iOS and the need for iTunes

TidBITS Talk
1

Never heard of Apple News before because my smartphone and tablet are Android devices . . . purely because I refuse to be forced to use iTunes.

2

This is a little off topic but I have not used iTunes with my iPhone or iPad for years. There are legitimate reasons to to use android but that’s not one.

3

Hi James,

Happy to go off-topic if I can learn something. My understanding is that iOS doesn’t allow direct access to the file system, so that to load documents onto an iPad requires iTunes or e-mail attachment.

To paraphrase a famous comment about Blu-ray — iTunes, now that’s a whole bag of hurt.

4

Happy to go off-topic if I can learn something. My understanding is that iOS doesn’t allow direct access to the file system, so that to load documents onto an iPad requires iTunes or e-mail attachment.

To paraphrase a famous comment about Blu-ray — iTunes, now that’s a whole bag of hurt.

From what I understand it’s web based and uses JavaScript. It’s supposedly easy for anyone with a little know how to set up.

Marilyn

5

iTunes hasn’t been needed for a phone for several years. iOS 7? I forget.

However, the recent Facebook revelation that they had been tracking every Android user of the Messenger app’s every text message and phone call is a perfect example of why I will never ever use Android. How many of the tens of millions (if not hundreds of millions) of Android user do you think knew they were giving Facebook permissions to log every call they made, including date, time, duration, and number called?And ever text message they sent to any user (not just on yhe messages app, but all texts)? I bet the number is zero or very very close.

This is not even possible on iOS, which is why I will only use an iPhone.

1 Like
6

Don’t do Fbook, not an issue for me.

7

Thanks, Marilyn. It has been a while since I looked at the possibilities.

8

Same here. Facebook is a bag of hurt. Why anybody would subject him/herself to it is beyond me. But sure, go ahead, offer your spare time to make Zuck richer. :smiley:

9

What also bothers me is that although I’m not a Facebook or Android user, my data was collected when Facebook members had their contact lists scraped and passed on to third parties. In order to view or delete the information Facebook has about me, I would have to give them my email and other personal info.

And if you have Google Maps on your iPhone, they collect data about you are where you’ve been.

Marilyn

10

IMHO, Android/Google data collection gets increasingly creepier all the time:

“During Google I/O today, the company announced that Assistant will soon be able to make appointments and reservations for you even when they can’t be booked online. It’s powered by a new technology called Google Duplex and it will be rolling out as an experiment soon.”

https://www.engadget.com/2018/05/08/google-assistant-will-soon-be-able-to-make-calls-to-book-your-ap/

11

That is not the point. The point is ANY app can do this based on “We want access to your contacts”. I bet you have an app that you have given access to your contacts. Did you know that it also has access to every phone call record and text record?

12

Not sure what you’re looking for, and what you consider ‘direct access’, but iOS has a Files app that lets you browse files, both on the device and on cloud services such as Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, etc. This is also integrated with most apps that can use files. The days of needing iTunes of email to transfer files to an iOS device are long gone. Put them in iCloud or Dropbox, and they’re ready and waiting on your phone/iPad.