Our friends at VMware continue to outdo themselves. The latest release of Fusion works so well with Windows Server 2013 that even I can’t screw it up. To create a virtual machine, simply open VMware Fusion and click New from the File menu. Click “Choose a disc or disc image.” Select your iso for Server 2012 and click on Open (if you have actual optical media it should have skipped this step and automatically sensed your installation media). Click Continue back at the New Virtual Machine Assistant screen. Click Continue when the Assistant properly shows the operating system and version. Enter a username, password and serial number for Windows Server…
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MacIT Presentation
I enjoy going to MacIT so much. Paul Kent ran a great little conference in Monterrey one year and I am so glad that I started going to Macworld around that time. I missed it last year while trying to trim back on the travel and am pretty stoked I got to get there again this year. Special thanks to everyone I saw and was able to hang out with. Considering there isn’t a single person I didn’t want to hang out with, sorry if I didn’t see you or get to spend any time. Thanks to Duncan and Kevin White for making time to do the podcasts (hopefully the…
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Stupid Human Tricks: Plug Your iPhone Earbuds Into A USB Port
I was fumbling around in the dark on the plane and I tried to plug the Earbuds for my iPhone into my MacBook. In case you were considering doing the same thing I thought I’d post a screenshot of what happens. Hope you enjoy and now know that you don’t have to try to do the same! Yup, again I provide I’m not-so-bright!
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Password Hints and Retries in OS X
You can customize the number of times that you enter an incorrect password before you get the password hint in the loginwindow on OS X. To do so, use the defaults command to send a RetriesUntilHint integer key into com.apple.loginwindow.plist stored at /Library/Preferences using the following command: defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow RetriesUntilHint -integer 10
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Produce Random Complex Passwords in Excel
Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time normalizing data in Excel. And when I needed to generate a bunch of passwords for a project, I almost switched to another tool to do so. But I decided that I was already in Excel so I might as well do it there. Excel has a couple of random (pseudorandom) number and character functions in RAND() and RANDBETWEEN(). In its simplest, let’s just pick a number between one and ten: =RANDBETWEEN(1,10) Now let’s pick a number that’s 9 characters after a decimal: =RAND() Or make it a regular nine character number: =RAND()*1000000000 Regrettably numbers are OK for passwords. So let’s bump up…
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Test Volume Speeds for Xsan Metadata Controllers
I have used a variety of tools for testing the speed of Xsan volumes. But none have been as easy as the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test. It’s cute, it’s fast, it’s very informative and it requires no Terminal, unlike the other tools I’ve used for years. To use Disk Speed Test, first download it from the Mac App Store (it’s free). Then mount the volume you’d like to test and open the Disk Speed Test app. Click on the Settings icon in the middle and select the volume you’d like to test. Then click Start. Enjoy.
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That Time I Interviewed Andrina For An AFP548 Podcast
Hey, remember that time I interviewed Andrina in an AFP548 podcast? That was totally fun! We should do that again. Maybe I’ll pronounce toller right next time! #cloudwords
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MacAdmins Conference at Penn State
Straight from our good friends at PSU: Register Now for the 2014 MacAdmins Conference! We’re proud to announce that early-bird registration for the 2014 MacAdmins Conference is now open! This year’s conference will be bigger and better than ever, with over 50 sessions on Mac and iOS administration topics, 5 brand new pre-conference workshops, and 3 amazing evening events. Early-bird registration price is the same as last year: * $400 conference only (July 9-11) <http://macadmins.psu.edu/conference/registration/> * $550 conference plus pre-conf workshop (July 8-11) <http://macadmins.psu.edu/conference/registration/> Early-bird pricing ends April 30, and we expect to sell out quickly, so register now: <http://macadmins.psu.edu/conference/registration/> ** Pre-Conference Workshops ————————— This year we’re introducing pre-conference workshops…
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MacIT Early Bird Registration
If you haven’t signed up for one of my favorite conferences ever, MacIT (alongside Macworld) then you should give it a go. If you’ve never been, it’s great and if you’ve been then it’s great to catch up with old friends. I hope to see you there! ———————————— MacIT®, taking place March 26-29, 2014, in San Francisco, CA at Moscone Center North (alongside Macworld/iWorld), is the definitive event for understanding Apple technology implementation and management in enterprise environments. Our esteemed faculty of industry experts provide detailed, impartial analysis of the technology and solution chains you face when putting iOS, OS X and Apple hardware products to work in large enterprise. MacIT 2014 features sessions…
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Scripting PGP Whole Disk Encryption On A Mac (or Windows, really)
The PGP Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) tools have a command line interface for both OS X and Windows. The options are mostly the same across the two. We’ll focus on two for the purposes of this little article. The first is –list-user and the second is –change-passphrase, although there are a number of other options. A general breakdown of the options include the following: –enum – show the disks available –disk-status – show the encryption status disk indicated with the –disk option –stop – stop the encryption or decryption process of a –disk using –passphrase –instrument – Install BootGuard using the –disk option followed by the number of the disk…