Apple’s App Store Connect is where we upload software to get it into one of the distribution channels so it shows up on the App Store. This might be to upload apps directly to an App Store for review and publishing or it might be Test Flight once we’ve managed to get an app to “Archive” in Xcode. Manually moving apps has always been a pain and the keys that people need access to a bit much. We can now create workflows in Xcode that hook directly into other distribution technologies, like a Jenkins. Those will require an API key. Apple allows the Account Owner (and only the owner) of…
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Replace Time Machine Server on macOS Server with WD’s MyCloud.com
The past couple of years has forced me to rethink many of my recommendations for how you backup computers in small office and home environments. Previously, I would have said that you could use a disk attached to an Apple AirPort. But the AirPort Base Station is no longer being made. Previously, I would have said you could use Time Machine Server, a service built into macOS Server in 5.4 and below. But that service is no longer being made in macOS Server by Apple and is now found in the Sharing System Preference pane . Previously, I might have even said to use the home edition of CrashPlan, which…
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Reset Unresponsive macOS Server 5.4
The Server app that installs on High Sierra is great. But sometimes a change doesn’t get committed properly or has a mismatch with a certificate, and the server doesn’t respond properly… I know, you’ve been told that host name changes and IP changes are all kinds of OK at this point; “look, Charles, there’s a button!” Well, go ahead, click it. Don’t mind me, you might just be alright. But then again, you might not if you’re running Open Directory, Profile Manager, or a few other services… When it works it’s a thing of beauty. But when it doesn’t, you might be restoring some stuff from backup. But just before you…
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Who Signed My OS X App?
The codesign command is used to sign apps and check the signature of apps. Apps need to be signed more and more and more these days. So, you might need to loop through your apps and verify that they’re signed. You might also choose to stop trusting given signing authorities if one is compromised. To check signing authorities, you can use codesign -dv --verbose=4 /Applications/Firefox.app/ 2>&1 | sed -n '/Authority/p' The options in the above command: -d is used to display information about the app (as opposed to a -s which would actually sign the app) -v increases the verbosity level (without the v’s we won’t see the signing “Authority”) –verbose=4 indicates the level of verbosity…
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Control Philips Hue From Wink
I don’t like hunting through multiple apps to turn off a light in my house. Therefore, I’ve been trying to get everything centralized in the Wink app. When it comes to managing Philips Hue lights, the Wink can turn them on and off, as well as change the percentage that a bulb is lit, acting as a dimmer. Philips Hue lights run through a bridge, known as the Hue Bridge. This device bridges the Wi-fi network and allows the Philips Hue app to control your lights. Once your Hue lights are configured, open the Wink app and tap on Add a Product. At the Add a Product screen, tap on Lights.…
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A Thermometer For The iPhone
The practical uses of Wearables and Home Automation never cease to amaze me. I recently added a Kinsa thermometer to my collection of useful toys. This little device uses the 1/8th inch jack like the original Jawbone did. It works like a regular thermometer, but displays temperature on an app that runs on the iPhone. It’s simple to setup and once setup, works the same as any other thermometer. Due to the power of the Internets, you can then select symptoms and check for common ailments that match. You can also look at your history, tracking the rise and fall of your temperature. Overall, a cool little device and a…
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Manage Alarms On Amazon Echo
One of those fun things that Alexa can do is set alarms for you. I usually sleep around 4 or 5 hours a night, so no amount of alarms is enough to roust me out of bed. Therefore, adding Alexa on my Amazon Echo to the extensive list of alarms I have around my house is welcome. Let’s look at some things you can tell Alexa to do for ya’, when it comes to alarms. First, let’s set an alarm for noon: “Alexa, set an alarm for noon tomorrow.” Alexa will then repeat back the alarm she just configured. Now, let’s setup a repeating alarm for every Tuesday morning at 6am:…
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Export AD Objects Into LDIF On Windows Server
The LDIFDE utility exports and imports objects from and to Active Directory using the ldif format, which is kinda’ like csv when it gets really drunk and can’t stay on one line. Luckily, ldif can’t drive. Actually, each attribute/field is on a line (which allows for arrays) and an empty line starts the next record. Which can make for a pretty messy looking file the first time you look at one. The csvde command can be used to export data into the csv format instead. In it’s simplest form the ldifde command can be used to export AD objects just using a -f option to specify the location (the working…
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SQL Constraints
SQL constraints the data that can be in a table. A violation of a constraint causes an action to be aborted. Constraints can be defined upon creation or using the ALTER TABLE statement once created. The general syntax of a CREATE (or use ALTER instead of CREATE) when defining constraints is as follows: CREATE TABLE tablename ( columnname datatype(size) constraintname, columnname datatype(size) constraintname, columnname datatype(size) constraintname, columnname datatype(size) constraint name, columnname datatype(size) constraint name, ); Obviously, replace columnname with the name of each of your column, datatype with the types of data your column contains and constraint name with the constraint you wish to use. You have the following constraints…
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How Bushel Protects Customer Data
How secure is your data on Bushel? Your data on anything is only ever as secure as your password. At Bushel, we take a lot of precautions to protect your data, including from ourselves. We time out your session, we encrypt your session on a per-transaction basis, and we encrypt your data while at rest on our servers (although consider it like the secure enclave in iOS, where we encrypt the data that needs to be encrypted – such as FileVault keys and activation lock bypass information). These basic precautions keep your communication with Bushel secure and prevent people from doing things like hijacking your session. Read My Article On…