279: Pontiac Data Loss

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Topics:

-How do you save clients from themselves

-Jerry moves a conversation to Zendesk to have a paper trail to “CYA”

-Follow up on Joe’s gripe due to Face ID not having a “try again” feature. Michael Thomsen of Origin 84 made us aware that tilting the phone away from you and back will allow another attempt. iOS 12 has since addressed this issue.

-After a recent to the Apple Store for a screen repair, Joe receives paperwork about “Pontiac data loss”

-Joe contemplates the new iPhone Xs Max

-While at the Apple Store, seeing the new watches was tempting, although the latest pricing could be a deal breaker. Jerry finds a deal on eBay.

-Joe encounters malware that was previously undetected by Watchman but cleaned by Malwarebytes

-For Addigy subscribers, you can offer Malwarebytes breach remediation as an automated maintenance task for your customers.

-A blast from the past, Jerry has some dealings with SMB Up

-Joe takes some advice from our friend Adam Engst at the TidBITS Content Network

-It’s that time of year for users prematurely installing the latest macOS, Mojave

-Among the plethora of disreputable maintenance software, Jerry is a fan of Clean My Mac by Mac Paw.

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278: Interview With Adam Codega Of Stenhouse Consulting, LLC

Topics:

This week we welcome Adam Codega of Stenhouse Consulting. Adam is well known in the Apple community and is very active on Slack to work with his fellow consultants. So it was fitting for him to join us on Command Control Power.

A little bit about Adam:
He has been in IT since 2011 and a full time admin since 2014. He works with Rhode Island consulting firm, Stenhouse Consulting with a team of roughly 14 technicians.

-Stenhouse technicians have various areas of expertise and about half are Apple focused

-They also have a good relationship with the Apple Retail, which has proven to be a useful resource for them.

-Adam talks about the activation issues with Office 365

-Testing and deploying new technology is not something Adam shies away from so the group discusses how to approach that with clients

-He discusses the nuances of having to sell a solution to a client at times before being able to test

-Backing up Synology NAS devices become a topic of conversation 

-Backblaze B2 astonishingly has no method of alert if containers become out of sync

-A second Synology with shared folder sync can become another file server at the ready. It can serve as a dual purpose Hyperbackup destination at the same time. 

-A key point is to ask your clients how much their down time is worth

You can find Adam on Twitter and Slack: @adamcodega

277: Tinfoil Hat With Chin Strap Security Method

Topics:

-Joe talks Apple Watch

-Joe introduces two new segments:

-“What I learned at the Apple Store”
Joe learned how to check his iTunes gift card balance

-”What I learned from the client”
The keyboard shortcut of Command+Backslash auto populates credentials from 1Password
Sam is blown away by this, yet Jerry has been doing this for years. It prompts Sam to quickly come up with a new segment of his own: “What I learned on Command Control Power”.

-Joe has a rant about 1Password 7 and offering markdown support, which inadvertently had a detrimental affect on his Secure Notes within 1Password.

-Wearing his tin foil hat, Joe talks about entering computer passwords and other potential data while on public networks or on camera that could already be compromised.

-Continuing the security topics, the gang talks about directory bound account passwords in large organizations that are set to Welcome1.

-Joe has a bone to pick with Microsoft Exchange due to another missing feature that exists elsewhere. It seems to be missing multiple alerts in calendar events!

-Sam gets frustrated about a freebie he offered to a client that turned into a much longer visit than expected

Thank you to our listeners!

276: Interview with Dr. Howard Oakley of The Eclectic Light Company

Topics:

This week we are very excited to welcome Dr. Howard Oakley of The Eclectic Light Company blog.  Howard describes himself as a Former MacUser writer, RN doctor, survival medicine specialist; now blogger and painter.

-Howard has a long history with the Mac community

-When Mac User folded, Howard had a lot of completed writings and decided to start Eclectic Light Company to explore all things Mac, art, and life in general.

-Each day, Howard tries to publish at least one article about Mac and works to talk about topics that aren't well documented. He also likes to publish articles predominantly about art history.

-Joe makes a personal request for a deep dive on /var/folders as it has been a continual topic for us on the show

-Howard notes that Apple used to be exemplary in its documentation for technicians. When Sierra was released and Console was completely re-written, it inspired him to write an app to help review the data.  Thus, Consolation was born and now he has a whole stable of apps for macOS: https://eclecticlight.co/downloads/

-The play on words is something that reminds Joe about when he is using "Console" or "Terminal" in front of a client

-Dr. Oakley spends some time discussing the current state of logs and changes in recent operating systems

-Jerry wonders about Howard's motivation for the creation of the vast amount of tools he has made available.  Howard notes that apps like this don't make money so that is not his motivation but rather giving back to the community.

-As Dr. Oakley discusses the current state of affairs, he talks about the fact that although Apple doesn't need Mac to pay its bills, there is still so much to offer including a superb development platform for iOS.

THE ECLECTIC LIGHT COMPANY: MACS, PAINTING, AND MORE

275: Warranty Work

Topics:

-Jerry talks about a client visit that went sideways and required an immediate follow up.  The client mentions the phrase "warranty work" and it brings the concept of scope of work into discussion.

-Sam still has guilt about billing but forges ahead

-While on the billing topic, it develops into a talk about hourly vs MSP, taking on new clients and referrals.

-Jerry gives a big shoutout to our friend Adam Engst and his TidBITS Content Network. He is loving how well written his articles are and the photos are a wonderful plus.

-Recalling clients from the past, Sam has a funny story to tell about his last encounter with an old client.

-As if it hasn't been discussed enough, the team laments the decision of some clients that purchase the incorrect hardware for their needs. Anyone want a fusion drive?

-Dollar signs sometimes get in the way of rational decisions

-Some see us as the knowledge source for anything technical and it can be a constant battle.  Sam gets heated just thinking about it.

272: This Week In Home Improvement - TWIHI

Topics:

-The band is back together.   Joe, Jerry, and Sam align their schedules to play some of their hits.

-T2 and security discussions brew about the latest hardware changes

-Data recovery is of a concern, especially for the scores of home users that still don’t backup

-Jerry gives us an update on his home renovations as he broadcasts from his lap

-He is very keen on Sonos 2 equipment with Amazon Echo and AirPlay 2 integration

-Joe shares some of his frustrations working with a Sonos system recently

-Friend of the show, “Super Remie” has some follow up for Joe about his Safari issue when clicking on links will open in a minimized window

-Sharing in Jerry’s home improvement woes, Joe talks about working with a contractor to paint his condo. He draws parallels with our business models in the hourly vs project based pricing. 

-Within the same story line, he has a hard time with quality work from a highly rated contractor. Let’s just say that writing in ball point pen on a wall is probably not a good practice. 

-All of this leads to documenting specifics when creating a quote for work or monthly MSP

-Not to be outdone, Jerry has a story of a recent dishwasher installation that didn’t go exactly as planned