Warning: Mavericks Kills iTunes Sync

You can downgrade to Mountain Lion > How to revert OS X back from Mavericks: Apple Support Communities

I guess this thread is as good as any to talk in about my issue -- I specifically came in to ask if there is any way to download this Mavericks update without there being any chance it will force a sync of my private Addressbook and Calendar data? I refuse on principle to share or park any of my data with Apple, the NSA, or any other third party Apple may feel it's acceptable to give a backdoor to in this age of no privacy and want it ONLY on my OWN devices.

I am starting to feel a concern that I need software I can encrypt and password protect and prevent from going to clouds. I'm also considering not using my mac.com email addresses any more. There has been too much forcible change pushing users to give Apple private data onto servers not in the user's control, less than 5 months after the Washington Post revealed that Apple had been allowing government agencies to mine data since about 2012 (per page 4 of http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-ni ne-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8 845-d970ccb04497_story.html?hpid=z1 )

What are my options to keep my data only in my control and only on my devices? Do I need to password protect things? Are there no apps that allow me to get around wireless syncing (of my phone and macbook ical/contacts onto the Cloud) so i can download mavericks? I can live with it only if i can prevent any Cloud syncing of my data against my will. I want an encrypted, private experience, and I'm alarmed now.

I hope that the apple will consider giving us more privacy options instead of removing more of them right after they got found out in that june 2013 article for having agreed to give out data, as of late 2012, one of the last to be added.

all these major tech companies are getting pretty brazen about how they are handling this - as though everyone is going to remember all this and accept it, that we've been warned by snowden, so that means it's ok to go wild invading our privacy. It is going to take pushing back with choices we make. I may need to get rid of my facebook page and think about going back to paper calendars and contacts unless I can get some info on other choices, or info on whether I am safe from having my calendar and contacts synced to the cloud accidentally if i update to Mavericks. I don't want any accidental backing up to the cloud and I really want to use bluetooth or my USB cable or some way to skip the Cloud on communicating with my sensitive data. Until such time as Apple makes it possible for us to know our data cannot be accessed by the govt or apple folks with back doors. I don't feel secure with my data on a cloud after the PRISM issue has come up -- there's nothing special about my contacts but i do not want to participate in the govt program that is downloading all our data.