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

    Sanity Check Your Cups

    I recently came across an issue with a corrupt cups config file. Been awhile since I saw something like that, but it turned out to be a setting that was manually configured, so no big surprise. Luckily, cups has a sanity checker built in. Let’s look at the cups config file in Mac OS X. To do so, run cupsd with the same commands you’d normally use to fire it up, but append a -t at the end (lots of daemons actually allow the use of a -t): cupsd -f -c /private/etc/cups/cupsd.conf -t The output would, if working properly provide the following: "/private/etc/cups/cups-files.conf" is OK. "/private/etc/cups/cupsd.conf" is OK. Otherwise you’d…

  • iPhone,  Mac OS X Server,  Mass Deployment

    Disable Options At Initial Config Time Using Apple Configurator

    In Apple Configurator 1.4.3, which just dropped, you can reduce the setup time for iOS devices. This is pretty helpful in Configuration Centers and when warehousing/performing thin setups of devices. To access this new feature, open Configurator and go to the Prepare screen. From there, you will have the Setup tab. Click on Setup and then in the resultant screen, you will see each of the initial screens in iOS that you can now skip. So put this in perspective, if you check the Location Services box and then prepare a device, even if not restoring a backup, you then won’t be prompted for whether or not you want to…

  • Consulting

    Chi-squared Tests

    Recently, I was working on some finance distribution issues. One of the things we decided to do was look at fund allocation from other environments through the lens of our deviation from industry standards. To make a long story short, we quickly realized that we needed to test for standard deviation and chose to use a chi-squared test, just like we were taught to do back in Stat 101. E is the expected frequency, O is a frequency and N is the number of cells.   Cross-discipline nerdery.

  • Windows Server,  Windows XP

    Net Stats & Windows Server

    Windows Server tracks the sessions that have been authenticated into the system, those that have been timed out, those that have errored, kb sent/received, response time, errors, permission problems, password problems, files opened, print job spooling and buffers quickly and easily. Simply use the net command we’ve all been using for 20 years, followed by stats or statistics: net statistics When prompted choose server or workstation. In this case, we’ll use Server. net statistics Server Here’s the output from a new server: And if you’re trying to troubleshoot client/server communications, keep in mind that you can look at much of this on the workstation side as well, but from the…

  • Wearable Technology

    FuelBand Bug or Feature?

    I’ve been using a FuelBand on and off for about a year. I upgraded to the newer FuelBand SE as soon as it became available, and immediately noticed that Nike built a bunch of new badges in for users of the newer devices. As you obtained more Fuel, you can unlock the ability to earn these ever increasingly difficult to earn badges. But, I noticed something kinda’ strange. Not all of the badges were available to me that should be. In fact, only a few badges were available. But, as I continued to obtain more Fuel, all the new badges unlocked. All of the badges from the Nike Running app…

  • Home Automation

    Integrate WeMo with IFTTT

    Part II. In Part I we setup those little WeMo units you just got. Now, we’re gonna’  connect our WeMo devices to IFTTT. Short for If This Then That, IFTTT allows you to connect lots of different services to other services so that you can trigger events between services. For example, you can connect WeMo to Facebook so when you come home from work the motion sensor posts to Facebook. I don’t recommend that, but it’s an example. A better example is to trigger a change in the weather from your thermostat. Wait, I mean, change the thermostat based on the weather… Anyway, the more things you connect to IFTTT…

  • Home Automation

    Quick and Easy Home Automation For Christmas Lights

    OK, if you’ve been following this site for awhile you probably know that I’m a huge z-wave nerd. But I’m open minded and I like to experiment with new systems. So I bought some Belkin WeMo stuff. I am mostly pretty happy with it. To start, it came in a cute little box. You can just get the light switch, but I splurged the extra $5 and got the little motion sensor, which is well worth $5. I got mine at Best Buy who has a couple of WeMo products in stock at the stores around my house. First up, install the WeMo app on your iOS device from the…