• Mac OS X,  Mass Deployment

    Stop Apps From Installing Automatically On A Mac When Purchased On Another Mac

    You know how when you buy apps at home, they show up on your computer at work, if you’re using the same iCloud account for the app store in both locations? Some companies want to disable that. To do so, send a ConfigDataInstall key into com.apple.softwareupdate, which can most easily be done with the defaults command: sudo defaults write com.apple.SoftwareUpdate ConfigDataInstall -int 0 Or to turn it back on: sudo defaults write com.apple.SoftwareUpdate ConfigDataInstall -int 1

  • Apple TV

    Configure The New Apple TV 4

    The new fourth generation Apple TV is everything I hoped the third generation would be. We have a touch remote with a Mic, great video, USB-C, and most importantly, an App Store! And while I have security concerns around the setup process, I am sure Apple has thought through the myriad of questions I have surrounding sharing Apple ID keys over bluetooth from a phone to the Apple TV to streamline the setup process. So about that setup process. Configuring the new Apple TV is pretty straight forward. To get started, get your phone out. Yes, your phone. Then unwrap the Apple TV and plug it into the HDMI port…

  • Bushel

    Bushel: Secure Your Apple ID With 2 Factor Authentication

    Two-factor verification on your AppleID helps to keep everything nice and secure. Once enabled, you will need any two  of the following to access your iCloud account: The password to your Apple ID, a device trusted in the portal (we’ll trust devices during this process) or a recovery key (which we’ll create during this process). In other words, don’t loose your recovery key! Learn To Enable Two-Factor Verification to Secure your AppleID On The Bushel Blog

  • 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…

  • Mac OS X,  Mass Deployment

    Change Default Location of New Documents To Not Be iCloud

    Recently I had to do a bunch of manual annoying tasks in Preview. And one thing I noticed was that the process was taking a lot longer because I had to change the location that the document was saving from iCloud to my documents. About 5 in, I went ahead and combed through my global defaults real quick and found NSDocuemntSaveNewDocumentsToCloud, in NSGlobalDomain, which controls the default setting for the target location of an object to go to iCloud. To disable, which makes the default location of new documents on your local file system, use the defaults command and set that key to false: defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSDocumentSaveNewDocumentsToCloud -bool false…

  • 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…

  • Articles and Books,  Business,  cloud,  iPhone,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment

    Apple's Customer Facing SystemStatus

    Apple now has a new system status page for their services, available at http://www.apple.com/support/systemstatus. This site goes through many of Apple’s services and shows an indicator light for when they are up. Additionally, you can scroll down to the detailed timeline and see a historical account of what services are online. This is yet another step in Apple’s continued progress at providing more and more information to the community on, well, everything. This includes seeing Apple popping up at conferences here and there, most notably at Black Hat this year, publishing more kbase articles that detail problems and allowing more community involvement from some employees. A more open Apple is a…

  • cloud,  iPhone,  Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mass Deployment,  MobileMe

    iWork Public Beta Goes Bye-Bye Today :: Last Call

    I’m sure you’ve heard by now. But just in case you hadn’t logged into iWork.com in awhile or let the to-do lapse, it’s just worth a reminder that iWork Public Beta, the site that you could upload Pages, Numbers and Keynotes to, is being deprecated. The end comes on today. In other words, if you have documents up on the site, you should download them immediately or you won’t be able to come August. Apple has even provided a document explaining how. The service that was being provided by the iWork public beta is replaced by iCloud. Using iCloud, you can sync your documents between all of your devices. When…

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

    Managing iOS Devices with Apple Configurator

    My traditional interpretation of Apple’s vision on how iOS devices are used is that everyone has an AppleID. That AppleID enables them to access their apps from any iOS device they own or Mac that they own. That AppleID enables them to access mail, contacts, calendars and even files through iCloud. That AppleID also allows users to remotely wipe their device through Find iPhone and track their friends iOS devices (as in social networking via breadcrumb tracking) through Find Friends. All of this “Just Works” in a consumer sense. And it even allows for a little sharing of content across devices you own. However, larger organizations need more. They need…