For a truly spectacular apple pie, California is your destination. Or at least, my friend Anna makes the best one I’ve had the pleasure to devour, and she lives in Los Angeles. We made it out to the West Coast a few years back, and our hostess had an evening of sushi, tequila (well, actually mescal), and an apple pie planned. And before you assume the alcohol augmented the taste of the pie, don’t worry, we didn’t consume it all that night. It was just as good or better the next day when we got up around 1:00 in the afternoon. So if you’d like to become a better hostess…
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What’s Really In A VPP Token File from Apple’s VPP?
Apple’s Volume Purchase Program allows you to export a VPP token and then import that token into a server to create a connection between an MDM solution (e.g. Bushel, Apple’s Profile Manager, Casper, etc) and apps you purchase through the VPP portal. But what’s in a token? The VPP token is a base64 encoded file. You can cat the file and it will show you a bunch of garbly-gook (technical term): base64 --decode /Users/charlesedge/Desktop/kryptedcom.vpptoken But there’s more to it than all that. We can run the base64 command to see: base64 --decode /Users/charlesedge/Desktop/kryptedcom.vpptoken In some cases, this file can display improperly, if it fails use the following command: echo `cat…
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Make Bushel’s Open Enrollment URL Easier To Use
Many choose a pretty long company name when signing up for Bushel. The Open Enrollment link is generated based on the shortened version of this company name. This link can then be supplied to your users to make it quick and easy for them to enroll (or add) devices into your Bushel. Some end up with a company name that’s difficult to tell others or difficult for others to type. Many of our customers would also like a link on their site that customers can be pointed to. There are a few ways of achieving shorter, easier, or custom links. We’ll go through two, but there are a lot of other strategies you…
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Bushel: Reset Push Notification Status for an App on iOS
There are certain instances where an app that has push capabilities stops leveraging Apple’s Push Notification Services (APNS). This can happen for a few different reasons. But there’s no error correcting for this process and so occasionally, you’ll want to reset the app back to what amounts to a factory default status, in order to get Push working again. The first time an app is opened, it will register for push notifications and prompt for receiving push notifications for the app. This prompt never occurs again unless the app is uninstalled for a minimum of a day and then reinstalled. You can duplicate this functionality by simply deleting the app…
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Use Verbose Logging With Profile Manager
Verbose logging can help you isolate a number of problems with Profile Manager. Turn on verbose logging by writing a debugOutput key with a value of 3 into /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ProfileManager.plist using the defaults command: defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ProfileManager debugOutput 3 Once set, restart the daemon using killall: killall -u _devicemgr To disable, just write the key with a blank value: defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ProfileManager debugOutput Then restart the daemon again: killall -u _devicemgr
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Ground Control + Bushel = A Comprehensive iOS Management Solution
Bushel is a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution. We can manage all kinds of cool things, but there are a few things we can’t do. These include: Controlling where app badges are on screens Enrolling without first entering a wi-fi password Supervising devices that aren’t managed using Apple’s Device Enrollment Program (DEP) Updating iOS devices (iPads, iPhones, iPod Touches) to the latest operating system Apple Configurator can do many of these tasks, but has limitations. There’s a tool out there called GroundControl. GroundControl is super-simple to use, like Bushel. GroundControl can deploy a backup to a device, which is how it controls where badges are on screens. GroundControl can also…
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My We Are Bushel Profile
Charles is the Product Manager for Bushel. He’s ultimately responsible for pretty much everything Bushel, including customer acquisition, budget, the tech, etc. Charles came to Bushel after several years at the Chief Technology Officer at 318, a reseller and integrator for JAMF Software and Apple, where he provided (and managed the providing of) consulting services to organizations of all sizes who were integrating Apple technology. While Casper and other tools were great for larger customers, Charles wishes Bushel had been available for him to sell to his smaller customers. To Read The Rest Of My We Are Bushel Profile, Click Here
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Appreciate Your Depreciation
April showers mostly bring May flowers, but for some, the season is less about gardening and more about good ol’ Uncle Sam. A few of my friends call it, Tax Extension Season. But tax time doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In fact, I’d love to think one day it could actually be an underwhelming experience. This Tax Season, You Can Appreciate Your Depreciation…
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Why Doesn’t Bushel Sync Data?
The term EMM refers to Enterprise Mobility Management, and refers to a Mobile Device Management tools that also support managing content. Currently, Bushel doesn’t attempt to manage content. This is because we find that most of our customers use a product like Dropbox or Box.com to manage content. And no matter how much time we sink (yes, bad pun intended) into attempting to duplicate their efforts, we’ll never manage content as well as they do, as it’s their primary business. For More On Why Bushel Doesn’t Sync Data, Click Here
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Use Bushel To Reset An Apple Device
The ability to erase a device can be a life saver for a company. If a phone is lost or stolen, erasing confidential data can help you feel at ease. Here is how to erase an iOS or Mac device in Bushel. How to erase a device with Bushel.