What's a good program for Mac to iPhone transfers?

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Have MacBook Pro with OSX 10.8.5 and an iPhone 4s. Very frustrated by iTunes and its controlling ways. Don't want to be syncing or transferring entire music library, just my choices. Don't like its threats to erase stuff I already own. So looking for alternatives.

Have tried Skysoft Tunesover (limits on free version), Wondershare Free Transpod (won't detect device at all!), DeTunes (works only one way).

What is out there in terms of good free or shareware that allows transfer of music (first of all), books and video from MacBook to the iPhone?

Thank you!
 
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chas_m

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You could just learn to use iTunes. It allows you to select just what you want to put on your iOS device:

iTunes-sync.jpg

This works similarly for ebooks and video. As for "threats to erase," that's because you previously had your iPhone 4s synced with another device. If you've moved that library over to your new machine, make a backup then erase and restore the device, and now it will "belong" to your new computer.
 
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That's the thing, this device has never been synced with anything else, it's new.

I put some stuff on there via iTunes, music and movies. Then I tried to add more music, but under the movies section of iTunes, if you unclick on sync (since I don't want it to do that) it says this will result in the erasing of the movies on the device.

I'm not interested in experimenting with Apple's ideas of their rights to screw with my own drives. I just want a program for straight copying back and forth of my own files that I own myself or are open source, without having to deal with corporate DRM controls. Is there such a thing in the freeware world? Been searching for a while. Thank you.
 
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chas_m

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Not that I'm aware of. Personally I think you're making a lot of extra work for yourself to avoid nothing really. I have complete freedom to put whatever I want on my iPhone/iPad (okay, it "restricts" me to only using apps from the app store, I don't consider this an issue) using iTunes. If I really wanted to watch some movies and was too lazy to convert the to iTunes format, I'd use Stream to Me or something like that to avoid the issue.

I know you said it would remove the movies off the iPhone if you uncheck sync, but so what? Uncheck sync and then just add the movies back (through something like VLC for iOS, for example) or the Stream to Me idea I mentioned previously. Just some ideas you might not have looked at.
 

bobtomay

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I put some stuff on there via iTunes, music and movies. ...

If, as you say, what you have put on the iPhone was put on there via the iTunes store, then all of that will be available to you in iTunes on your computer.

Yes, the first sync with the computer will erase them. But, it will also put them back onto the phone if that is what you check for the sync.

If they are not in iTunes on your computer, head into the Purchased item in the sidebar and redownload them - or just click the cloud icon next to them in the list of your music and movies in iTunes - this is "assuming" you are using the same Apple ID on both computer and phone.
 
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I don't use the iTunes store. That's another strike against iTunes, the aggressive sell immediately on opening it. I have accumulated music and video for many years and want to transfer freely, and only, what I want to transfer between the machine and the device, without jumping through hoops or having to re-copy and do extra work dictated by some bizarroland rules devised by Apple. (I'll do even more extra work to find a different software rather than do work dictated by some insane Apple algorithm for DRM and imposing IP ownership on files that I own and that in many cases are my own creations.)

In short, I want the device to function by the same rules as any other hard drive that I own, which is what it is.

Thanks again - does anyone know programs other than the ones mentioned?
 

chscag

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Here's one that I found which purports to do the same thing that iTunes does without actually using iTunes: LINK
 

bobtomay

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I particularly like this progression on that site:

.

no installation.png

Download.png

Install.png
 
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bobtomay, yes, I get the irony.

chscag, appreciation for the suggestion. Unfortunately it's MS only. Need an OSX version.

Any other suggestions will be deeply appreciated. Unfortunately... what I'm looking for seems to be hard to find, I've searched for a while. Thank you all.
 
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chas_m

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I don't use the iTunes store.

You said you did in your previous post ... just sayin'


I have accumulated music and video for many years and want to transfer freely, and only, what I want to transfer between the machine and the device

I guess I don't understand the problem. I also have plenty of music and video I didn't get from iTunes -- CDs I ripped, YouTube videos I downloaded, and stuff from a hundred other places. None of it is any problem to sync with my device -- all I have to do convert it to iTunes format, and there are dozens of free or cheap programs that will do this for you while you sleep.

But let's say there's a file I just don't feel like converting. Still not an issue: I can use GPlayer or VLC for iOS to play these files, I just move them (yes, this requires using iTunes, but has nothing to do with the store) using the built-in file transfer for those programs. I recently watched an mkv file a friend sent me doing this.

There's no "Apple DRM" or imposing IP ownership on such files, there's just a matter of the built-in players on iOS devices prefer certain formats, so you either need to convert or use a third-party player. It's far less of a deal than you're making it out to be (as evidenced by the fact that most people don't seem to have any of these issues, including people with collections of files in non-standard formats).

Honestly I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill because you simply aren't aware of the options. So I hope that mentioning the many options available will help you.
 
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You said you did in your previous post ... just sayin'

No, I didn't. I said iTunes, not the store.

I guess I don't understand the problem. I also have plenty of music and video I didn't get from iTunes -- CDs I ripped, YouTube videos I downloaded, and stuff from a hundred other places. None of it is any problem to sync with my device -- all I have to do convert it to iTunes format, and there are dozens of free or cheap programs that will do this for you while you sleep.

Why? I don't want to convert everything to iTunes format.

Then you tell me how to play files with VLC, etc. I can do that. That's not the subject here. It's copying from MB to phone without going through iTunes and the forced sync, including the deletions and iTunes deciding that something originally came from a CD therefore can't be copied, etc. You know Finder? Something that works like that. Take this, stick it there, it goes, computer not fighting me.

Honestly I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill because you simply aren't aware of the options. So I hope that mentioning the many options available will help you.

I'm afraid all the options you mention are iTunes.
 
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chas_m

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The computer is not fighting you. You are the one fighting.

Once again, I suggest checking out Stream to Me/Serve to Me (I've mentioned it at least three times), and does not use iTunes in any way other than obtaining the Stream app which you do through the App Store.
 

Slydude

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I've never had iTunes decide something came from CD and can't be copied (though admittedly I don't transfer those files often). Can you give us an example of what format the file is in and exactly what error message you get?
 

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