How accurate is RedLaser on the iPhone?

How do I move files *from* my Mac *to* my iPhone?

• MacBook -> iPhone Filter: I have a MacBook Pro (running 10.6.8), and I have an iPhone (the last model before Siri; not jail broken and would prefer to keep it that way). Since I spend more time on the Macbook, I generate most of my files there, besides .mp3s (such as documents/text files, PDFs, and .jpegs found on line or taken with Photo Booth, etc.), whereas except for listening to iTunes and making actual calls, I mostly use the iPhone for killing time, or would like to anyway, only I haven't found a good way to move my text files, PDFs, and .jpgs from the MacBook over to the iPhone. How do? Seriously, I'm a bit confused when it comes to understanding how the iPhone is set up and why: 1) When it comes to moving files, all the discussion I've found seems to be about going *from* iPhone *to* laptop, etc.; yet my needs are pretty much the opposite. Are there any options without making things too complicated? 2) More generally, on the one hand, I hear constantly about what a powerful computer the iPhone is, way beyond just a phone. On the other, the iPhone's desktop kinda baffles me: how come it doesn't look like a small version of my MacBook's desktop and behave like one? I mean, Apple has gotten pretty good at the whole desktop interface over the years, and I've gotten pretty good at using it, so why change a good thing? 3) On a related note iTunes seems to work well enough for music (I don't play games or watch video/movies/tv, but I'm guessing it does fine with those media too), but it seems a strange interface for other sorts of files, like those I mentioned above. Or if Apple wants the iPhone to be just a revved-up media player, then why add all the much-hyped computing power? (BTW, I realized that doing heavy text editing or extended reading of PDFs isn't very practical on the iPhone's tiny screen. Instead, for me it's more about the creature comfort of being able to futz with my files/waste time on the go, etc.) 4) As one concrete example, I've used the MacBook's default note taking app., Stickies, to generate lots of items like grocery lists and call numbers for books to get at the library, but I don't find the Stickies app on my iPhone nor a way to transfer my Stickie notes over to the iPhone in any form. Conversely, the iPhone has apps like Notes and Reminders that seem in the same vein as Stickies, but neither shows up on the MacBook. What am I missing here, which app. should I be using, and why don't the same default apps show up on both machines? 5) Finally, as a second, admittedly pretty trivial example, suppose I have a .jpg on my MacBook desktop that I'd like to attach to a text message I'll be sending from the Messages app on my iPhone. It seems like a plausible idea, but is it possible? Anyways, apologies for missing the obvious, but that's why I've always preferred Macs…. ;-)

• Answer:

  Apple has gotten pretty good at the whole desktop interface over the years, and I've gotten pretty good at using it, so why change a good thing? This is a complicated question to answer, but look at the sales—it turns out the iPhone's interface is a lot more popular than the Mac's, and that's where the momentum is. [W]hy don't the same default apps show up on both machines? Your iPhone 4 was released in 2010. The version of OS X on your MacBook Pro is from 2009, before that particular device existed, and there have been two major updates since then (10.7, aka Lion, and 10.8, aka Mountain Lion). In the past three years Apple has done a lot to better integrate the applications between the Mac and operating system that runs on your phone, so there are now applications for Messages and Reminders and Notes that will sync right up with your phone using a system Apple calls iCloud. In many cases, the desktop has gotten more iPhone-like, including a view that shows your applications in a big grid the way they do on the phone. If your Mac is compatible, consider upgrading to Mountain Lion via the App Store. It's $20. Make sure you've backed everything up first using Time Machine, and double-check that any older applications you're using will be compatible (like old versions of Office, Adobe Creative Suite, etc) so you won't get an expensive surprise. An interim solution is to use an application like https://www.dropbox.com/, which gives you a folder on your Mac where you can dump pictures, PDFs, etc, and have them accessible via their app on your phone.