tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782607533778621332.post6674327199774536117..comments2023-04-11T11:51:00.532+01:00Comments on Suboptimal Planet: iOS 4: will it be worth the wait?Suboptimal Planethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03326225284771369172noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782607533778621332.post-29872084844573794282010-06-29T08:15:22.112+01:002010-06-29T08:15:22.112+01:00Hi Nigel,
Thanks for your comments.
iOS (previou...Hi Nigel,<br /><br />Thanks for your comments.<br /><br />iOS (previously known as iPhone OS) is a cut down version of Mac OS X, which is based on BSD, so it does have a Unix (though not Linux) core.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_(operating_system)<br /><br />In typical Jobsian style, the iPhone (unless jailbroken) is heavily locked down. It would be nice if it mounted as a standard drive, and exposed its files for the usual backup mechanisms like rsync, but on Mac OS at least, you're forced to perform backups using iTunes. This one was a special backup, triggered by the iOS 4 upgrade. Quite how it managed to go so slow, I don't know.<br /><br />The iOS upgrade succeeded in the end, though (per UPDATE 3), and the incremental iTunes backups are quick enough, so for now it seems like I'm back to having a device that Just Works TM :-)Suboptimal Planethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03326225284771369172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782607533778621332.post-4463802445872098682010-06-29T07:57:51.824+01:002010-06-29T07:57:51.824+01:00I know next to nothing about the iPhone. However,...I know next to nothing about the iPhone. However, from the described symptoms and the USB 2.0 connection, I think it would be worth investigating whether the problem is one of setting up a USB link separately for each file being archived; this would slow things dowm markedly.<br /><br />I have a suspicion that the iPhone operating system is based on Unix/Linux. If this is so, and you can connect to a command-line interface on that machine, try creating a single-file archive, for example using the UNIX TAR utility; it sounds as if you have sufficient non-volatile memory (16GB - 2.2GB). That would make all the individual file accesses happen just within the iPhone. Then backup just that one file of around 2.2GB, and subsequently delete the copy on the iPhone.<br /><br />In addition, I suggest not using compression (eg with gzip) as, for sound files, little compression would be obtained and the compression processing itself might well be rather long.<br /><br />If the iPhone does not provide access to a command-line interface (or any GUI control of a local 'backup' utility), I suspect your only recourse is to follow up with Apple, or bulletin boards that are specific to the product. It is also worth checking what all those little files contain; it might just be non-critical log information; that might have little backup value to you.<br /><br />Best regardsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782607533778621332.post-14490953636608757432010-06-29T05:21:47.361+01:002010-06-29T05:21:47.361+01:00Hi Nigel.
Using the standard USB connector cable ...Hi Nigel.<br /><br />Using the standard USB connector cable connected to a Macbook Pro running Mac OS 10.6.4 and iTunes 9.2.<br /><br />I left it running overnight, unwatched, and it seems to have worked, so perhaps it's a Heisenbug :-)<br /><br />I'll post another update. Hope your upgrade went smoothly, if you're in a similar boat.Suboptimal Planethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03326225284771369172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7782607533778621332.post-74050755599852664452010-06-29T00:57:21.446+01:002010-06-29T00:57:21.446+01:00What are you backing it up to? And using what con...What are you backing it up to? And using what connectivity?<br /><br />Best regardsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com