I have an ipad .. 4.x iOS and trying to move to a new machine.  Well, given the itunes setup it wants to erase everytime it syncs.  I am fearful of losing my data without a backup but was unable to get a work around till now.  Here you go, it worked for me, so perhaps for you too:

1. Ipad connects to new itunes system
2. Do not sync to erase just cancel that.
3. Set the sync bookmarks (or something non-impactful) on
4. Then sync
5. boom, it will backup and now you have a full archive of the old ipad and you can happily blow away the current install image
6. If all else fails, restore!

(yes, the backup happens once you commit to the backup, but JUST in case…)  *Also, don’t forget to clean up your backup directory of old images, as they can get quite big!

That is all it took and now I am up to the latest OS on the new system.  A bit of a hack to have the assurance of old files and such, but … a win.

HH,

James

Picked up this book on a recommendation.  A very easy read and a couple good tips make it worth reading.  I would consider the Kindle version since I did not take to many notes or writeups in the margins.  On a scale of 1-10 on actionable material I would set it to a 4/5.

Still seeking the golden bullet (10 out of 10) book focusing on communication.  My journey is research oriented to develop a model for bridging the substance of information security to the business.  Still very much a work in progress.

Best,

James

Actually, in some ways, our productivity is the problem. Something’s lost in an environment of manic productivity: learning.

http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2011/06/what-to-do-when-you-have-no-ti.html

Other thoughts?

WOW.  The hotel staff from arrival to departure was amazing.  The entire staff greeted me with smiles and courtesy.  They were aware of every one and every state each traveler was in. A few examples that stand up in my mind (at 4:30am local time):

• I had a bag so they helped me to reservation and literally handed me off to someone else (no down the hall to the right… good luck comments as usual).  That staff was clear and helpful checking me in.
• Throughout my stay the staff was aware and quick
• I sat at the bar and enjoyed the atmosphere and was never pushed to order, move on, or anything. They simply made sure I had what I needed and kept an eye on me (meaning if I looked they responded and were available as my needs changed.
• The wake up call – a simple usual event (daily for most) … Upon setting it up, they asked would I like a 15 minute follow-up call – WHAT!??!  Why has no one else thought about such a thing.  Today when I was needing to get up at 3:45am local time I asked for another wake up call.  One would THINK a script would say offer 15 minute wake up reminder, but no they recognized this was for a flight and offered a 5 minute follow up call – BRILLIANT.
• The room, room service, and small touches were impeccable.  I could go on – but needless to say, well done.

I only see ONE area where they could further improve their business .. the send off to the airport.  It is the only aspect where they do lose the ability to maintain great service.  (I took a taxi .. they do offer a wonderful car service) .. When sending off guests in the taxi I would see an opportunity to provide a card (maybe a business card or similar size) that contains a number.  Simply to say, if you have a problem or need anything on the way to the airport (forgot a bag, taxi broke down, want to do xyz), the info and capability exists.

A great stay and much appreciate the opportunity to indulge,

James DeLuccia

Thinking of our professions we quickly see how we can become incredible at certain things and feel like a teenager at others – awkward and unsure.  I constantly am seeking to experience broader and more diverse activities, not that I can be an expert beyond a few, but I certainly can be good and excel at areas I enjoy.

To that effect a nice Harvard Business Review blog post was composed and published that highlights this topic.  The author also crafted a book that I have ordered on Amazon, and will add my comments here when I get through it.  Below is a short excerpt from the blog.

Link to the book “The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance”.

Link of blog:  HBR Article

The first 2 that I love (of six… so check out the link above!):

1. Pursue what you love. Passion is an incredible motivator. It fuels focus, resilience, and perseverance.
2. Do the hardest work first.

James

The author wrote a book prior on Raising Boys, and I imagine it must have done well for him to want to write another book.  Unfortunately it is obvious that most of the material was recycled for this book.  Clear examples are found throughout the book where examples and advice are directed to the male sex and not the female sex that the book was designed to speak to.  Another problem I have is the excessive amount of religious beliefs being pushed in the book.  I welcome all religions and firmly believe in many of the tenets, but honestly this book crossed the line.  Finally, there isn’t much material here that could help a father be a father.  Too much negativity and F.U.D. language without guidance is just a waste of time.  There were a few sections that were useful, but they do not outweigh the rest of the text.

Final Advice:  Do not buy the book.  I will post any helpful books as I come across them. 

James

Meaning if you go through the trouble of getting everything above setup and you still do not see the calendars listed or on the dates – cancel out of the calendar app (hold on it in multi-task window), and then fire it up again.

Should be good to go

So, I have several downloaded free apps and dropbox installed now.  Dropbox is great because I can easily transfer and sync files that I want to read across many computers – FANTASTIC!  So far, I can easily read my files natively in dropbox and everything is working great.  The caveat being while I am connected to wifi…

I took a trip to Buffalo New York and realized on the plane that every document in dropbox was not available w/o the wifi connection.  Totally killed my single use in one shot.  After research that evening I found an option to create favorites that are then stored locally.  Problem solved…not quite.

On the plane ride home not all the favorites loaded, and again I was stuck reading my backup backup paper book.

With a bit of testing I have now downloaded / paid for a few applications that allow me to have a file viewer on the iPad and a document viewer.  Together these make a nice combo and allow me to read offline.  In addition I downloaded Reeder for my rss feed viewing.  Simple, but not sure if it is the right one for me – yet.

Bottom line:  Buy a few apps as they make the iPad hummmmm nicely.

Dear Apple,

Please add an “Offline” descriptor for iPad applications – out 50 I reviewed I could not determine if they worked offline or not.  My only determinant was to download test and then test again with the wifi turned off.

Thanks,

James

iPad in hand is awesome – it is fairly light (not super lite, but the same weight as a small book).  Screen is gorgeous and everything is wicked fast.  The default settings I am keeping for a days (hours?).  I have the wifi version on the basis that if I don’t have wifi I probably wouldn’t have 3G around either (my use is when I am traveling – i.e., planes and trains).

My intent is to use this for reading my massive list of RSS feeds, and PDF documents.  Given my passion around technology and regulation there is plenty of good material to chew through on a daily basis.

Battery is very good – definitely near the 10 hour mark on life.

Overall very pleased…  no apps purchased yet.

James

Here is a simple method that works (2 minutes max):

1. Make a static playlist called “All Live Files” and copy your entire library into it.
2. Make a smart playlist called “Missing Files” with the rules set as ” ‘Playlist’ ‘is’ ‘Music’ ” and another rule set as ” ‘Playlist’ ‘is not’ ‘All Live Files’ ”
3. As stated in your blog, the broken songs will not transfer and “Missing Files” will contain all those broken songs.

Cheers to Paul for putting it online, and here is the original excellent post – Paul has a few alternative approaches and a nice method for Windows users.  His site also has several great writeups on my newest toy – the ipad.

Happy ituning,

James