CardDAV: Sync Google Contacts to iOS

For some time now I've been syncing my iOS calendars with Google Calendar using the CalDAV protocol. And of course my email of choice has been Gmail for the better part of a decade, and this has synced seamlessly using the magic of IMAP. Up until recently, though, there was no good way for me to sync my Google contacts.

Instead of using a server-side protocol like CardDAV (similar to CalDAV for calendar syncing) to sync my Google Contacts with my devices, I was using Apple's Contacts app to sync to Google Contacts on my Mac, then syncing this to my iOS devices. This was indescribably clunky and prone to all sorts of collisions and failures, and it required syncing contacts to my iOS devices using iTunes. I've been looking for a better way for some time. And yesterday I found it.

Google now supports CardDAV. This means that, in the same way I sync my calendars, and similar to how I sync my mail, I can now seamlessly sync my iOS Contacts with my Google Contacts.

Setting this up is very easy. The only oddity is that it's not yet part of the standard Google account setup. It must be set up as a separate account. I'll also mention that if you were syncing your contacts via iTunes, once this is set up and working well, you can turn off iTunes syncing of contacts.

Here are Google's instructions on the matter. They are about as clear as can be, so I'll just leave it at that.

I've only been using this for a day, so I can't speak to it's long term reliability. But in testing, CardDAV for Google contacts worked brilliantly for me. I was able to add a contact to my Google Contacts via a web browser and have it show up on my iPhone almost immediately. I could then edit or add a contact on my iPhone and watch the changes occur in Google in my Mac's browser nearly instantly.

For me, this is a pretty big deal. I'm now able to have all my mail, calendar and contacts centrally located on Google's servers and sync those things to all my devices. It's pretty special.

UPDATE: This has worked seamlessly for me from day one. But lots of folks have been having problems. The main complaint seems to be that contacts only partially import to iOS. One reader seems to have found a possible — if somewhat annoying — solution. Jump to Lyallp's comments for the full explanation. The nutshell version is that iOS gets stuck on certain contacts that it deems malformed in some way. The solution is to export your contacts in small chunks and import these chunks into iOS to find the culprit. It's kind of like Battleship for Contacts. Fun times!

Lyallp also notes that control characters (^) were present in parts of his VCF file. So you might search for these and possibly other problem characters as well.

Anyway, thanks, Lyallp, for the info. Much appreciated.

In Defense of Maps

First off, let me just say, people need to chill the fuck out and quit all the bitching. Yes, I grasp the irony of bitching about people bitching. But the fact is that, before the iPhone all cell phones were total pieces of shit, and no one ever complained about it. Now Apple releases a new and better iPhone every year and all people do is complain about it. It reminds me of Louis CK's brilliant Everything's Amazing and No One's Happy bit.

Second, and along similar lines, I want to take a moment to respond to a ridiculous attempt at tech punditry by the New York Times' Joe Nocera. Let me be clear from the outset: I am not a tech pundit. I make no claim to be able to write competently about business, tech or otherwise. When all's said and done, I'm a technician. But I've been following Apple and using and supporting their products for over a decade now. And I have a brain and a perspective, and these things lead me to call bullshit on Nocera's article.

Nocera is basically arguing that, now that Apple is big and Steve Jobs is gone, the company will never be innovative again. And his Exhibit A is the iPhone 5 and the new Maps application. Let's go through his article bit by bit and see where things fall apart.

Nocera starts off by invoking the Ghost of Steve Jobs:

As Apple’s chief executive, Jobs was a perfectionist. He had no tolerance for corner-cutting or mediocre products.

This is certainly true. But Jobs also knew when to ship. And he knew that shipping great products was as important as making them. And Jobs understood that 1.0 releases would be feature incomplete and imperfect. And that that was okay. Take any new Apple release from the last decade — like, I don't know, the first iPhone — and you'll see what I mean. I'd argue that Maps is not mediocre, it's just new.

Nocera then writes:

The three devices that made Apple the most valuable company in America — the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad — were all genuine innovations that forced every other technology company to play catch-up.

This is certainly true. But suggesting that this level of innovation is possible on a yearly basis is folly. These are once-in-a-decade releases. Most innovation comes not in leaps and bounds, but rather in baby steps. Take Mac OS X, the iPod or even iOS as examples of consistent, year over year evolutions. This is how it works.

Nocera complains a bit more about Apple's recent lack of innovation, and then goes on to criticize the new Maps application:

In rolling out a new operating system for the iPhone 5, Apple replaced Google’s map application — the mapping gold standard — with its own, vastly inferior, application, which has infuriated its customers. With maps now such a critical feature of smartphones, it seems to be an inexplicable mistake.

But what Nocera fails to grasp is that it's not a mistake at all. Maps is an example of the very innovation that Nocera claims Apple now fails to attempt. Let's face it, the old Maps app hadn't been significantly updated since iOS 1. And with relations between Apple and Google strained, getting Google to improve the product was, I'd guess, an increasingly daunting task. Apple's belief was that they could do it themselves and do it better. The new Maps is the first iteration of that gamble.

Nocera then goes on to write about how this never would have happened without Jobs, and then:

Apple’s current executive team is no doubt trying to maintain the same demanding, innovative culture, but it’s just not the same without the man himself [Jobs] looking over everybody’s shoulder. If the map glitch tells us anything, it is that.

No, the Maps "glitch" is exactly the kind of innovative nudge Jobs would've done. It is, in fact, precisely how Apple has innovated over the past decade: by destroying the old and rebuilding it. The current team, to my eye, seems to be behaving perfectly in the Jobsian style, even if they may not be able to sell it as well.

Next, Nocera begins to contradict his very own argument:

When Jobs returned to the company in 1997, after 12 years in exile, Apple was in deep trouble. It could afford to take big risks and, indeed, to search for a new business model, because it had nothing to lose.

So wait, you're saying that Apple has just replaced the "mapping gold standard" on its flagship products with what it believes will one day be a better solution, thus pissing off lots of people, taking huge amounts of criticism and possibly hurting the brand, at least in the short run, but that they're no longer willing to take big risks? Whatever their motivation, and despite what you may think of the app, replacing Maps with their own, non-Google version is a hugely ballsy move and shows that that's just not true.

Nocera then goes on to make the inevitable Microsoft comparison, followed by some erroneous assumptions:

Once an ally, Google is now a rival, and the thought of allowing Google to promote its maps on Apple’s platform had become anathema. More to the point, Apple wants to force its customers to use its own products, even when they are not as good as those from rivals.

This is just wrong. From what I understand, Apple's license with Google had simply expired and they needed to decide if they would extend that license or go a new way. Apple has allowed a Google-branded YouTube application onto iOS, as well as Google's Chrome browser. And it's my understanding that a Google-branded mapping solution is in the works. If it's not, you can only blame Google for this. If it is, I have little doubt that it will soon be available in the App Store along with all the other Google products. This isn't Apple being anti-competitive, it's Apple being competitive. Apple thinks they can win here, not by forcing people to use its own products, but rather by making better ones.

Whether Maps is a good app or not is arguable. It has features not found in Google's maps app, but lacks some of that app's functionality as well. I've used it and I think it's good for a version 1 product. I certainly think the turn-by-turn navigation is very well implemented. And for most daily uses I think I'll be able to get by just as well with this new Maps, though, being in New York City, I will dearly miss street view in certain instances. Innovation always incurs tradeoffs, though. We technicians are well aware of this.

But Maps is not an indication of Apple being in decline or failing to innovate. If anything, it's just the opposite. This seems to be the same old Apple, making year-over-year improvements and taking the occasional risk that a change that pisses people off today may just be the thing everyone wants in a year or two. They're not always right about this, but they keep trying, and Maps and the iPhone 5 are the proof — not the refutation — of this.

Addendum:

One other thing has occurred to me while reading more about Apple's difficulties with the Maps launch. I keep reading that Google has had turn-by-turn directions in the Android version of its Maps app for some time now. But we've never seen this feature in iOS. This seems a strong indication to me that Google was not in any huge hurry to update its iOS Maps offering. Turn-by-turn is a feature — admittedly, perhaps the only one right now — where the new Apple Maps is actually better than the Google-made Maps. And its an important feature to a very large chunk of potential iPhone buyers. But more importantly, the addition of turn-by-turn is evidence that Apple wanted to make the Maps product better but was not getting any help from Google.

The fact is, none of us — not Joe Nocera, and certainly not me — knows what really went on behind the scenes to make this Maps deal go down. It's clearly been in the works for some time and there have likely been numerous factors at work. But I do believe that at least part of the decision was based on Apple making a better product for its customers.

Gmail In the Browser

This is exactly why I continue to use Gmail in the browser:

No other mail application on the desktop helps me to this degree. And Gmail's web app has an undo send feature. Undo send! (It's in Labs; turn it on!) This has saved my ass countless times. No other email app saves my ass like Gmail's web app.

I sincerely wish Apple (or the next brave soul to attempt an email client — Sparrow guys, I'm looking at you) would just write down all the cool stuff Gmail's web app does — 2-step verification? Hells yeah! — and build it right in to their app.

Until then, I stick with Gmail's web app. It saves my ass.

The New Hotness and The Old Lameness

I have two points to make and then I'm out.

First: I have a deep and unbridled lust for the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. I reserve final judgement for after I've actually held one in the flesh, but I think they look pretty great and I might end up getting one to replace my beloved but aging 17" behemoth.

The real shocker to me, though, is if you configure the standard, non-retina display MacBook Pro with a fast 512GB SSD drive it comes out to be $300 more than than its comparably equipped Retina Display toting sibling. Max the RAM out on the Retina Display MacBook Pro and it's still $100 cheaper! It's a no brainer: the Retina Display MacBook Pro is the one to get if you can afford to get something with fast, decent-sized storage.

Point the second: The paltry, pathetic, pointless Mac Pro update is your queue to exit the building if you're a real pro user whose needs entail high-end hardware. I'm sorry, but does anyone really expect anyone to buy this latest round of Mac Pros? Especially now, with Apple claiming they're going to announce some vague new hardware product aimed at professionals? (I can pretty much guarantee this will not be an actual Mac Pro, but something much more disappointing.) In 2013?

Frankly, this sounds exactly like the Final Cut Pro fiasco from last year: over-promise some hot new product for pros, then deliver something they not only dislike but really just can't use. Three years is too long to wait for a proper hardware upgrade, and with professional Apple products dropping like flies, it's clearer than ever: despite their claims, Apple truly no longer cares about the existing professional market. They may be interested in creating a new sort of professional market — one that appeals to new users and up-and-coming pro and prosumer types — but Apple couldn't give two shits about legacy pros.

Pros, I really believe it's time for you to abandon the Apple ship, because Apple has made it abundantly clear through their actions (though not through their words, I must say) that they have abandoned you. (For the record, I don't really consider myself a Pro user anymore. Though I am a sysadmin, my computing hardware needs are quite modest these days.)

That's it. That's all I've really got to say.

iPad

My thoughts on and history with the iPad are complicated. That I would buy one was, I'd always thought, somewhat inevitable. But, after twice having the good fortune to test drive iPads — once when setting up one for my boss, and once when setting one up for my stepfather — I had difficulty seeing what use I could ever have for the device. Perhaps the most important thing impressed upon me during my time with iPads was how terrific they are for viewing imagery. So, my thinking went, if I were to ever get one, imagery would be my window into the world of the iPad.

Drawing

For some time I stopped thinking about iPads. And then one day, while I was making the thumbnails for a comic strip I work on, it struck me that the iPad would be a perfect compliment to my workflow.

See, when I make a strip I typically draw a quick thumbnail of each panel for layout and basic composition. This takes up precious and valuable paper in my sketchbook with drawings that are for reference only and which I often have no need for once the strip is complete. It's a big waste of paper that will then take up much-prized shelf space in my small Manhattan apartment.

Text

Also, when working on strips, I keep a text file with the strip's words in it. This lives on my computer. So I am constantly running back and forth between computer and drawing table to check the text. Or sometimes I put my computer on my table, but this is often just as inconvenient, taking up way too much space and hindering drawing. The fact is, there's really been no convenient way to reconcile this problem. Until now.

iPad

I've said before, when the iPad becomes a tool that's creatively useful to me, that is the moment I will buy one. Clearly that moment has come. The iPad is a perfect compliment to my comic strip workflow, and an extremely useful tool for me. When I want to mock up a strip I simply whip out my iPad and mock it up. No paper waste, no pencil sharpening, and no pages unnecessarily filled with unwanted drawings. Just get out the iPad and go, anywhere, anytime, right from the sofa if I want.

Then, when it's time to make the strip and I'm working at my drawing table, I can keep the iPad right there with me. I can toggle between the text and the drawing — which I do using the excellent multi-touch gestures — right there on the same device taking up minimal space on my table. It's terrific!

Doodling

As you can probably tell, I'm a bit fussy over what goes in my sketchbooks. I know they're for sketching, but they're also a record of my thoughts and projects at a particular point in time. And I like to keep them nice. I want them to come out good. I don't want them to be full of crap. A sketchbook, when done right, can be a thing of beauty in and of itself.

But I still want a place to doodle. Doodling is important too. Free drawing in which the finished product isn't important, drawing with no end or purpose, is essential to the creative process. And I've been missing out. My anal retentive perspective on sketchbooks has largely prevented me from doing much doodling. The result has been that when I'm doing finished work it takes me a while to warm up and get comfortable. Drawing is like a sport. If you don't do it every day you get out of shape. And I've been out of shape.

Since getting the iPad, though, I find myself drawing constantly in my spare time. It's easy because I can do it anywhere or anytime now. So now, while I'm watching TV, I'm doodling the whole time. This has resulted in a much higher level of comfort and confidence when doing actual physical drawing. Because my brain and hands are so in the habit now of thinking about drawing, now when I go to do actual pen and ink work, it's much, much easier. This is an unexpected but wonderful surprise. The iPad has made me a better artist.

Currently, the apps I'm using for drawing are: the minimal Zen Brush, my favorite for doodles; the full-featured ArtRage, as seen in the iPad commercial, great for more painterly works; SketchBookX; and Paper. But most of the time I use Zen Brush, mainly because it's so simple and the brush is the most like a real ink brush. Zen Brush lets me work extremely quickly and with a minimum of friction.

Viewing

Not only is it fun to draw on the iPad, but images look great on it, especially with the Retina display. So now I bring my drawings and comics everywhere with me and I've got a great way to show them off. Showing someone a drawing on your iPhone just doesn't compare.

Light editing is also possible with iPhoto for iOS, which, despite some interface oddities, is a terrific piece of software that I'm enjoying quite a bit.

More

I also took my iPad to work, just to see what that would be like. It was another one of those,"will it be useful?" moments. And I was surprised again to find that it has been. Immensely so, in fact, at least under certain circumstances.

It's true that, when I'm at my workstation I don't actually use the iPad much. But I'm not always at my workstation. In the past I've relied on my iPhone to get mail and the like while away from my desk. But I just happened to be working on a project where I needed frequent access to mail but I wasn't near my computer. iPad to the rescue. I was able to keep the iPad by my side and check email much more comfortably than on my phone.

I also used to use my phone to look at diagrams and schematics when working on projects away from my workstation. This is much nicer, of course, on the iPad.

In short, the iPad has become a regular fixture and an incredibly useful tool at work as well.

Falling Down

There are still some things I'd like to do on my iPad that I can't. Facebook for instance. The Facebook application for iPad is nice for reading, but there are a bunch of things you can't do in it. You can't share other people's posts, for one thing. Also, posting your own content — particularly links to drawings, which I do all the time — does not work as well or in the same way as it does in the browser.

Mail, too, is still a bit limited. I really do need a way to mark spam. And it'd be nice if the Archive feature worked for Exchange servers like it does for Gmail. I also wish there were a way to not always have to look at an open email. I realize this probably doesn't bother many people, but I usually much prefer to look at the iPhone-style (or Gmail-style, or even Mail.app-style, if you set it up that way) view of messages only, rather than the last read message. iPad's Mail app is the only one that doesn't allow this sort of view, and it always throws me.

Typing is also kind of a drag. I've gotten pretty proficient at it as long as I can set the iPad down and mimic touch typing, but the iPad is by far my least favorite device to type on. Fortunately, dictation works well, and this mitigates the typing issues to some extent, at least when I've got an Internet connection and no one is watching.

Oh, here's a nit too, though one that permeates all of iOS: Why does sleep take the iPad to the lock screen? That'd be like if my computer logged me out every time it went to sleep. On iOS it just seems like and extra and unnecessary step. If I'm on the home screen when the device goes to sleep, it seems logical that I should be able to press the home button and be at the home screen, not the lock screen (unless, of course, I've set up a passkey). Right?

Finally, I do plan on getting a stylus for my iPad. While I do enjoy doodling with my fingers, it's often a bit too limiting, and I feel I'd have more control with an input device. Also, I wish there were better simulations of pressure sensitivity. Paper and Zen Brush have done the best at this, but I really wish it could be better. I'll probably start with Wacom's basic Bamboo stylus, but I'm hopeful that a pressure sensitive stylus will make it to market. I know there's at least one in the works. Fingers crossed!

iPad Love

I'm really very happy with my iPad. In fact, even more so than I'd anticipated. I use it all the time, to the point where my computer is really getting used a whole lot less. For reading and drawing the iPad is a great tool and a lot of fun. Do I need one? No. Am I glad I got one. Hell yes.