solution’ looking for a problem that doesn’t need to be solved…

 

[Adamsappel]

FINALLY!!!! Maybe once these are released I'll upgrade to Mavericks. Syncing your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch contacts, calendars, etc. via USB straight to your Mac is still the best way to go. I would never trust "cloud" services with my personal info. Sadly it may not be long before they (aka the government) make it mandatory to sync your personal info to some "cloud". Even though our personal info is none of their damn business.

Good to see at least one person remained sane! #

 

[Martyimac]

Just saying...you make it seem like local sync is essential to your use of the products. If you want to do the things the hard way under the false pretense of security...well I hope they let you for the time being.

I guess local sync IS essential if I want to sync my phone. But the security aspect is the reason why but probably not what you think of as security. The security I speak of is the security of knowing that the cloud will not sync "no data" to my phone. This has happened to me twice. One minute everything is fine, the next, Apple's cloud lost all my synced info and essentially had no data. Guess what happened, all of a sudden, ALL my contacts on my phone were gone.

Okay, once is just bad luck, twice tells me something is wrong with the way things were/are set up. So I am not worried about "security" in the normal sense but rather the security of the data on my phone. Once Apple can assure me that can never happen again, I will gladly sync to the cloud.
Does this help you understand my position better?
OBTW, thanks for the civil discussion. It is MUCH appreciated.

 

[Chriscotech]

I tried Mavericks in the beginning. I loved a lot of the new features and increased 64-bit support but I had a nightmare with iCloud. According to the Apple level 2 tech guy on the other end of the phone (for roughly 4 hours, over two calls!) it managed to upload about 3% of my calendars and none of my contacts. It did, however wipe 100% of my calendars from my iPhone. I have calendars going back 15 years for business reasons. Even if there was an easy way to fix the mess cloud sync made of my calendars, I would have lost the earlier years because the cloud does not sync back that far. Mavericks ate my calendar events. For some reason I can't remember now, simply restoring the last Mountain lion backup from by Time Machine backup did not bring back the missing information.

It took a lot of work but I managed to get my Mac Pro back to Mountain Lion, with all of the original info from backups (except the week or so of calendars and a few new contacts that the cloud ate). I will go to Mavericks when local sync returns and I have control of my information again. It is my choice not to use it as it is. The opinions about syncing on iCloud seem to be split down the middle in this thread. Both have their valid arguments and it is annoying to see people criticising the opposite camp. Whatever works for each individual should be available in the OS. Taking options away is counter productive at best, controlling at worst, although I don't believe Apple removed local sync for sinister reasons. I am very happy to see that Apple is letting us have both options and local sync is on its way back.