With Apple, you have to drink ALL the Kool-Aid, not just half a glass.

Many Mac users talk about how "everything just works." For me, this has never been my experience with any Apple product. Ever. I finally realized why: because I don't do everything their way.

Today I had to get a replacement iPhone from Apple. When I restored the backup of my phone to my new device, I was frustrated to discover none of my apps synced, among a litany of other odds and ends. As it turns out, this was because I didn't have "Sync Apps" checked within iTunes.

Despite the fact that I "backed up" my iPhone, I got screwed because I didn't submit to Apple's entire - and narrow - use case. (Also, Apple failed to explain that a "backup" doesn't actually back everything up.)

So to the rest of you who have a habit of going your own way and not following all the "rules" - or in this case, letting Apple manage everything for you - look out. Because if you don't drink ALL of the Apple Kool-Aid, you too might find yourself in a world of hurt.

Comments

This is exactly why I gave up on my iPhone a year or so ago - and have been soldiering on with a crappy Blackberry Curve... while it's no smart phone, it lasts for DAYS on a charge :)
Good post. I think it's alright if people drink all of the Kool-Aid. Some do it willfully because they love Apple products, but the majority of people I know do it because they've become flustered with technology, so they prefer Apple's simplified user experience. It's not surprising that Apple's target demographic is the general, non-tech savvy population.

But I think if you have a decent comprehension of modern technology, it's silly to believe that any corporation or person knows what's best for you.

agreed that it's apple's way or the highway. I think it's a result of their closed platform. Having said that, fortunately, I've experienced the opposite of your recent iPhone experience. Some friends pitched in and gave me an iPad for some work I've done for them. Getting the iPad set up with the current apps, email addys (I have about 6 of them) calendar etc. from iTunes was a snap. it pulled everything from my iPhone back up and loaded it flawlessly. Saved me soooo much time. I was literally on the verge of leaving the apple platform all the way around b/c I'm tired of AT&T and their crappy service and I'm tired of Apple not offering embedded 3G so you don't have to get a dumb USB wireless card or whatever. Android and Chrome OS were calling my name from a price and function standpoint! But the iPad brought me back from the edge. There's a lot of crappy things that Apple does, but it's tough to argue that they're not one of the premier manufacturers of electronics both from a hardware and software perspective.

Hopefully your iPhone issues will get solved. BTW.... love Douche of the Day!

I agree with your article. As much as I love the iPad and the 4 iPhones I've had, I only ever sync with iTunes when I update the firmware. This inconvenience has not kept me from sticking with these revolutionary devices, but it is a shame, IMHO, Apple does not allow for an alternative to iTunes for those of us who are not interested in purchasing pop music and other digital media from Apple. All the bloat and hoops to jump through are unnecessary. I back up my apps via sftp or USB--without iTunes. This requires unshackling the device, which I discourage all but hobbyists and others willing to spend time getting to know her iDevice from likewise doing.
Guess I'm saying I really like the Kool Aid, but I spit out half the glass.
I disagree. That's your own fault. You have the option to sync apps or not. It's clearly viewable. I LOVE the backup feature and it has saved my butt a few times. Specially when buying a new iphone, I can just transfer everything over with a single click. Sounds like most of the comments are from PC users with iphones. I used to be a PC Weenie, now I love my Macs and have no problems.
After using osx for a while I realized it really is overrated. The thing I hate most is Constant OS updates, I don't mean security updates. Apple introduces a whole NEW OS yearly requiring new drivers and updated software, usually it takes the whole year of patches for it to become bug free enough to use. It is insane. I went back to windows where I know my drivers and software will last at least 5 + years instead of ONE and I can play some decent games too while using the latest software without having to constantly upgrade. I notice most mac users don't even seem to realize that this is a problem they think a few new features are worth going to a whole new OS EVERY YEAR and are totally ignorant of the stupidity of this. In 10 years from now when you go to choose a printer driver for your mac there will need be at least 12 different OSX versions of drivers to choose from just for macs.

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