When I was a desktop Linux user, I’d just sync \/etc and \/home to a freshly installed Linux box. When I became a desktop Mac user, I would just rely on Migration Assistant. <\/p>\n
With iOS, the trick is to have iTunes make an encrypted backup of your device so that passwords are saved upon backup & restored perfectly with your new device. <\/p>\n
However, it’s always rosier than it looks. During my switch I noticed passwords missing from Rdio, audiobooks lost their last played time, and Kindle was completely wiped, thus requiring re-entering a password. These weren’t the only offenders – SoundCloud needed a re-login, Facebook too (and Spotify that depended on it). <\/p>\n
You’d think that Apple itself would have figured this out for their apps. On some devices iMessage and FaceTime would get disabled for the phone numbers (so disabling & re-enabling would make things better again). <\/p>\n
As I have to update a “fleet” of iOS devices, I wish there was more predictable central management of such devices. <\/p>\n
This is another reason I’m very cautious about updating to the latest releases of software, especially iOS or OSX. I depend on these devices and can’t afford downtime. Lately Apple software has been quite bug ridden. <\/p>\n
The ecosystem & devices are a charm. But upgrades are expensive as there are switching costs. Imagine switching to a completely new ecosystem?<\/p>\n