iTunes sync is too dumb

I've just spent a frustrating hour or so with an iPhone, Mac and iTunes, although it could just as easily been an iPod Touch or iPad, Windows PC and iTunes. The common factor being iTunes. It lacks an intelligent sync facility and it's just too dumb.

Here is what often happens with my computer and iOS devices - an iPhone and iPad. I delete an app I no longer need on the iPhone, such as a game I either don't like or that I'm bored with after playing it to death. Some time later I plug it into my computer and sync. Some people never sync, but it's useful because it backs up the device among other things. However, iTunes keeps a copy of all the apps on the device on the computer and when you sync it sees a missing app on the device, the one that was deleted, and copies it across. So apps you have deleted reappear on the device and you have to delete them all over again!

That's irritating and especially so when they are big apps that use up a lot of space. The reverse can happen too and if you delete an app off the computer in the Apps section of iTunes, it is copied back from the device. To guarantee that an app really is deleted you need to delete it both on the device and in iTunes and then sync them.

It seems that the way iTunes sync works is to simply make both the computer and the device the same. If a file is missing on one, it is copied from the other, ignoring the fact that you deliberately deleted it. Sync could be more intelligent and file and folder sync utilities like Dropbox handle it properly. Delete a file on one computer and when you next use another computer with Dropbox it is deleted on there too, it doesn't get synced back to the original computer. That would be just dumb. iTunes does it though.

Another irritation is that some apps work on both the iPad and the iPhone. If I download an iPad app from the iTunes store, then sync the iPad it is copied across to the computer so both locations are the same. Now when I plug in my iPhone and sync it it sees an iPhone app that's on the computer, but not on the device, so it copies it across. I now have an iPad app on my iPhone.

Both devices are different and they are used in different ways. I have different apps on each device and I don't want iPad apps on my iPhone and vice versa. For example, I have a sat-nav app on my iPhone, but because it also runs on the iPad it was copied to it when I synced. I don't use sat-nav on my iPad though and so I had to delete the app.

It would be useful if each iOS device could be treated separately so that each has its own apps. They shouldn't be copied from one to another unless specifically requested. iTunes isn't completely dumb though and after copying an app from one device to the other, if it is then deleted it stays deleted. It's just that initial sync and iTunes syncs it because it is a new purchase. There are settings to turn off automatic syncing of new apps, but that's not what is needed, it's auto syncing of apps purchased on one device with another device. Is there a setting for that? I've not seen it.

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What's the big deal with iMessage on the iPhone?

I've just been reading an article on Apple Insider about iMessage, a new messaging service that is built into iOS 5. It's called "Apple's free iMessage expected to undermine carriers' high-profit SMS business." It's like Apple just invented instant messaging. Can this really be true? Are there no instant messaging apps for the iPhone?

A quick search at Google turned up plenty of references to instant messaging apps and How to instant message on an iPhone was written in 2007. That's how long instant messaging has been around! A more recent article is Top 5 instant messenger apps for iPhone which was written earlier this year. So what's the big deal with iMessage?

Well, iMessage should be superior to other instant messenger apps because Apple makes the OS and iMessage is integrated more closely with it. It will have access to features and functions that are off limits to other third party apps. So expect a really cool app with some great features when iOS 5 finally becomes available for download.

No matter how good it is though, it is limited to iOS devices and when you have lots of friends with other types of phones you still need a mobile phone contract with a good text message allowance. Perhaps mobile phone contracts are different here in the UK than the US, but for most people here texting isn't really an issue. Contracts typically bundle hundreds or even thousands of texts a month, so it costs nothing extra to send or receive them. It's quick, easy, cheap, and every phone has it. (Even if you're on a pre-pay pay-as-you-go tariff, it's free to receive texts, which I think is different in some other parts of the world.)

iMessage will be useful only if all or most of your friends, relatives and business contacts have iPhones, but this is rarely the case. It's about as much use as FaceTime, which is another Apple app that's limited to iOS devices (and the Mac in this case though). I use Skype because it runs on anything. It does instant messaging too, so I can call iPhones, Android phones, desktop computers, tablets - anyone, anywhere, on any device.

I'll be upgrading to iOS 5 when it becomes available (not long to wait now), but iMessage won't get a lot of use on my iPhone and I don't think my mobile phone service provider will be worried. If I do use it, it just means less bandwidth used on their system and this will benefit them if anything.

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Should you upgrade to the iPhone 4S?

After an extraordinarily long wait, much longer than the usual 12 month-ish refresh cycles we have been used to previously, the next generation of Apple's iPhone is at last here with us. It has been launched and in a few days it will be on sale. The big question is whether you should upgrade your current iPhone to the latest model.

Some people have already made that decision and they pre-ordered the new model as soon as  it became possible. They now sit eagerly waiting for the delivery service to knock at their door and hand over the new device.

Whether to upgrade or not is always a tricky decision to make and it is doubly so when there is a large cost involved. The iPhone 4S is one of the most expensive mobile phones available and so you must think twice before committing yourself and your credit card to such a large purchase. Here in the UK it costs a pound under £500 ($780 including tax) just for the cheapest, most basic model and nearly £800 ($1,093) for the 64Gb model. That's a lot of money in any currency and you've got your contract on top of that.

However, you have to factor in the trade-in or sale of your existing phone and at Mazuma Mobile, a UK phone recycling website they will give me £245 ($383) for my current 16Gb iPhone 4. That means that the cost to upgrade to a 4S is a more reasonable £256 ($400). That's a more tempting proposition.

So what is the difference between the iPhone 4 and the 4S, and is it worth it?

The iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5, the next generation of Apple's mobile phone and tablet operating system and it includes the new iCloud service that stores files and music online. However, iOS 5 will work on all mobile phones as far back as the iPhone 3GS, so I can upgrade my iPhone 4 for free and get all the iOS functions and features of the 4S. Clearly iOS 5 is not a reason to buy an iPhone 4S.

It does lack Siri though and this is a voice-controlled personal assistant. You can speak into your iPhone and tell it to make appointments and perform other tasks. I'm not too fussed about this and I've never got on with voice recognition software on my desktop computer. I had voice dialling on my mobile five years ago and could say "phone home" to call home or "John" to call John, but never used it. I don't know why. I'm not convinced Siri is a killer feature that makes it worth the cost of upgrading.

I ditched my digital camera ages ago and now take most of my photos on a mobile phone. The cameras in phones aren't quite as good as proper digital cameras, but they are good enough and they are getting better. The main reason is convenience and you are more likely to have a phone in your pocket when a photo opportunity arises than a digital camera.

The new iPhone 4S has an upgraded camera built in and it is now 8 megapixels. Many people equate megapixels to image quality, but it just isn't a reliable indicator of image quality. Lens quality, sensitivity to low light, colour saturation and other factors are all important factors that affect the image quality. Imagine taking a photo when the light is poor, indoors, possibly in the evening. Is an 8mp image any better than a 5mp image if it is dark and fuzzy?

The good news is that the camera in the 4S should have better image quality and not just more pixels. It has a better lens and a better sensor and this should produce better photos. This is a plus point for the iPhone 4S, but is it enough to tempt you to upgrade?

Another advantage of the 4S is the more powerful dual-core processor. However, have you ever been using your iPhone 4 and cursed it for being too slow? I can't say that I have. For what I use it for, which is mostly non-gaming apps, it is adequate and I've not experienced any speed problems. However, I have yet to upgrade to iOS 5 and perhaps that demands more processing power. Operating systems always make increasing demands of the hardware, but since iOS 5 works on the 3GS, which is even less powerful than the 4, it can't be that processor-intensive.

Whether you decide to upgrade or not is a personal decision. I'm not convinced that there is enough in the 4S to tempt me to upgrade from a 4. I think I'll wait for the iPhone 5. If you are still using a 3GS though, then it is well worth the upgrade cost.

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More Mac malware spotted

Malware like viruses, Trojans and spyware are so rare on the Apple Mac that it's a big deal when one is spotted. Every so often one pops up, but to have two in one week is like being struck by lightning - twice!

It is becoming increasingly common to hear of malware on the Mac although there is still has a long, long way to go before it ever gets anywhere near the situation we have on Windows computers. Malware for the Mac is definitely a reality though and you do need to be aware of it. Don't assume that you are safe just because you run OS X. An operating system is only as effective as the weakest link, and that's you, the user. Malware is socially engineered to trick people into installing it, running it and entering their administrator passwords when needed.

Security company F-Secure recently discovered a new malware attack on the Mac which they have called Trojan-Dropper:OSX/Revir.A. This malware is disguised as a PDF file and it opens on the screen to distract you while it downloads a backdoor (a method used to gain access to your computer), Backdoor:OSX/Imuler.A and installs it on the system in the background. The PDF is actually some Chinese document and is unimportant because by the time you see it, you're already infected. Fortunately, the malware doesn't actually do anything harmful yet, but the capability is there and you need to watch out for it.

Security company Intego has discovered a new malware program that masquerades as a Flash installer. The Mac Flashback Trojan tries to trick people into thinking they don't have Flash installed or have an outdated version of Flash and they need to install a new version.

It appears as a link on a website and visitors may think that they need to click it to download and install Flash. By default, Safari automatically runs files that are downloaded and so the malware installation automatically starts. The malware injects code into apps when they are run and this connects to a remote server to send details about the Mac.

If you think you may have been tricked into installing this malware, open a Finder window and see if you have this file: ~/Library/Preferences/Preferences.dylib (~ means your home folder). If you don't, you're OK. If you ever see a message stating that you need Flash or need to update it to the latest version, always go to www.adobe.com and get the real version, not by clicking a link on some other website. You may want to consider getting an anti virus program for your Mac, such as Intego's VirusBarrier X6.

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Keep the tablet OS off the desktop

Ten years ago Windows was so popular that Microsoft believed that if it could be ported to other devices then they would be equally successful too. They made a version for tablet computers and for mobile phones. Yes, tablets aren't a new phenomenon and ten years ago there were tablet PCs. Mind you, they weren't the thin and light devices we enjoy today and they were more like laptop computers with the screen folded flat on top. Their weight wasn't measured in grams, but in kilograms!

There was a version of Windows on hand-held organisers like the iPAQ and mobile phones too.

Windows is a great operating system on desktop computers when used with a mouse, but it doesn't work very on small screens with relatively large stubby fingers. Even if you use a stylus or pen as a pointing device, it is still unsuitable. The whole interface is simply wrong for a small screen.

It isn't surprising that tablets and hand-held devices failed to catch on all those years ago. Tablets sold particularly poorly and hardly anyone bought them. It wasn't until smartphones came along that operating systems were written specifically for small screens, hand-held devices and fat fingers. iOS, Android and other mobile operating systems work great on tablets and hand held devices. They are hugely popular these days with many millions being sold each year.

We previously had a problem of a popular desktop OS being put on a hand-held tablet and it didn't work. Now we have the reverse situation and because tablets are so successful it is assumed that we want tablet and smartphone operating systems everywhere, even on desktop computers.

Apple has incorporated iOS features into OS X Lion running on its Macs. Microsoft has put the Metro interface from its mobile phones in Windows 8, its next desktop operating system. Ubuntu has the Unity interface which is optimised for small screen devices and has tablet-like features too.

Desktop computers are not the same as tablets! Stop putting tablet features into the desktop! I rarely want to run full screen apps on a desktop computer with a large monitor where 22in screens and bigger are common. The iMac has a 27in screen, so why would you want to run a calendar, web browser or word processor full screen? The tablet way of displaying grids of icons for apps works well on small devices, but it's not half as useful desktop computer with  a big screen and a mouse. What's wrong with a menu?

Lion, Unity and Metro could irritate desktop computer users with their tablet-like features. Some people will simply turn them off. I ignore iOS-like features in OS X Lion on my Mac as much as I can and have disabled Unity in favour of the Gnome desktop in Ubuntu 11.04. It remains to be seen how easy it will be to switch to a standard desktop in Windows 8. At the moment you have to click through menus to get it, but it's still only a beta so it may change. Let's hope so.

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Malware mail attachments

Malware comes in many forms and you always need to be on your guard against it. One of the most common ways that it will get on your computer is as an email attachment. It always pays to be highly suspicious of messages with any form of attachment.

Usually the email has some sort of message that either tells you right out to open the attachment or it is worded to make you curious about it and want to open it. Here is an example of the former:

DEAR CUSTOMER , Recipient's address is wrong Print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our department.

The message claims to come from a postal service, but it is a fake and the attachment will infect your computer with some sort of malware if you open it.

Here is another type:

Service: xxxxxxxx. com 9232 Girls Currently Online

Fotos: 6 fotos in attached file.

You might be tempted to open the attachments and see what the girls are like just out of curiosity, but if you do this you are likely to be infected by malware.

Apparently in one single day in mid August 25 billion emails with malicious attachments were sent. Is this really true? I don't know, but even if it is an order of magnitude out, it's still an incredible number of malicious mails. I think a large number of them ended up in my email inbox. They just got deleted though.

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Why Amazon's tablet will succeed

Tablet makers are having a rough time competing with Apple's hugely successful iPad and some are suffering from poor sales, some are suffering from legal action from Apple, and others have abandoned the market altogether. On the face of it, it doesn't seem like a good time to launch a new tablet. Will Amazon succeed where everyone else has failed?

The thing about an iPad is that it isn't just  hardware. Apple could sell the ipad at cost price and still make a healthy profit from the tablet market. Most other tablet manufacturers simply build and sell the hardware and they must generate a profit from the sales.

Apple has an app store and takes a large cut of every sale that is made. The only place you can get apps for the iPad is at Apple's app store. Most other manufacturers don't have this, but Amazon does. It launched its own app store. Although it is based on Google's Android and has the same sort of apps that are in the Android market, Amazon could tie its tablet to its own store and generate income from every sale.

Apple sells music for the iPad and takes a cut of every sale of every music track. Other tablet manufacturers don't make any money at all from the music downloaded to their tablets. Amazon sells music, has online storage for music and can stream music. It also makes money from every sale of every music track. It's another source of income for Amazon.

Apple sells movies for the iPad through the app store and as with all the other media, it makes money from it. Other manufacturers do not have this source of income, they only sell the hardware. Amazon, however, does sell movies and it generates income from the sales. Movies could be accessed and played by the Amazon tablet.

Apple sells books for the iPad too and this also generates income for the company. It's another thing that other tablet manufacturers do not have, but Amazon does. It has an excellent range of ebooks.

Amazon is basically emulating Apple and its tablet will no doubt be closely tied to Amazon's music, movie, ebook, and app stores. The company does not need to make a huge profit from sales of the hardware because of the income each one will generate from media consumption. Amazon is also well known for cutting costs to the minimum, so it is likely that the tablet will be cheap too and rumours of $250 are floating around.

So Amazon has multiple sources of income all generated by the tablet and users get all the media they need from Amazon. It's very similar to Apple's setup and it is hard to imagine how it could fail if Amazon's tablet is anywhere half way decent.

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