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284: When In Doubt, Whack The Plist

Special Thanks To Our VIP Sponsors!

Topics:

-Sam is at the Jamf Nation User Conference (JNUC) 2018. He discusses his time there and MDM concepts as a whole.

-While at JNUC, Sam spots a CCP shirt on a listener. Big shoutout to Chris Stout of Stout Computer Services

-Joe is Southeast of Sacramento, CA in Bakersfield. On the road, laundry is a luxury!

-Sam had the opportunity to watch a live recording the 100th episode of the Mac Admins Podcast

-To get into technical topics, Joe brings up a nagging issue he has been having with TeamViewer. After his own trials and tribulations, he has come up with a solution that should help others.

-The team also discusses other remote access tools like Bomgar, Splash Desktop, and Addigy

-An issue related to iTunes showing a phantom update when connecting an iOS device creates a head scratcher that didn’t appear to have an obvious fix

-Amongst the many issues Sam has had with his 2016 MacBook Pro, he finally has a resolution to his network lags when switching networks. HINT: go to /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration

-Jerry is very happy with his Series 3 Watch with cellular and has some tips for using it without your iPhone nearby: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205547

-Joe seems to be alone with his phantom Time Machine alerts. Jerry and Sam consider taking him home.

Thanks to all of our Patreon Sponsors!

Thanks to all of our Patreon Sponsors!

283: The Mile High jamf Club - Interview With Weldon Dodd Of Rewind Tech

Topics:

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-We welcome back Weldon Dodd of Rewind Tech to the show. Weldon was kind enough to put Sam up and host him in his training space in Centennial, CO

-Joe has a correction from listener Justen Wattenberger in the way he pronounces and writes Mojave

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-In Joe’s latest feature request corner, he wants to see shared favorites. Sam would like shared contacts.

-Joe quizzes us on the domain 1e100.net (hint: it is owned by Google)

-Sam addresses the rumors about how he spends his CCP per diem and where he sleeps at night

-Weldon gives us the scoop about his business and how it involves MSP clients as well as an Apple Authorized Training Partner

-Weldon begins a conversation about how to onboard new employees and the team shares their thoughts

-One of the methods that Sam used was to have the new hire document your steps so he/she learns how to create documentation and you get to critique the way they create notes

-Joe has a client that he respects that gave him good unsolicited feedback on his new hire. She became a barometer and may be a future method for vetting potential new employees

-Weldon compares that to a situation where he was brought on board to help vet a new educator being brought into his son’s school

-Sam has a bone to pick with Joe about a new client referral that he cannot shake

-On the topic of referrals, Weldon talks about his good business relationship with Amy McKnight and the team at The Mac Spa

-Joe asks Weldon about his decision to go all in on MSP and how difficult it was at times to say no to potential business

-After heavy experience with companies like Microsoft and Cisco, Weldon realized he was the only one on his team that could handle certain tasks. So it made him sharpen his focus on things that he and his entire team could be awesome at.

-A big congratulations to Weldon for his successful presentation with Randy Saeks at JNUC 2018!

-ACEs Conference is back for 2019! It will be held in Kansas City, MO June 4-6. Visit http://acesconf.com/ccp/ for special pricing for CCP listeners.

282: Interview With Allen Hancock of Watchman Monitoring - Zendesk Private Ticket Creation

Topics:

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This show is brought to you commercial free, thanks to our Patreon sponsors.

On this episode we welcome long time supporter of the show and owner of Watchman Monitoring, Allen Hancock

-Some news for Allen and the team is that they have hired Ben Mason. You may know Ben from his excellent support at Gruntwork.

-Hiring new staff and remote vs local employees becomes an interesting topic of discussion

-Allen has a big announcement in that they are changing the way they handle Zendesk Tickets. Listen to find out more about Zendesk private ticket creation and how Watchman Monitoring takes full advantage of this.  

-Watchman Monitoring can also work with Zendesk’s Essential Plan

-Zendesk Private Ticket creation is the new feature that allowed this integration to happen

-Looking for help with these features?  Watch the Watchman Monitoring webinar 

-If you need quick assistance, visit http://watchmanmonitoring.com/schedule to set up a time for support.  Pro Services options are available as well.

-Allen will be in Los Angeles for MacTech Conference 2018
Visit http://conference.mactech.com/go/ccp to find out about special pricing for CCP listeners

-The Watchman Monitoring community forum has been recently revamped.  You will no longer receive emails from the forum unless you request to watch a topic or receive responses to your posts.  You can also vote on features.

Visit http://community.watchmanmonitoring.com to be a part of the Watchman Monitoring community. Get involved!

281: Hey Siri, Will you dance with me?

Topics:

-Neil Ticktin of MacTech joins us to talk about MacTech Conference coming up in Redondo Beach on November 7-9, 2018

-Neil takes the time to discuss some of the amazing speakers and sessions he has lined up this year 

-Listeners of the show can get special pricing by using the link below to register:
http://conference.mactech.com/go/ccp

-Sam has a rare show appearance 

-Joe discusses the use of the TidBITS newsletter as required reading for his staff

-Sam has a scary moment where during a migration to Gmail, he forgot to look at Notes and receives the dreaded client call the day after

-In addition to the missing notes, he runs into an issue between Outlook and Google with two step verification.  In the end, Keychain turned out to be the culprit.

-Joe is still contemplating a new iPhone Xs and tries to enlist Sam’s help in convincing him.  He is also considering a case and no longer going commando.

-Sam has a pleasant experience at his local Apple Store Genius Bar when dealing with an iPhone with water damage.  It reminds Joe of some recent incidents with similar repairs.

-Sam has a peeve (or gripe?) about Favorites vs Bookmarks on iOS

-Apparently Sam’s HomePod is a George Michael fan and randomly starts reciting lyrics from Careless Whisper:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izGwDsrQ1eQ

280: A Gaggle Of Macs - George Clooney Selfie Mode

Topics:

-Joe is just about vagrant status as he gives us an update on his life on the road

-Ashleigh has some troubles with her Air Pods and her model MacBook Pro

-Apple hardware costs are making the guys wonder about new purchases

-A conversation with a client with a “gaggle of Macs” about the upgrade path

-Watchman Monitoring helps to generate customized reports either internally or for the client

-As rumors swirl about an October hardware release, Jerry hopes for an iPad with a USB-C connection that can also be used as an external display.

-PSA for Backblaze customers - upgrading to Mojave could cause Backblaze to stop backing up. Follow the article below to allow full disk access:
https://www.backblaze.com/blog/mojave-permissions/

-1Password can still autofill credentials but can no longer execute a login (ie. pressing Return) in the latest version of Safari

-Also in Safari 12, Citrix now has an issue running. One of Joe’s clients has this issue after upgrading on her own. Here is a post about the fix:
https://discussions.citrix.com/topic/398482-ica-download-on-safari-12/
And a blog post from Citrix about the issue:
https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2018/08/03/npapi-support-is-being-removed-from-safari-12/

-Jerry references MacBreak Weekly, where they mention an app called Focos, which uses computational photography to perform amazing edits on your photos

-Jerry wants the new phone for “George Clooney selfie mode”

-Joe has a client with a new domain that ends in .photography, which caused all sorts of issues as many apps don’t understand that it is a URL. His work entailed adding the domain to Google Search Console, along with adding variants, selecting defaults, and adjusting country/language settings. Here are Squarespace recommendations:
https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/205814568

-Joe shares a problem and solution for an issue in Mail app when composing a new email

-Joe introduces yet another new segment: Joe's Corner Down by the River. Note that when removing ~/Library/Mail/V5/MailData/Envelope Index, Envelope Index-shm, Envelope Index-wal, ExternalUpdates.storedata, ExternalUpdates.storedata-shm, ExternalUpdates.storedata-wal, when rebuilding mail database, messages for IMAP accounts are re-downloaded from the server! Eats up limited cellular bandwidth.

279: Pontiac Data Loss

Special Thanks To Our VIP Sponsors!

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.

Pontiac Data Loss.png

-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.

Thank you to all of our Patreon supporters!

Thank you to all of our Patreon supporters!

278: Interview With Adam Codega Of Stenhouse Consulting, LLC

Topics:

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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!

Thank you to our listeners!

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

Topics:

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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.

274: Back To The Future

A Special Thanks To Our VIP Patreon Sponsors

Topics:

-We take a trip down memory lane as we go back to a very early set of interviews from Apple Advanced Camp in Austin, TX 2013

-We also have a listener contribution from our friend from the Netherlands, Remie Cremers

 

Thank you to our Patreon Sponsors!

Thank you to our Patreon Sponsors!

273: Work Humanely At Your Sustainable Peak With Author - Jeff Porten

Topics:

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-Brandon Walter, a relatively new listener to the show (thanks Ty Romstadt!), provides a couple of tips, including an alternative adhesive kit for the 21.5" and 27" iMacs:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202357271099

-Brandon also mentions a great vCard export option within the Contacts app

-Jerry mentions an excellent tip he heard on Mac Geek Gab, which is to open a desktop version of a website on a mobile device (think iCloud.com on an iPhone/iPad)

-Joe's disappointing 15" MacBook Pro story continues as he finds he cannot have the battery replaced at the Apple Store.  Jerry suggests a "Mac Drop".

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-We have the pleasure of welcoming Jeff Porten, author of Take Control of your Productivity, available from Take Control Books -
Jeff Porten has 25 years of experience as an independent consultant to small businesses and nonprofits, concentrating on information technologies, business planning, and personal and organizational workflow management.

Being productive is never as simple as putting items on a calendar or to do list and checking them off. Most of us struggle with too much to do, too little time, and only a vague idea of how to plan each day so we can achieve the best results with the least stress. If that sounds like you (and especially if you’ve tried a bunch of productivity systems and found them lacking), Jeff Porten’s expert guidance may be just what you need.

-Listeners of the show can receive a special 30% off the book price by going to http://takecontrolbooks.com/ccpower.  ACNs can also receive a sample copy for evaluation.

-You can reach Jeff at takecontrol@jeffporten.com

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. 

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-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

271: If You Think I Am Done, I Am Not

Topics:

-In a rarity, Joe and Sam are recording without Jerry

-Joe is in the state of Washington and they discuss the possibility of meeting up on the west coast

-With all of the security features and changes with new hardware, the guys discuss the need to get your hands on current hardware to make sure you as a consultant are familiar with changes in behavior.

-Sam has a saga to share about issues related to his own computer.  He spins a yarn to take listeners through every gory detail, including:

  • Reinstall from recovery

  • Using dscl to create users

  • Recreating/deleting .AppleSetupDone

  • Choosing Spanish as the language

  • Recreating the user account

  • Changed UID back to 501

  • Deleted /var/folders/zz

-Sam wonders if Joe has realized that he had forgotten something in preparation for his trip

Patience is a virtue.  Or at least it's a learned skill in our business.  End users don't always know when to "wait it out" and let a process complete.

-Joe was having an issue importing contacts for a client and fields that were not supported in Exchange.  Another issue was making a contact listed by company instead of First Name/Last Name.

270: iMac Pro & T2 Madness

We welcome our VIP Patreon Sponsors:

ZVON PETRIC - AT YOUR SERVER

ZVON PETRIC - AT YOUR SERVER

Topics:

-Joe made it to Portland, Oregon and had the chance to hang out with friend of the show Kevin Ginger.  Sam is in Wakesha, WI

-As the show start time approaches, Sam runs into issues on his own computer. Joe wonders if it’s /var/folders. Why is this directory such a mystery to us?

-An iMac Pro comes to Joe’s workbench with strange problems with the Share menu. One method of troubleshooting was using the Recovery Partition and he ran into Secure Boot features:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208330

After attempting Apple Configurator 2 and not having success, Joe’s team contacted Apple. The suggestion was made for a full unit replacement. 

*Joe can see the future about future Mac computers with the T2 chip as this show was recorded prior to the recent 2018 MacBook Pro announcements
-Joe & Sam go down memory lane about the various models and how troubleshooting has changed

-Does Joe miss Touch ID on his MacBook Pro? Yes however he still had “Unlock with Apple Watch”. That is, until his Apple Watch decided to self destruct. 

-One of Sam’s clients had a need to change their default domain within Google’s G-Suite and he discusses the pitfalls of making those changes
https://support.google.com/a/answer/2622985?hl=en

 

Support us on Patreon!

Support us on Patreon!

269: Waltzing Ma-tilde'

Topics:

-Joe has some follow up about his favorite keyboard shortcut, Command+Tab.  Jerry and Sam recall some of their favorites.

-As Jerry talks about using the Clipboard manager feature of one of his favorite apps, Alfred, Joe goes to his tin foil hat korner.  Sam realizes how terribly inefficient he is at times.

-Jerry amuses the group about how some clients will bang away on their keyboard or mouse thinking that more force will make the computer respond better

-As Jerry talks about a client invading his personal space, Sam is reminded of a Seinfeld episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGVSIkEi3mM

-Sam has a gripe of his own in working with Jamf Now recently and an app deployment taking an unexpected turn

-After the recent announcement of Apple's keyboard service program for certain models, Joe suggests QA testing in more realistic, dusty environments.

-After years of unprepared clients, Sam encounters a client akin to Superman who performed half of the work he was quoted to do

-Jerry has a PSA about Sandisk memory cards that may fail under intense workloads

-Dropbox seems to be a culprit for high CPU usage

-Joe has a photographer client that was looking to adjust his workflow to RAW and it had negative affects on the memory card

-Sam chuckles to himself as he is directing his staff how to work using the "fuzzy slipper method" that Jerry coined recently

 

Thank you to our Patreon Sponsors!

Thank you to our Patreon Sponsors!

268: Peaves Or Gripes?

This week we are proud to be sponsored by FLEXdesk, an offering from our friends at Rooted Consulting.  FLEXdesk - Help Desk support that grows with you

Topics:

-Joe has some questions about content caching and working with multiple WAN IP addresses.  Sam makes an attempt at discussing while on the road.

-Sam encounters an issue when attempting to download a full macOS High Sierra installer.  With content caching enabled on another computer, the App Store only downloaded a small 15 MB file.  Only when turning content caching off would it download the full installer.

-Jerry is in the midst of a remodel in his home office so he talks about the struggles of being uprooted and moving equipment

-He recommends theTP-Link PowerLine Adapters as a good alternative to ethernet when that’s not possible:https://amzn.to/2N6vX6P

-After Jerry was talking about how an Apple TV reset worked to correct issues, Joe suggests a change in our motto to “Have you tried resetting it?” 

-Joe recommends these fans he found on Amazon for spot cooling.  He specifically uses the AC Infinity Multifan
S2: https://amzn.to/2NcQhmP
S7: https://amzn.to/2uo5t8U

-Quick tip from Jerry about a client that took their Mac into the Apple Store and were told that it needed a new logic board.  He saves the day by unplugging the battery and the client is ecstatic that it turned on again.

-A reminder from Jerry to have your clients put reviews on Google or Yelp

-Joe has some Safari gripes to talk about.  At times, when clicking on a link in Apple Mail, it will open a new tab in one of his minimized windows in the Dock.  Jerry wonders if it’s more of a peeve than a gripe.

-Another annoyance is making exceptions to invalid certificates in https sites.  He also noticed that the password dialogue box is for the current logged in user’s credentials.  Sam thinks this is because it is placing an exception in the user’s keychain.  Jerry wonders if it’s a router’s config page with an expired certificate.  An older version of Firefox is the workaround.

-Joe attempts to hold Sam to his keychain thought and he cannot verify as he is careening down the highway at high speeds

-A connection to John Gruber and Daring Fireball - he declares the Menu Bar as the Mac’s greatest invention.  Joe says Command+Tab is the greatest keyboard invention.  Sam wonders what came first, Command+Tab or Windows key+Tab?

267: Microsoft Turd Polishing

Topics:

-Jerry mentions Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin's show, Back To Workon the 5by5 network, and we try our take on their "Odds and Sods" concept.

-One of Jerry’s clients, an architect, has issues with Dropbox and syncing symbolic links.  He offers a solution in the form of an application called Dropbox Any: https://www.sebthedev.com/macdropany 

-Jerry also calls out a Dropbox support article that describes performing a manual uninstall: https://www.dropbox.com/help/desktop-web/uninstall-dropbox 

-This same client has a debacle with an Aura drive and an experience where the Apple Store wiped the customer data!  

Article on third party SSD compatibility:
https://blog.macsales.com/42466-a-note-on-high-sierra-compatibility-with-third-party-ssds

-Sam has been working closely with a client to develop a proof of concept to roll out iPad Pro devices and finds challenges with the Microsoft Office products for iOS

-He has also had a very positive experience working with the business team and their measured approach when selling products to the customer

-Joe finds it funny that one of Sam’s solutions is to use Web Clips, an idea that Steve Jobs himself described as a “sweet solution” 11 years ago, a fact that John Gruber periodically jokes about

-In our “I should have known this” segment, Joe realizes while attempting to do a backup that he cannot backup using Time Machine to an APFS volume.  He also finds that he cannot encrypt a Time Machine destination after completing an initial backup.

-Jerry has some follow up from the 10,000 Songs on Four Wheels Show and using the “Fuzzy Slipper Method”, coined by Jerry himself.  He talks about needing WAN access when setting up a network for a customer in your office.

-Joe has a straight WAN port in his work bench area so he can truly setup a network for clients using unfiltered access

-Joe calls back to Dan Benjamin & Merlin Mann and how he used to listen to them constantly

-We had the pleasure of sitting in on Jeff Porten’s presentation at ACEs 2018 and he has a new book out in the Take Control Series.  The book is called “Take Control of Your Productivity” 
https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/productivity

266: 10,000 Songs On Four Wheels

We welcome our VIP Patreon Sponsors:

Zvon Petric - At Your Server

Zvon Petric - At Your Server

Topics:

-Joe continues to name drop as he is near Point Reyes National Seashore at the time of recording

-Jerry suggests a drinking game for all of Joe's California location mentions

-As some follow up to Jerry's Drobo fan story, he finally had to bite the bullet and move to a new enclosure

-Cellular modem troubles became an issue for Joe so he spins a yarn about the steps he took to troubleshoot

-Restoring a configuration file became a topic of discussion and a word of caution

-Joe talks about the logistics of shipping equipment for "general delivery" or using an Amazon Locker when on the road

-Now that Joe has a fancy cellular modem/router, he discusses his wish list for things like prioritized traffic

-Seeing a business opportunity, the group starts talking about options for working with RV and boat owners

-Billing for the aptly named "fuzzy slippers approach" comes up.  Sam contemplates making it a line item on his invoice.

-Quoting for those jobs is also something that becomes a talent over time

265: Interview With Mark Larocque, Sales Manager of Synology America Corp

Topics:

This week we have the pleasure of being joined by Mark Larocque, Sales Manager of Synology America Corp.

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Mark's Bio:
Founded in Vancouver, Canada up until 2015, where I relocated to Seattle, I have a Computer Programming diploma as well as an Adult Education diploma.  Have always had passion for all things tech with a major focus on Apple products, which seemed fitting in me working at Apple Retail from 2011 – 2016.  I have had several roles in account management at various tech firms and currently manage a California book of System Integrators and Re-Sellers at Synology.  I acquired a DS412+ back in 2012 and integrating this unit within my Apple household has allowed me incredible freedom with the many features that Synology provides, as well as the quality of the product and the support offered.  I also have the most adorable Siamese cat named Cobalt.

Some background on Synology:
Founded in 2000, Synology creates network-attached storage (NAS), IP surveillance solutions, and network equipment that transform the way users manage data, conduct surveillance, and manage network in the cloud era. By taking full advantage of the latest technologies, Synology is committed to delivering products with forward-thinking features and best-in-class customer service.

-Mark and the CCP crew talk about some of the hardware that Synology produces

-Jerry asks Mark to describe the naming schema of the product line

-Similar to Apple's take, Synology supports the latest Disk Station Manager (DSM 6.2) on hardware that goes back a number of years

-Mark speaks to the fact that any security concerns are often addressed and patched within a 24 hour period

-The Package Center is a nice advantage of DSM - downloading apps like Photo Station, Media Station, Moments

-QuickConnect is a very nice added benefit of DSM in that it can perform "port punching" to open accessibility to your Synology storage without managing ports on your firewall

-Sam asks about the number of customers moving to Synology from macOS Server and Mark discusses the ability to work directly from the box over the network

-Many of the Synology units support a 10 Gb connection to allow for incredibly fast throughput with supported network equipment and workstations like the iMac Pro

-Synology offers a "product selector" on their site to offer options for compatibility: https://www.synology.com/en-us/support/nas_selector

-In discussing hardware, the topic of hard drives is discussed along with the partnership with Seagate's line of products, such as the IronWolf series.

-Some Synology units have m2 slots for caching.  You can use both for read & write caching

-Jerry talks about an alternative to companies like Box in Cloud Station.  Synology has built in features for HIPAA Compliancy

-Sam talks about the high level of support for any issue that arise

-Joe has a Synology use case of his own while living on the road

-Synology is a perfect solution for Time Machine backup destinations, especially in the wake of Time Capsules no longer being produced

-Jerry brings up Synology's router line as well.  The RT1900ac & RT2600ac units.  Mark goes on to say that the RT2600ac will act as the backbone of their mesh products

-Mark makes the CCP crew aware of the availability of their partner program!  Some of the benefits of the partner program:
--Technical advice and discovery calls
--Special approved discounted pricing
--NFR units - substantial discounts for partners once per calendar year
--Loaner units to use for 30 days as a proof of concept for the clients before purchase

-To find out more about the partner program, call them directly at 425-818-1587 or visit https://www.synology.com/en-us/form/inquiry/sales