The seemingly easiest UI concept is the most annoying. "Apply" != "Save and Immediately Sync". Why is there no way to simply change my settings without syncin

The seemingly easiest UI concept is the most annoying. "Apply" != "Save and Immediately Sync". Why is there no way to simply change my settings without syncing?? Another annoying "feature" - iTunes handles syncing everything BUT pictures. Why?? Why do I need to open Windows to drag/drop the files in a folder?