308: Don't Fear The iCloud

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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.

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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

304: Joe's Beauty Salon

Topics:

-Jerry has some follow up on a show where Sam & Joe discussed friendliness with employees.  Jerry offers his thoughts on drawing a line with staff.

-The topic spills over into relationships with clients

-Insurance is something that Jerry is curious about amongst others in our profession.  He and Joe discuss hard numbers.

-Jerry wants to know why Joe doesn’t hire people as contractors or 1099 employees

-After buying a new MacBook on eBay, Jerry has noticed that the display is starting to delaminate: MacBook Retina STAINS ON DISPLAY / damaged AR coating

-Joe brings up the “Rights to Repair” movement
https://repair.org/stand-up

-Louis Rossmann is a very vocal voice on the subject of Right to Repair
https://rossmanngroup.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl2mFZoRqjw_ELax4Yisf6w

-Security is a subject we commonly bring up and Joe recalls a story he heard on the Reply All podcast.  This concerning topic revolves around intercepting a phone number in two step verification by a practice called SIM swapping.
https://www.gimletmedia.com/reply-all

-Jerry wraps up the show by offering up movie recommendations:
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley | Documentaries | HBO
https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-inventor-out-for-blood-in-silicon-valley
Free Solo
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/films/free-solo/
Dawn Wall
https://www.dawnwall-film.com
Meru
http://www.merufilm.com

303: Guest Host Michael Thomsen of Origin84 with Viktor Glemme, Will O’Neal and Luis Giraldo

Special Thanks To Our VIP Sponsors!

Topics:

-This week we have a special guest host as Michael Thomsen takes the mic. Michael is the Director and Founder of Origin 84 - https://www.origin84.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjthomsen/

-Victor Glemme is a member of the Origin 84 team and he joins Michael in his hosting duties. Victor previously worked at Apple and Jamf and originally hails from Sweden
https://www.linkedin.com/in/glemme/

-Will O’Neal receives a call from Michael and talks about his business and the upcoming ACEs Conference.  Will owns Mid Atlantic Computer Solutions and is on the board of directors for the ACEs Conference - 4macsolutions.com

-ACEs Conference this year will be held in Kansas City, MO June 4-6
http://acesconf.com

-This year at ACEs Conference, they will focus on small groups and less speakers.  This new collaborative and mentoring format will be a welcome and exciting change to an already impactful conference.

-ACEs has its own Slack channel at acesconf.slack.com

-A yoga class will once again be at the start of the conference this year

-Kansas City has been chosen as a 5G test city.  Will and the team will attempt to work with Sprint to provide some demos for participants.

-In a bonus, LuisGiraldo also joins the Origin 74 team on the show
Luis Giraldo on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisgiraldo/
ITGlue - https://www.itglue.com
Ook Enterprises - https://ook.co

-Luis gives us a quick history of his business life in Ook Enterprises and how he came to be at IT Glue

-Luis talks about meeting with his partners and setting goals for his business

-Monkey Box was developed to “scratch an itch” and he tells the story of how that brought him into the IT Glue family

-What is IT Glue exactly? It provides a structured way to create consistency, efficiency, and scalability by having a centralized IT documentation platform

-Luis gives a shout out to some great members of the Mac Admins community:

Tom Bridge and Chris Dawe on Wireless - http://macadmins.psu.edu/files/2017/07/psumac2017-154-A-System-Administrators-Fundamentals-of-Wi-Fi-or-Arguing-With-Physics-Section1-RF-Wi-Fi-Jargon-rgldvy.pdf
-Rich Trouton - http://derflounder.wordpress.com
-Charles Edge - http://krypted.com

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