The iSync eight week limit

I’ve been trying for a while to find an explanation for the eight week limit in iSync when syncing iCal entries with a bluetooth mobile. After a few fairly low-profile forum posts (mac1.no, apple discussions), someone finally took interest in the issue.

Rui Carmo over at The Tao Of Mac quoted my email to him and currently has his post on the subject open for comments for 15 days. Please contribute if you have any thoughts on the subject.

A short description of the problem: iSync won’t allow me to sync more than eight weeks ahead when syncing iCal data with my Sony Ericsson K750i mobile phone via bluetooth. This renders iCal completely useless for me, as I am a freelance musician and need to plan my life ahead more than two months at a time. iCal may not be the most feature-packed or revolutionary piece of calendar software, but it’s light and easy to use, and it syncs well with mobile devices through iSync. I really don’t need too many advanced features, I just need a calendar app that works, and that allows for long-term planning.

It seems that Apple don’t want me to have this. In Mac OS 10.3 (Panther), there was a way to get around the limitation, but in the Tiger versions of the software, this tweak is no longer possible. Apparently, Apple wasn’t happy with the fact that advanced users were free to customize their software to make it more functional.

Is there a problem with the iSync bluetooth interface that makes syncing larger amounts of data unstable and unreliable? Is there a problem with iSync and non-Symbian bluetooth phones? So far, no-one have been able or willing to share with the users the reasons behind this crippling limitation.

Any new insights into this matter are welcome.

One thought on “The iSync eight week limit

  1. No insights I’m afraid, but I must say that the software companies’ continued effort to consciously limit the features of their own software is baffling – to say the least.

    Maybe it’s part of their long-term strategy to provide future upgrades – but it would be much better for us consumers if they’d consentrate on adding NEW features in their updates rather than simply remove limitations they’ve put in there to begin with.

    Oh, fat chance I guess…

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