310: What Is Your Specialty?

Topics:

- Jimmy Obomsawin at jimmymacsupport.com in Washington DC and suburban Maryland had some followup to Joe's story about batch renaming files using the Finder, which Joe found out through this iMore article. Jimmy did some investigative work to determine this feature was released back in Yosemite!

- We discuss clients taking matters into their own hands: Jerry's client unplugs Ethernet cables because they claim he told them that would fix it, and Sam's client reset the AirPort back to factory defaults... "was that bad?"

- Joe shares the story of a one-time client with all the wrong equipment, which had been recommended and configured by a "computer friend". The Seagate NAS RAID enclosure failed, and now she's running off of RAID 0 primary storage. Needs new primary storage and new backup, and new workflows, and doesn't have the budget or interest. Sam points out the importance of walking away from a scenario like this before taking on the responsibility (and liability), and Jerry seconds this: "run away!"

- Sam has an update about a client forwarding his recommendations to the former (current?) "IT guy" who will be doing the new equipment setup remotely from Florida.

- Sam talks about lessons shared by Jerry and Joe on a previous show, about how to navigate personal relationships with clients.

- Sam talks about the challenges of selling subscription security services on firewalls, and clients finding parts for cheaper online.

- Jerry reveals a new wrinkle with his MacBook Pro 13-inch 2015 model that may have fallen off the back of a truck, when it comes back from repair and shows it's under management by Amazon

309: The Tech Power Of Magnets

Topics:

-Sam discusses the work/life balance when he’s on the road

-Jerry describes being in “BusyCal Hell” with a small medical office. Joe & Sam weigh in with their thoughts

-As Jerry describes this situation as a hornet’s nest, it reminds Joe of Apple Knowledge Base Article HT201657 where they describe sync services “as if it were a swarm of bees”.

-Jerry reminds us of how BusyCal/BusyMac has changed hands some time ago

-The former “IT guy”. Trust is large part of our relationships and Sam spins a yarn about how that trust was completely broken with a new client relationship.

-An episode of Command Control Power wouldn’t be complete without a gripe from Joe. Safari suggestions is his latest target.

-In some truly amazing sleuthing, Joe shares a client story where he diagnosed an issue with a Mac going dark at seemingly random moments. From afar, he appears to have correctly pointed towards a multitude of magnets that the customer wears. He also recounts a similar story from episodes of the past where he diagnosed an issue with lighting and solar powered keyboards.

-Jerry shares a PSA about Startup Security Utility on Mac computers with a T2 chip: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208198

-Joe has real time follow up! While recording the show, he heard back from the magnetized client who confirms that he was right on the money with his diagnosis.

308: Don't Fear The iCloud

Special Thanks To Our VIP Sponsors!

Topics:

-The Command Control Power team has a call to action to request reviews on iTunes to help support the show. And if you feel so inclined, become a patron:
https://www.patreon.com/cmdctrlpwr

-Joe has experienced some oddities when using Messages at times when he has poor internet connectivity

-Jerry questions why Joe doesn’t use iCloud Messages. Sam admits that he doesn’t use it either.

-An explanation of “SIM hacking” has Jerry & Joe quite concerned. An episode from the Reply All Podcast is what started Joe down this road:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/130-the-snapchat-thief/id941907967?i=1000423456775

-Another show called Cyber Motherboard also discusses this topic:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sim-hijacking-and-the-phone-number-ransom/id1441708044?i=1000423673553

-Joe describes how some clients are skeptical of technology - not using Touch ID because "it will all be hacked eventually". Also not using a password manager and not using secure passwords because they are "giving up control"

-While Sam isn’t entirely convinced, it is a security topic that we should all be paying attention to.

-Sam transitions to a story about how he had to dig into his mindset and workflow for a client he hadn’t touched in many years. It gave him a moment to see how far he had come but at the same time, showed how his lack of notes caused the investigative work to be done.

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors!

307: Don't Get Too Comfortable With This iPad

Topics:

-Joe starts off the show with some follow up and a PSA

-Long time friend of the show, Dave Provine helps clear up information regarding /private/var/db/fpsd/dvp.  Dave explains that those folders are in reference to the fairplay streaming daemon.

-Joe provides a PSA to the team about accessing a computer remotely when Apple Remote Desktop is running.  A simple checkbox in the preferences will allow this functionality.

-Joe shares some of the settings he enables for ARD for security, including storing credentials in keychain and encrypting network data.

-The remote discussion prompts further griping about TeamViewer

-Offboarding clients with remote access like TeamViewer is not always a challenge

-Sam goes on a rant about Apple IDs in a corporate environment and a lack of understanding on the client side

-Joe’s team has a process for migrations and he talks about the challenges he faces when clients have their own assumptions and expectations

-Migration Assistant has presented problems for Sam’s team so he asks for details on Joe’s method

-Finding Retrospect in a user’s StartupItems further solidifies Joe’s method for migrations

-Joe generously shares some of his procedures for migrating data

306: Crazy Like a Fox

Topics:

-The crew starts off the show by discussing Multiple PSAs

-Jerry is able to turn a break/fix client into recurring revenue.  He describes the story of attempting to restore from backup and the hoops he had to jump through to get the job done

-Both Joe and Jerry I talk about the dangers of excluding folders from a time machine back up

-Thanks to Mike Bombeck at Carbon Copy Cloner, Jerry is able to follow steps to downgrade a fusion drive on APFS
https://bombich.com/kb/ccc5/downgrading-apfs-formatted-fusion-volume-from-mojave

-Since Jerry‘s client had updated their operating system on their own, Joe describes the dangers of downgrading and suggests spending that consulting time moving the client forward to the current OS

-An offshoot of Jerry’s Time Machine discussion is APFS conversion and how this process is different in Mojave

-Jerry reveals a bit about how he bills his managed service clients and they discuss the pros and cons of various billing methods

-On the heels of the downgrading conversation, Joe describes having to reinstall High Sierra in order to get Safari working again. Jerry wonders if using Pacifist by Charlesoft would allow viewing the packages in the macOS Installer: https://www.charlessoft.com

-As Joe goes into a story about managing multiple Photos libraries, he discovers that this client has a short lived product called Bevy to centralize their photos.

-Jerry wants to know if he used Power Photos to get the job done
https://www.fatcatsoftware.com/powerphotos/

-Joe delivers a prime example of the standards that his company adheres to by investigating and diagnosing files on a linux device and coming away with the win in converting them to jpg to be used in Photos

-Joe reveals a hidden gem in the Finder which allows batch renaming files

305: I Have Some Cookies In My Kitchen

Topics:

-Big thank you to Michael Thompsen and Viktor Glemme for guest hosting a recent episode of Command Control Power. Thanks as well to their guests Will O’Neal and Luis Giraldo for mixing it up with them. 

-Sam & Jerry express their disappointment in the cancellation of AirPower. 

-Sam shares some exciting news about office space. His group is on the move again. 

-Jerry has incredibly useful and relevant advice for marketing your business with Google and how he uses the TidBITS Content Networkto deliver information to potential customers.

-Reselling additional services is a subject that has come up in previous episodes. Sam has some thoughts to add and talks about how he is bundling up some services that he hasn’t offered in the past. 

-JumpCloud is one such service and Sam mentions their partner program

-Sam describes a conundrum that a consultant might find himself/herself in: pay me more to allow me to do less work. 

-Jerry finds a great site for picking the right Mac for your needs 
Picking the Best iMac to Buy in 2019 - https://www.macrumors.com/guide/best-imac-to-buy/

-The guys lament over Safari responsiveness lately 

-One of Jerry’s education clients has a need for a product called Inkscape. He describes his challenges dealing with X11 and the installation process. 

-Big shout out to Shawn Maddock of Envision Design. Envision is the company of friend and supporter of the show, Richard Wingfield. 

-Sam has some cookies in his kitchen