OS X Gripe
Ok, let's say I'm copying a bunch a files from Computer A to Computer B (for example, gigabytes of family photos onto my wife's new MacBook) and in the middle of the copy operation it stops with an error (for example, my Dell machine falls off the wifi network).
I understand, the network goes down, it's a problem. Fine. I drag the same remote folder to the same target location.
I don't want either of these options. "Stop" is clearly not what I want, and "Replace" means it's going to resend every file across the network and write it to disk, even if the damn file is already there. Please don't make me start the whole damn thing over.
I want a "Restart Copy" option, so that it only copies the files that don't already exist.
In addition to constantly falling off the network, the Dell's built-in 802.11g wifi is always far far slower than it should be. It's not so slow as to make web browsing painful but slow enough that several gigabytes across the network will take a couple of hours. For a copy operation that size, it's a total crapshoot if the copy operation will complete before it drops off the network again.
Fortunately I know how to use the bash command line and cp with the right flags to do what I want (I'm a computer expert ya know). But I shouldn't have to be an computer geek to do simple thing like copy files from Machine A to Machine B.
XP didn't get this right either so Apple is hardly alone. I don't know about Vista. Maybe some Linux distro does it right.
Posted May 7, 2007 1:01 AM
Comments
Yes, Vista did improve this feature with a "skip and continue" (or something like that) button...I can't believe it has taken this long for the OS makers to figure this out.
DynamoDan, May 7, 2007 9:36 AM
This is a primary reason why I use FTP to do all of my file transfers. It has all of the best options.
Bob Balfe, May 7, 2007 10:18 AM
My fave: Total Commander (a windows apps for power users ? control freaks). The dialog that pops up in the same situation reads:
Overwrite / Overwrite All / Skip
Cancel / Overwrite All Older / Skip All
Rename / Append / More Options
plus for the two files it reports name, date, bytesize
gggeek, May 7, 2007 10:22 AM
In XP you can hold Shift while clinking on No and voila...
NoiseEHC, May 9, 2007 3:54 PM
Of course Linux does it right. It's called rsync.
Your Mac probably ships with it too.
m, May 12, 2007 11:41 AM
Agreed, this is annoying. But as m says, you get rsync on the Mac—sorted!
If you want a GUI for the tool, try arsync
Ben Poole, May 13, 2007 6:56 AM
As an computer expert you should take a look at Amiga OS 3.1. Yes, I know it's a bit old (about 20 years), but so far I've not seen a better OS yet (GUI/command line/bios/hardware architecture).
Mika Heinonen, May 16, 2007 7:50 PM
Post a comment