Filed under: itunes

Xcode Breaks iTunes Sync Services

I tried syncing my iPhone today, and was greeted by two different warning messages.

"iTunes was unable to load data class information from Sync Services. Reconnect or try again later."

"iTunes could not back up the iPhone ... because the backup session failed."

WTF?!

Some Googling led me to several posts regarding it, and the common thread was the new Xcode install available in the Mac App Store. Installing this software seems to break sync services with iTunes and your iOS devices.

There is a fix, though.

I followed the instructions there, and voila! Everything is syncing fine again.

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iTunes 8.1

iTunes 8.1 released... I don't have one of the new Shuffles, but if there's a speed improvement, I'm all for it. iTunes was beginning to feel a bit sluggish.
iTunes 8.1 is now faster and more responsive. You will enjoy noticeable improvements when working with large libraries, browsing the iTunes Store, preparing to sync with iPod or iPhone, and optimizing photos for syncing. In addition, iTunes 8.1 provides many other improvements and bug fixes, including: • Supports syncing with iPod shuffle (3rd generation). • Allows friends to request songs for iTunes DJ. • Adds Genius sidebar for your Movies and TV Shows. • Improves performance when downloading iTunes Plus songs. • Provides AutoFill for manually managed iPods. • Allows CDs to be imported at the same sound quality as iTunes Plus. • Includes many accessibility improvements. • Allows iTunes U and the iTunes Store to be disabled separately using Parental Controls. For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

Flickit [review]

The first thing I noticed about Flickit is the simple and clean interface. Tap once to grab a photo (from your library, or the camera,) tap again to set the title, description, tags, sets, etc. and tap one more time to upload. It's simple, elegant, and effective.

I did manage to crash it once while pulling in all my Flickr sets. I generally tend to try to crash an app when I first get it, just to see where the threshold is. In this case, it was tapping and scrolling while the app was trying to download the list of all my sets (there are a LOT of sets.)

One of the cool features is that you can setup several photos to upload at once. They line up in the middle of the screen--tap one to set its details, then just scroll through the rest to set each photos details.

The settings page allows you to choose whether or not to view "usage hints", and what size you'd like to upload. I always upload at the Large setting, but this takes a little longer if you're just on a 3G connection.

Now, the price... Free. Seriously, how can you beat that? Killer app, killer price. But grab it soon, just in case the free pricetag is just an initial offering.

If you've tried this app out, let me know what you think of it in the comments.

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Flickit

Flickit from the Apple Store
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I'm a huge Flickr fan, and have been using Mobile Fotos for awhile, and love it, but figured I'd give this app a try. I'll report back on what I think of it. I'm kinda half thinking I might start doing some iPhone app reviews on this blog. It's not like I'm really doing anything else but rambling on it... Hmmm.

AT&T Carrier Update for iPhone

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[/caption] I plugged my iPhone into the computer today, and was presented with the this alert box. It was different from the standard software update alert box, so I was curious as to what exactly was being upated. Turns out it's nothing too exciting. The whole 3G microcell thing is cool, but there's no way I'm paying extra to extend AT&T's service. Sprint had a killer signal in my apartment, so I was pretty pissed to learn that AT&T did not. I drop calls on a regular basis while I'm in my apartment--not good, considering I work from home. If something doesn't improve soon, I won't have a choice but to swallow my pride and go crawling back to Sprint and my Blackberry... Anyone else have any experience dealing with AT&T on coverage issues?

Putting iPod into Disk Mode

Putting iPod into Disk Mode My buddy had a problem with his iPod showing up on his desktop, but not in iTunes... This article explaining how to put the iPod in disk mode did the trick... The Nano is now recognized in iTunes and the desktop, and is currently being updated to the most recent iPod software.Just thought I'd throw it up there, as we've run into this before, but until now, didn't know how to fix it.