missing info tab in itunes 11.1.2 when iphone syncs

Very interesting! I received the missing message as an email too

It's good we are monitored

so Apple knows what they should reinstate in future updates 😉

Richard2 wrote:

Clearly, the discussions are monitored and some posts are deleted by Apple. Whether a human or a computer algorithm is monitoring and, on occassion, deleteing customer posts, is irrelevent. What is relevant is that Apple has enough interest to scan and delete posts as they see fit while ignoring the issues raised in those posts.

Frankly, I am curious whether this post will be deleted. If this post is deleted, I would appreciated hearing from anyone who received an email update on the discussion only to find this post unavailable.

Community members level 2 and above have the ability to report posts they believe are violations of the TOU. When they do, the Hosts investigate and make a decision. Unless a post is reported, it won't get deleted, even for egregious violations. But, no, the Hosts themselves don't hang around the forums reading posts just in case.

If your post is removed for cause, you will get an email from the Hosts explaining why. If your post is removed because it referenced or replied to a thread that was removed for cause, you will not be notified.

I hope this clarifies things.

Hello Meg St._Clair,

As I stated previously and as you confirmed, discussion posts can be and apparently are monitored, and posts can be and are removed.

The mechanism really is not important. Does it matter that the process is a "level 2" member advises the "Hosts" of a post, the "Hosts" then review the post, and make a decision regarding deletion?

If I understand your clarification and previous recommendations, it seems that what some would consider an invaluable source of data (i.e., these discussion threads) regarding issues with hardware and software, as well as levels of customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction, apparently is of little interest to Apple.

I find that most curious as these discussion threads, in my opinion, contain a lot of data related to consumer satisfaction and other issues. One would think a company would be rather interested in customer sentiment as reflected by discussion boards hosted on the company's Web site.

Nevertheless, it is what it is.

Thanks again and have a nice evening.

Richard2 wrote:

The mechanism really is not important. Does it matter that the process is a "level 2" member advises the "Hosts" of a post, the "Hosts" then review the post, and make a decision regarding deletion?

Actually, in the context of your previous post, it is important. Hosts, by and large, only read posts brought to their attention. They don't sit around reading the forum, hoping for something good.

Have a good evening yourself!

Hi, All,

I know that the issue of Apple's level of monitoring the forum is important. However, do we know anything about its reaction to our petition to reinstall the info tabs on iTunes? When I signed the petition there were over 4000 folks who had already done so. At what point does Apple consider the request of sufficient importance to even give us a response? The further I go down this path, the more disturbing I find it. Here we are--dealing with a private firm to which we have paid money asking for redress of functions/services that they have decided to take away---and we need to act almost as supplicants to even get their attention.

Where is the petition? I want to sign it. I also can't find the feedback forum so that I can ensure Apple does get my feedback on this.

Polls and petitions are not permitted here. You'll need to consult whatever site was hosting that petition in order to find out anything about it.

No one here can answer your questions about when Apple might decide to do anything about anything. Speculation also isn't permitted.

Best of luck.

Meg,

What is the problem? I can't speculate? Is that your rule? I can't offer an opinion about how I feel this is going? I cannot ask a question re: what folks might know about Apple's response? How do you know that no one can answer my question? I did not suggest a poll here. Your responses to several of us have been admonishments. If they are done "tongue-in-cheek", I apologize for not picking up on it. But, as I have seen them, including your comments on my very first post, that is not clear. Best.

Hello Meg,

By monitoring, it was not my intent to imply that anyone was sitting "...around reading the forum, hoping for something good." or that anyone was hanging "...around the forums reading posts just in case." Monitoring, simply put, means only that observations or checks occur. But it does not necessarily mean that such observations or checks are occuring 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Your interpretation of monitoring is interesting.

With regard to polls, petitions, and speculation, why are such things not permitted here? If Apple, as you have made clear, is not monitoring the site and if the discussion boards are nothing more than a forum for users (customers) to offer mutual support, share opinions, engage in discussion, express opinions, speculate, and seek options for communicating customer sentiment to Apple, then why not allow a post that directs particpants to polls and petitions that are directly related to the issues being discussed? Clearly, no one need participate in any poll or petition posted as participation is a choice.

You stated that "Polls and petitions are not permitted here. ... Speculation also isn't permitted." If that is true, and given the deleted posts it does seem to be the case, I find it difficult to believe that Apple does not have a keen interest in what is posted on their discussion boards.

While Apple does offer other feedback mechanisms, it has been my experience that submitted feedback recevies either no response or responses that are vague, lacking in substance, and are at best tautological.

Frankly, I have grown weary of this debate as it seems clear Apple is unwilling to respond to its customers questions or needs in any substantive manner. Meanwhile, "level 2" discussion board members make subjective decisions to advise the "Hosts" of posts considered problematic. NeXT, the "Hosts" review the posts and make subjective decisions whether to delete said posts. And clearly the decisions are subjective as they obviously discount the views, questions, and interests of many Apple customers who participate in the Apple discussion boards.

Fortunately, I was able to re-install OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion, and recover the Mac OS funtionality I require, which was lost with OS X 9, Mavericks. And my iTunes, iPhoto, and Contacts data are, after a little manipulation, intact. iCloud, although a pleasantly conveinent service, is disabled as it must be for some of us.

As I stated in an earlier post, unless Apple reconsiders their decision to remove sync services, I suspect Mountain Lion will be for Mac users what XP has been for Windows users; the operating system many of us do not want to upgrade.

Meg, I trust you will not regard my comments as confrontational or critical of you or your opinions. After all, I think we are on the same side. We simply have different views, needs, and expectations.

All the best.

Hi, Richard,

How did you re-install 10.8 Mountain Lion? Thanks.

Richard2 wrote:

Meg, I trust you will not regard my comments as confrontational or critical of you or your opinions. After all, I think we are on the same side. We simply have different views, needs, and expectations.

Not at all! You have been exceedingly civil. I don't mind disgreement with (or even criticism of) my opinions by people who are willing to have sensible discussions. 🙂

Best of luck.

Hello bugplayer,

I used Time Machine backups to restore OS X 10.8. As my iPhoto and iTunes libraries are rather large, I have them stored on an external drive rather than my MacBook Pro internal drive. Therefore, restoring a Time Machine backup to the MacBook Pro internal drive did not replace those libraries.

Before using Time Machine to restore OS X 10.8, I made another Time Machine backup. Next, I copied the contents of the MacBook Pro internal drive to a second external drive, as well as to an older MacBook in Target disk mode. My philosophy is there is no such thing as too many backups.

Once I was certain I have good copies of my data, I created a bootable OS X disk and used the disk utilities to erase the internal drive on the MacBook Pro. Just be certain you have good backups before doing that. Next, I used the bootable disk to restore the MacBook Pro from a Time Machine backup, selecting the most recent 10.8 backup.

When the restore was complete, I rebooted the MacBook Pro, copied my Documents folder from the second external drive to recover documents created after the installation of Mavericks. Any apps installed after the upgrade to Mavericks were reinstalled. And then Disk Utility was run to verify the MacBook Pro internal disk and repair permissions.

After that process, it was just a matter of testing apps. Some apps, such as Eclipse, had to be told where their data files were located but that basically meant starting an app and directing it to its data file(s), and possibly resetting configuration options. And I imported Contacts and Calendar data from the backup files on that second external drive to recover contacts and calendar data created after the Mavericks upgrade.

A few software updates had to be reinstalled so it's worth checking for updates.

Several days have passed since I restored 10.8 and all seems well. My apps are working, my data is intact, and I have the local USB sync option I need. This afternoon, I will delete the Mavericks backups from my Time Machine backup disk to recover the disk space. And I will burn a few DVDs for file copies of the data I stored on that second external drive and older MacBook before deleting those files. Just in case.

Hope this helps.

Best.

Hi, Richard,

This helps very much. Thank you for the detailed steps. I agree---you can't have enough backups. I'll do this in the next couple of days. Although, it is a rather sad commentary on where Apple has left us.

Thanks.

Finally found myself a solution.

Basically turn you Mac into a Private iCloud-like server. Buy OS X Server from Apple App Store for US$20, and run the Contacts and Calendar Server on your Mac. It will then automatically wirelessly sync Contacts and Calendar with your iOS devices when all the devices are on the same WiFi network.

Before I do all that, I used CCC to back-up my Mac, and back-up Contacts and Calendar just in case I screw up.

See http://www.macworld.com/article/2061183/itunes-ios-syncing-gone-solve-it-with-se rver-.html

Hi Everybody

I find this mesure a very stupid move by Apple. Any way i think you guys already know that you can simply create a contact.vcf (by exporting your contacts on your mac Vcard) and then email this file to your ipad. click on the vcf file after download and you can sysc all your contacts)