That syncing feeling

Last night I finally updated my iPhone to iOS 4.2.3. For some reason it would not download from within iTunes, so I had to download a redistributable version and then hold down the Shift key when I clicked on restore.

As someone who would like to use my IPhone to sycn music between iTunes on two computers, I feel for Charlie Brooker and I love his way of expressing himself in this article

Apple's "sync" bullshit is a deception, which pretends to be making your life easier, when it's actually all about wresting control from you. If you could freely transfer any file you wanted onto your gadget, Apple might conceivably lose out on a few molecules of gold. So rather than risk that, they'll choose – every single time – to restrict your options, without so much as blinking.

Sure, you can get around the irritating sync-issue, but doing so requires a degree of faff and brainwork, like solving the famous logic problem about ferrying a load of foxes and chickens across a river without it all ending in feathers and death. And even if you find it easy, it's a problem Apple don't want you to solve. They want you to give up and go back to dumbly stroking that shiny screen, pausing intermittently to wipe the drool from your chin.

Don't even get me started on the issues with syncing Outlook Contacts, Events, Notes and Tasks. It works seemlessly over Exchange at work, but I'm dreaming if I want my home PC to get updated too. Oh well.

Tomorrow I'll see if I can update the iPad.