I mentioned mdmclient when I gave the talk on the inner workings of Mobile Device Management, or MDM. There, I spent a lot of time on APNs and profiles, but just kinda’ spoke about mdmclient in terms of it being the agent that runs on macOS to provide mdm parity for the Mac. The mdmclient binary is located at /usr/libexec/mdmclient and provides pretty limited access to see how the Mac reacts to and interprets information coming from a device management provider. I had been meaning to do a write-up on mdmclient and document what it can do since it first shipped. But as luck would have it, @Mosen on the…
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Apple Music, iTunes and iBooks Now In China
Like the title says, Apple Music, iTunes, and iBooks are now available in China. This brings a whole new set of content to one of the worlds largest markets. This will also likely result in a lot of new content being added to the store. If you are an iTunes affiliate, you’ll also be pretty stoked to know that you are now able to provide affiliate links for Apps and content in China as well! And if you’re a Chinese site and don’t yet have an iTunes Affiliate account, I’d look to sign up for one now.
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Use The Caching Server In OS X Server 5
The Caching Server in OS X Server 5 (for El Capitan and Yosemite) now does content and Software Updates. Woohoo, the promised land. Now, when 10 of your users download that latest Nicholas Sparks book and movie, you only sacrifice your WAN pipe to download it once, and the other 9 people piggy-back off that. And when OS X El Capitan ships, you only need to download it over the WAN once, and the other local users will pull off that spiffy Caching Server sitting in your office. Pretty sweet, right? So, how do you use this ultra-complicated service. Well, it looks and feels kinda’ like an iPad app. Which is…
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My Own List of Common Apple Ports
I’ve been underwhelmed (if that’s a word) by the list of common ports used on the Apple platform recently, so I started my own. It’s available at https://krypted.com//guides/common-apple-ports/ if you’re interested. It’s also under the Tools menu of the site. And yes, I’m aware that I can cat /etc/services; this includes some rudimentary notes.
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Understanding Apple IDs and MDM
You’ll use this Apple ID for the Volume Purchase Program (VPP) and the Device Enrollment Program (DEP). If this is your first time enrolling in any program on the Apple Deployment Programs website, you can create a new program agent account by following the steps below: For More On Apple IDs and MDM, See The Bushel Blog
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Testing iOS Services Using Services Test
The good folks at Amsys have built a nice little app called Services Test for verifying outbound connectivity to critical services to make iOS devices work. If you are having problems connecting to these services or activating devices, simply open the App and tap on the play button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Click on the Info button to see what each of these servers do during the activation and management process. The app can also test a few common server services, including connecting to an OS X Server, Casper and AirWatch. These are typical services used in an iOS and Mac environment. Overall, this is…
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Backing Up And Restoring iOS Devices in iTunes
For many iOS deployment projects, iTunes is used as the primary deployment vehicle for the devices. iTunes can be used to “Backup” and “Restore” an iPad, similar to how you image desktop and laptop computers. The actual deployment process is straight forward. First we’ll create a backup in iTunes. Then we can deploy the backup using the Restore option within iTunes. Provided the backup is encrypted, the Restore option will maintain the maximum amount of data available. For example, if a device has been activated then the fact that it has been activated is maintained across a restore. As are the applications that are installed on the device. Create iTunes…
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Showing iTunes Track & Song Titles In The Dock
When I’m writing, I like to listen to music in the background. When writing, I also like to have everything minimized so I can quickly grab a screenshot of the desktop where needed. This means that when I run into a track that doesn’t work with whatever I’m writing that I would need to unminimize iTunes, click the next button and then re-minimize iTunes. Awhile back I found a better way but can’t remember where for attribution. So, part of my default user template and imaging framework now includes setting the iTunes Dock icon to show the track that I’m playing so I can easily go to the next song,…
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Apple Configurator 1.1 Released
Apple Configurator 1.1 was released on Monday. Configurator is updated through the App Store. It comes with a few new features, indicated on the App Store download page. My favorite part is probably that rather than let me do stupid things (which I am apt to do) I now get a screen warning me that I’m doing something stupid if Configurator doesn’t complete a sanity check against one of the profiles: Overall, the two updates that we’ve gotten to Configurator have been minor. The features and options, which make up the strategies that you deploy Configurator with, have remained pretty much the same. I look forward to seeing continued updates.
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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…