• Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment,  Xsan

    Programatic Screen Sharing

    You can remotely start ARD with kickstart, which I have previously covered at length. But Screen Sharing is a bit of a different little beast. To start up Screen Sharing, you can just use the following command: echo -n enabled > /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSharing.launchd I still prefer kickstart, but this method functions when you need something quick and easy. To then disable Screen Sharing, you can just toss the launchd item: rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSharing.launchd Once you have Screen Sharing started, you can then open the Screen Sharing application from a client by using the open command, followed by the protocol, which would be vnc and then the IP address. As with FTP you…

  • Mac OS X

    Box.net Client For Mac OS X

    Wrote a quick little tool for mounting Box.net accounts to the Finder of Mac OS X. This allows you to interact with the Box.net service as you would a MobileMe account or a file server. The tool connects to Box.net over WebDAV and so you will need to provide you username and password (which can be saved into your Keychain) for your Box.net account with each login. However, you can put the tool into your startup items, login items, etc. Future releases might include the ability to store your credentials so you don’t have to provide them any more or the ability to synchronize your files from your Box.net account,…

  • Xsan

    Xsan Log Generator

    XsanDebugged is a small, quick little tool that copies the Xsan logs to the desktop of the user running it. It’s designed so that an Xsan administrator can leave it in the Dock of a computer and then tell an editor or someone onsite to click on it and not have to step anyone through typing commands to copy logs, compress them and then email them. Another tool that is fairly quick and easy from the command line, but meant to save a bunch of time on the phone when troubleshooting issues remotely. Click here to Download XsanDebugged XsanDebugged can be found on the Apps page of this site.

  • Mac Security,  sites

    Stats vs. Anonymity

    I could spend all my time reviewing site statistics or I could just write some articles. I typically choose to do the later. But occasionally (typically about once a month) I’ll look at the statistics for the site. Typically it’s just to see if the world is still an insane place and if people still view the dribble I tend to write here. But I see a lot of funny stuff in there and so those statistics tend to also afford me a bit of comedic relief. For example, images I use in my site are often used by others. I am guessing that the webmaster for a site simply…

  • Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security

    Mac OS X Server: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Squid

    A proxy caches content, much like your web browser will cache web data in order to speed up access to that site the next time you visit it. A proxy can also mean anonymizing the server (a proxy server known as a reverse proxy) that actually stores content, which is the purpose of the Mobile Access service in Mac OS X and the reverse proxies that can be used on each site. The proxy in Mac OS X Server caches pages of a web site that are visited so that as each additional user of your local network visits the site they do not have to download images and graphics,…

  • personal

    Interactive Marketing for Charity

    Pete Carroll will be sorely missed by USC fans. I have now gained a little more respect for him. Love that Pete Carroll is using a little of his recent press to contribute some to his charity. Pete Carroll’s Trip to Seattle Delayed from Rob Riggle