• Articles and Books,  iPhone,  Mac OS X

    Apple Style Guides

    Before you send me an email correcting something I’ve written, or more specifically how I’ve written it, check style guides. If it’s something Apple related, those are at https://help.apple.com/asg/mac/2013/ASG_2013.pdf. Thank you, The mgmt

  • iPhone,  Travel,  Wearable Technology

    10 Advances In Wearable Technology Available Today

    First came food, shelter and clothing. Then came technology, innovating all three for thousands of years. But innovation in clothing stalled at some point. Once upon a time man make thicker clothing out of animals with thicker hides, better shoes and then armor. These helped to expand where we could go, when we could go there and how safe we were once we got there. But mankind has long sought using technology that is worn to make life better, from false teeth to eyeglasses. Moving into the somewhat more modern era, let’s look at 10 advances that, while more recent than throwing the hide of an animal that might have…

  • iPhone,  Wearable Technology

    Set Silent Alarms On Fitbit Flex

    The Fitbit Flex can act as an alarm. When acting as an alarm, the Flex will vibrate at the time you set it to do so. The Flex supports up to 8 concurrent alarms, although the more alarms you run the more the alarm function drains the battery of the Flex. To set an alarm, log into the Fitbit portal and go to http://www.fitbit.com/settings/alarms. Once there, click on the Add Alarm button. From the Set an alarm screen, enter a time and then whether the event should repeat (which brings up a menu of checkboxes for each day of the week). If repeating, check the appropriate box for each day. Click…

  • iPhone,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server

    Apple ID Bulk Importer

    Some iOS and/or OS X deployments require us to create a boatload of Apple IDs. This could be to redeem VPP codes, to do iOS backups, to configure Messages, now giving the ability for OS X Server users to password reset for themselves, etc. I have sat and manually created Apple IDs for a number of clients. I’ve created dozens at a single sitting and there are some serious annoyances and challenges with doing so manually. For example, you’re gonna’ fat finger something. If you type 10 things in for 50 accounts then it’s hard to imagine you’re not gonna’ mess something up in one of those 500 fields. It’s also…

  • Articles and Books,  iPhone,  Mac OS X

    Instant Apple iBooks Review

    I just finished reading Instant Apple iBooks, by Zeeshan Chawdhary., available at Packt at http://link.packtpub.com/irY6CN. As with mine and TJ’s Instant Apple Configurator book, it’s a nice, quick read. It has very specific recipes for getting your iBook written quickly. The thing I like about this book is that it allowed me to focus on my content rather than thinking so much about how to technically put the words, images and other elements I wanted where I wanted them. I also have to say that while iBooks is pretty easy, using a book like this will get you up to speed much quicker than just knocking around the system hoping to find…

  • iPhone,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server

    My New Book on Apple Configurator

    My next book, coauthored with Mr. TJ Houston, is now available. The rough draft was mostly complete the week of MacSysAdmin in Sweden. I announced the book at the conference and was busy at work after to get as much as possible complete. And after many an hour and month spent editing this book (props to TJ for doing a lot of the editing), it’s finally  available on Packt Publishing. To quote the site, this is what the book is on: The Apple Configurator is an incredible piece of software which grants full control in mobile device management, but on a larger scale. The popularity of people taking their own…

  • Articles and Books,  iPhone

    iPads In The Enterprise Training From TrainSignal

    TrainSignal, a popular site for computer based training videos, has built a course for iPads in the Enterprise. As a technical reviewer, I’ve had a chance to check out all the content, and it’s a good overview of what it takes to deploy iOS in enterprise environments. The course covers Apple Configurator, iPhone Configuration Utility and other tools common in such a deployment as well as the general concepts that those not yet familiar with iOS should get before embarking on such a deployment. The course is narrated by and developed by John O’Neill Sr., who brings a really upbeat and refreshing tempo to the table. To access the content, check…

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

    10.8 ACTC Exams Now Available

    The Apple Certified Technical Coordinator (ACTC) Exams are now available. Since the brutal murder of the ACSA, the ACTC is now Apple’s highest level of certification. The server is much easier, but somehow many of the questions are a little harder than they were. Overall, I felt the exam was a great gauge of technical know-how, even if there were a couple somewhat esoteric questions. Anyway, click below to open the Apple IT Certification page:  If you have a 10.7 ACTC then the 10.8 combo updater can be taken. If you qualify for said exam, you should have gotten an email with a special code to use on the IBT…