sync iPhone/Maverick WITHOUT iCloud

I do understand user-to-user. Sadly, some users seem to prefer to score points off other users by competing to be Apple apologists. This to-ing and fro-ing is provoked by the naive tendency of some to accept whatever the supplier/seller throws at us and somehow imagining that a cunning work-around ends the problem for the vast majority of users.

I've used all the links. I imagine most of those, reading this forum and wanting the functionality to be restored, have. These forums are another pressure point that may encourage fellow, dissatisfied customers to use those links and any other channels they can.

Pooh-poohing people whose usage model and concerns do not match yours is a nasty way of discouraging comment and debate.

I appreciate the technical suggestions for a workaround. If I do get a new machine and so get Mavericks thrust upon me before Apple fix the problem properly, I shall almost certainly use those tips. But, as an experienced, not to say aged, UNIX software engineer I am well aware that most customers do not have the training, experience or time to do such things. I fear a large proportion do not even know that there is a terminal emulator, let alone a command line.

So, please drop the immaturity. Accept that complacent acceptance of whatever a seller wants to sell is not necessarily the most productive attitude. It reminds me of a story about Henry Ford: "You can have whatevefr colour you like, so long as it is black". We've moved on since those days.

I wish you a delightful weekend, or what is left of it

Jeremy_I wrote:

I do understand user-to-user. Sadly, some users seem to prefer to score points off other users by competing to be Apple apologists.

How do you "score points?" Is it like Darts?

This to-ing and fro-ing is provoked by the naive tendency of some to accept whatever the supplier/seller throws at us and somehow imagining that a cunning work-around ends the problem for the vast majority of users.

No, we understand that there is nothing we can do here. We understand that Apple doesn't follow these threads. We understand that all of the known workarounds have been pointed out. We understand the way Apple does business. Reverting to something they dropped isn't a common occurrence, and complaining here won't change it.

Pooh-poohing people whose usage model and concerns do not match yours is a nasty way of discouraging comment and debate.

So, please drop the immaturity. Accept that complacent acceptance of whatever a seller wants to sell is not necessarily the most productive attitude.

This isn't the place for any of that. This site is for providing technical support from users to other users. Whining, complaining, debate, etc. should be done at the Feedback page or on a blog somewhere not here.

The feature is gone, likely for good.

It is quite telling that you can have an opinion on the loss of the feature, but anybody who has the opposite opinion are "Apple Appologists."

It's my understanding that Apple made this change due to the inordinately high volume of tech support calls from people with duplicate contacts or calendar entries. This was apparently due to using both iCloud and USB to sync. By removing one of the syncing options the problem was alleviated.

Dullard8 wrote:

It's my understanding that Apple made this change due to the inordinately high volume of tech support calls from people with duplicate contacts or calendar entries. This was apparently due to using both iCloud and USB to sync. By removing one of the syncing options the problem was alleviated.

Can you document where your 'understanding' comes from or is this another case of uninformed speculation?

Thanks

Pete

I've had enough of this contentious and childish forum. It seems that you prefer snide remarks to productive comments. Pete, you can do the research yourself if you're interested in where I obtained the information.

I'm gone.

Dullard8 wrote:

I've had enough of this contentious and childish forum. It seems that you prefer snide remarks to productive comments. Pete, you can do the research yourself if you're interested in where I obtained the information.

I'm gone.

Answering the question would have been rather more credible, but, goodbye anyhow.

So there were no links? Why should others do the research to try to prove your claims ?

Anyhow, bye.

Pete

This thread has made for quite interesting reading. At the end of the day, we should simply give Apple our feedback - as I have done. Yep, its all about Choice - and in the software area, this is the 1st time Apple has deigned to rid us of it. We have gone along with all the hardware bottlenecks hurled our way over the years - I'm a 30 year mac user - without too much issue, but this one also has practical as well as emotional aspects. Take this simple, but quite pertinent issue: I have a car which uses Bluetooth telephony. The car can import 192 contacts from a linked telephone. With Snow Leopard, I could simply sync a single contacts group called "Mercedes Numbers" to my phone - and boom, my car telephone list was complete.

With Mavericks, its different. I can select the Group "Mercedes Numbers" - and I SEE only those numbers, but the car is not so intelligent - it imports the list which is actually on the phone, which is my full list of over 2000 contacts, and that ends at about C. So the smart people were not really in the room, the day this choice was taken away from us.

I always thought Apple had the intent to expand our horizons and be globular. Quite frankly, the level of desperate defence by Petermac and others here can only be described as cute. Workarounds are not an option for normal users.

Michael Stiebel wrote:

Workarounds are not an option for normal users.

Says you. 320+ million iCloud accounts seems to say otherwise.

If you don't want the workarounds then you have nothing to gain from this or other threads.

Cheers

Pete

So 320+ million are engaged in a workaround? As ever a perfectly argued, polite contribution from Michael Stiebal is rubbished by you.

OK, I guess you don't like to show everything to NSA.Makes sense

JohnS1947 wrote:

So 320+ million are engaged in a workaround? As ever a perfectly argued, polite contribution from Michael Stiebal is rubbished by you.

Nice try. 320+ million iCloud accounts which users don't require a workaround.

A perfectly argued contribution?

Yep, its all about Choice - and in the software area, this is the 1st time Apple has deigned to rid us of it.

Wow! Did he not hear of the dropping of Rosetta, The dropping of Classic Support, The implementation of tags over coloured labels. The dropping of scroll bar arrows etc. etc. etc. This is the first time Apple has rid us of choice? Yes perfectly argued.

I always thought Apple had the intent to expand our horizons and be globular. Quite frankly, the level of desperate defence by Petermac and others here can only be described as cute. Workarounds are not an option for normal users.

Sorry, I almost overlooked the politeness. 😁

Pete

An AppleCare tech in the CPU Department suggested this:

Attach an external hard drive to one of the USB ports.

I purchased a Western Digital My Passport Air 500GB for Mac: Portable, USB 3.0, Ultra-Slim, All Metal Hard Drive (WDBBLW5000AAL-NESN) $70.99 from Amazon

Format that drive for Mac

Install the Mountain Lion OS on the external hard drive (available from the App Store for $19.95 if you don't already own it.) To purchase Mountain Lion, click on the Apple icon in the Finder. The third choice down is "App Store..." Go to the App Store. Call AppleCare: (800) 275-2273 Ask for the CPU Department. Tell them you want to purchase Mountain Lion. You may be eligible for a free copy. If not, they will take a credit card for the purchase. Then AppleCare will send two emails with an activation code. I don't need to get into the weeds on this, the AppleCare rep will guide you through it.

Open Calendar and Contacts separately on your Mac--and under File choose "Export" to export your Calendar and Contacts data from your Apple HD to the new external hard drive.

Shut down your Mac

Power up your Mac holding down the Option key

Choose the external hard drive to boot your Mac

Plug in your iPhone or iPad using a USB cable

Open iTunes and select the boxes to sync your Contacts and Calendar

Note: only sync your Calendar and Contacts from the external hard drive. Continue to sync your Music, Movies, etc. from Mavericks on your Mac

I haven't tried this procedure yet, but I wanted to write down immediately to be certain I included all the steps. This workaround makes sense and the AppleCare tech who recommended it was knowledgable and confident that this will be a successful. I will update this once I receive the external hard drive and try this myself.

I get the idea: simply have a second OSX installation available, using a version that still supports full, local synchronisation and to which the user can export a copies of calendar ad address book; then reboot into the older version and sync as was normal.

So, logically, it should be even easier if one installs a virtual machine programme, such as VirtualBox (being free) and installs the older OSX as a guest system. Then configure a shared directory that both the physical and virtual systems can use and export to-sync from that. Perhaps one could even share the directory containing the desired contacts and address book and so avoid the export, just perhaps. But then there is the risk of format differences I suppose. So, assuming enough disc space, no need for an external disc or shutting down/rebooting.

Of course, the real solution is for the supplier to recognise the need and provide the local sync. ability as before, albeit better implemented (not that I ever have any problem with it under Lion).

By the way, this is not comparable with Rosetta Stone, that was always a bridge between old and new hardware implementations. This is purely a marketing/software product change that seems to have been made in ignorance of real, customer needs outside the USA or away from WAN connectivity or security,

Jeremy_I wrote:

By the way, this is not comparable with Rosetta Stone, that was always a bridge between old and new hardware implementations.

Actually no, it's a language teaching program. Rosetta is the item that does the bridgework.