• personal

    Google Maps 8-bit Edition

    Google Maps has now released the amazing 8-bit edition. It comes complete with pictures of the country in 8-bit and a Slime who draws near! While Tantegel Castle does not appear on the map and you don’t seem to be able to find any Internet connectivity arising from King Lorik’s toilet, it is possible to find cute propeller headed icons where Google offices are as well as a number of landmarks that have been converted into 8-bit highlights showing people why they should visit your area. In fact, the landmarks themselves have been converted to 8-bit in order for you to be able to fully enjoy the country as it would have…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Ubuntu,  Unix

    Configuring Spam Assassin In Mac OS X Lion Server

    The built-in message hygiene in Lion Server is provided by Spam Assassin and clamav (amavis). Lion Server’s Server Admin application has an easy-to-use way of configuring some of the more basic settings for Spam Assassin. Spam Assassin’s rules are configured in /etc/mail/spamassassin/local.cf. If you open this into a standard text editor then you can insert blocks that are rules. Each rule has the ability to either locate text within a header (such as an email address), a subject or in the text of an email. To use Spam Assassin to block messages that have the word viagra in them, for example, you would insert the following block: body NO_MORE_VIAGRA /viagra/i…

  • iPhone,  Mac OS X Server,  Mass Deployment

    Talking A Look Under Apple Configurator's Hood

    Apple Configurator has now been in my grubby hands long enough for me to start looking at it a little deeper than I did in the introductory article I did awhile back. Architecturally, Apple Configurator keeps its data in ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.configurator. Here, you’ll find a directory called IPSWs, another called Resources, file called AppleConfigurator.storedata and another called Users.storedata. The IPSWs directory is where operating system versions, per model of iOS are stored. These look something like iPad2,1_5.1_9B176_Restore.ipsw, which is iOS 5.1 for a standard iPad 2. iPad 1, the retina display iPad, as well as each iPod Touch and iPhone 4 each have their own entry as well. The IPSWs…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server

    Configuring Out of Office Messages in Lion Server

    One of the more common administrative tasks for any administrator of a mail server is to work with users on enabling various rules. One such rule is the Out of Office email messages. These messages can be enabled to automatically send responses to people that send email to those accounts when a user is not going to be checking mail. These can be somewhat frustrating for people on list serves, but they are a great way to be able to step away from your email in the event that you’re, I don’t know, Out of the Office. I should learn to rely on these more when I’m on vacation, but…

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

    Using Payload Variables in Profile Manager

    Profile Manager allows you to leave certain fields that are user-centric blank and it will prompt at the time that the profile is installed for the blank information. These are usually user-centric fields, such as short name and password. You can also create a profile in Profile Manager for each user you want to setup mail, Exchange, iCal, Address Book and other services that are tied to a specific user. You can enter the username for each and leave the password blank and the user will be prompted for the password but have the username filled in. And then there are payload variables. Note: Before we get started on Payload…

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

    Enabling Spotlight For Network Volumes

    Spotlight doesn’t automatically index network volumes. To configure spotlight to index network volumes, use the mdutil command followed by an arbitrary path, with the -i option and then the on parameter. For example, for a volume called Galvatron, you would enable indexing using the following command: mdutil /Volumes/Galvatron -i on To monitor the status of the indexing process: mdutil /Volumes/Galvatron -s If this happens to cause any problems, use the off parameter instead, along with the same command to disable indexing of that volume. mdutil /Volumes/Galvatron -i off You can send the mdutil commands through Apple Remote Desktop. For example, I’ve needed to toggle indexing on and then off, for…

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

    Setting Up Profile Manager in Lion Server

    New in Lion Server, Profile Manager is the most substantial new service added to Mac OS X Server in recent memory. A lot of engineering has gone into it since the introduction in 10.7.0 and in 10.7.3, Profile Manager represents a service that is ready for actual deployments. I have written a number of articles about Profile Manager, but they all revolved around working with Profile Manager once the service is setup and configured. Therefore, I have decided to document the steps used to take a system out of the box and configure it for Profile Manager. Before we get started, let’s prep the system for the service. This starts…

  • Articles and Books,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

    'Using Mac OS X Lion Server' Now Finished

    My next book, Using Mac OS X Lion Server, from O’Reilly is all done. I accepted the final changes last week and it was sent to the printer on Wednesday. The digital copies should be shipping shortly and the print copies should be shipping in about one to two weeks. If you haven’t yet ordered it, you can pick it up on Amazon, here, or directly from O’Reilly, here. Hope you enjoy! Also, for those interested, we’ve already begun updating the book for all the new features in Mountain Lion Server. Now that I’m pretty in tune with publishing through O’Reilly and the various technical aspects of doing so, I…

  • Home Automation

    Home Automation :: Mi Casa Verde's Vera Light

    Mi Casa Verde has had the Vera appliance for a number of years. Recently, they released the Vera 3, which controls practically any Z-wave device ever made (in fact many are guaranteed to work). The Vera 3 is also wireless (802.11), so you can place it practically anywhere in the home. Now there’s Vera Light, which retails for $100 less, has a much smaller footprint and no 802.11 networking but otherwise it appears to have pretty much the same feature set. I’m sure it can’t control as many things concurrently, given the smaller footprint, but it looks to me like a great deal for those looking to get started with…

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

    Managing iOS Devices with Apple Configurator

    My traditional interpretation of Apple’s vision on how iOS devices are used is that everyone has an AppleID. That AppleID enables them to access their apps from any iOS device they own or Mac that they own. That AppleID enables them to access mail, contacts, calendars and even files through iCloud. That AppleID also allows users to remotely wipe their device through Find iPhone and track their friends iOS devices (as in social networking via breadcrumb tracking) through Find Friends. All of this “Just Works” in a consumer sense. And it even allows for a little sharing of content across devices you own. However, larger organizations need more. They need…