356: The Mean Sister

Topics:

-Jerry starts a roundtable discussion about accessing remote computers using TeamViewer

-MDM has some answers but not everything is automated: https://community.teamviewer.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/How-to-control-a-Mac-running-macOS-10-14-or-higher/ta-p/44699

-Joe talks about burning technical capital when working with a new client

-Some of these situations remind Sam about an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGXWjyGP4KY

-Jerry & Joe don’t let Sam off the hook when attempting to clarify questions related to rogue MDM enrollment

-Nit wit, numbskull, imbecile - great descriptions for certain types of clients

-Joe uses the term “inelegant” to describe allowing remote access & MDM enrollment

-Moving away from the remote discussion, Sam decides to spin his own yarn about a Windows based client that caused a lot of grief for him and his team

-A good relationship can quickly turn uncomfortable when a problem is not resolvable in short order

-This problem manifested itself as slow internet speeds

-Sam finds multipe unmanaged switches hidden underneath desks

-Focusing on the ISP, they decide to switch to the backup ISP as the first priority and the cable ISP as the failover.  But the problems only get more complicated from there

-Both Joe & Jerry hone in on weather related issues with relation to Optimum Online and external lines

-What was the resolution?  Listen to find out!

355: Spreading The Love With Watchman Monitoring

Topics:

-Sam was on a Zoom conference with family and it could only be described as mayhem

-Jerry has a gripe about LinkedIn

-Command+Q and remote sessions

-Support call experience surveys set Jerry off

-Take out precautions as well as any other outside contact is discussed

-Joe wanted to know if Sam received responses from his newslette

-Sam has concerns about clients that may choose to suspend services, especially as his automated monthly invoices go out.

-Although it’s been discussed before Joe starts a dialogue about installing Watchman Monitoring in situations even when clients are not paying for ongoing services

-Jerry wonders about the value that clients may comprehend in something like Watchman Monitoring since it often times runs in the background

-Jerry’s not looking for trouble

-A client facing report is on Jerry’s wish list

-Sam gives Joe a shout out for a couple of scripts in Addigy that adjust Watchman Monitoring settings like Time Machine alerts (https://prod.addigy.com/#/macmanage/community/scripts/5ce312c25ff0a156d5654c24) and root capacity warnings (https://prod.addigy.com/#/macmanage/community/scripts/5ce3121c5ff0a156d55446b0)

-Watchman can now gather the correct age of a Mac computer since they had to make changes after Apple began randomizing serial numbers

-With users working from home, how are backups being handled?

-Joe recommends this G-Tech portable drive: 
https://www.amazon.com/G-Technology-G-Drive-Mobile-Portable-External/dp/B07DK2LPDD/?tag=cmdctrlpwr-20

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors!

354: This Is Not Snake Oil

Topics:

-Jerry talks of how business has slowed down for him since all of the recent events have occurred

-Joe has been busy setting up remote access for corporate clients and he hasn’t felt an impact as of yet

-Sam starts to broach the subject of maintaining security on home computers

-One of Sam’s client laid off 95% of their workforce 

-Projects have been put on hold

-How long will the shelter in place for the New York area last?

-An office move that Sam had referenced in the last episode is still going to move forward under special circumstances.  An HCS tech will arrive on site when nobody else is in the office in order to connect equipment.

-Jerry has retail clients that are cutting prices due to the times

-Could we learn something from retailers slashing prices?

-Jerry reminds us that we are relying on supplies from other countries like China, which could cause delays even if we do want to start projects.

-Sam ordered a new MacBook Air

-Simply asking is an approach that Joe says could speak a discussion for moving on work

-Jerry inquires about “Sam’s buddy” with the restaurant, who is surviving with curb side pick ups and delivery

-One of Jerry’s clients receives a very well done phishing scam that does a redirect through Microsoft One Drive.  Thankfully they caught it in time.  Jerry was surprised as to how casual the compromised vendor was about it.

-As the topic of newsletter and reaching out comes back up, Joe has some thoughts of dark web scanning and phishing tests.  Sam has some ideas of reaching out just with information as opposed to a marketing pitch, followed up by individual calls to the client.

-Some of our fellow consultants like Michael Thomsen of Origin 84 and Tim Nyberg of The Mac Guys have contributed to the show with some of their ideas for contacting clients

353: Interview With Adam Engst Of the TidBITS Content Network

Topics:

-Thank you to all of our newest Patreon sponsors:
Daniel Carroll
Tim Hannon
Sikko Lucas
Nick Harvey
Sara Gepp - Close to the Earth IT
AJ Protebka - Campfire Technology Group
Remie Cremers - Tesla Pro Tips

-We welcome Adam Engst from TidBITS back to the show!

-Adam comes in to discuss the current times and finding ways to adapt your work life to this new environment

-Things have moved quickly in a short amount of time

-Joe actually headed out west shortly before many of the recent events and had to self quarantine

-Drive through testing for COVID-19 is available but not in all areas

-Adam describes how hard it has been to concentrate on work lately

-This has also affected his local runner’s club events

-Adam’s never had an office and life working from home has been normal for him.  But for others, it’s not the norm and it presents its challenges.

-Another unexpected part of this, as Jerry & Sam have experienced, is working with children at home, who have their own work to accomplish.

-It is important to take breaks!

-Sam has a client move to complete that may not be able to shift dates.  He is trying to figure out how to deal with that.

-If you do go out, it is advised to change your clothes.  But as Adam mentions from an emergency responder, it matters how you take those items off.

-Joe has hardware labor to complete and is contemplating various methods of exchanging equipment, like “dead drops”.

-Take Control Books has a new free book called “Working From Home Temporarily” by Glenn Fleishman: https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/working-from-home/

-Adam’s son attends Cornell University and they, along with other colleges and universities, have their own situations to deal with

-Restaurants are another industry that is taking a major hit and some have shut down operations preemptively since they cannot afford to lose that much business

-Currently, IT consultancies are in demand to support clients with remote support and home office setup.  But how long will that last if businesses do not have the money to move forward?

-A discussion brews about newsletters and what we should be said and how much should you push services

-Adam has been pondering what the theme of April’s TidBITS Content Newsletter (https://tcn.tidbits.com) should be.  Working remotely will be a prime focus

-Some advice from Adam: Offer something new to your clients if possible

-An amazing product that Adam recommends is called Otter: https://otter.ai - which offers real time transcription and can integrate with a service like Zoom.  

-Do your research and get information from verified locations like World Health Organization, CDC, Johns Hopkins University: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

-It’s nice to see people and neighbors offering to help those that may not be able to get their own supplies for one reason or another

-Adam wraps up with some excellent tips about how other countries have dealt with this and what we can do

-In tech news, Apple released new products, including the new MacBook Air!  This is discussed on the TidBITS site: https://tidbits.com/2020/03/18/new-macbook-air-features-magic-keyboard-and-lower-price/

Thank you to our Patreon sponsors!

352: Update - March 15, 2020

Topics:

-Jerry & Sam sit down to talk about how current times are affecting our businesses

-Next week we will have Adam Engst from The TidBITS Content Network to talk more about tips for operating our businesses during trying times

-Sam describes reaching out to monthly clients to make them aware of remote support for the next couple of weeks

-Speaking of TidBITS Content Network, Jerry talks about reaching out to clients with information

-Sam is very curious about how our fellow consultants are handling the situation

-Due to a Jamf 200 class coming up, Sam has to be in New York City this week and expresses his concern. But it does make him think about how to handle interactions

-Misinformation on social media aggravates Sam tremendously

-Supply availability is a very real issue in Jerry’s parts

-Jerry has small client visits this week that he is keeping on the calendar as of now

-Remote access has been a feature that is keeping some of us very busy

-Chrome Remote Desktop is a decent alternative for remote access that can be used in smaller environments: https://remotedesktop.google.com

-Syncing a local Synology NAS with a cloud service can make access to data simpler

-While Sam has not sent out a message to all of his clients but Jerry has taken the step of keeping his clients informed

-ACEs Conference has been postponed until October 20-21, 2020.  Justin & team are working to hold a virtual conference May 19-20 and Command Control Power will be a part of it!  10% of ticket sales are being donated to No Kid Hungry.  Stay tuned for more information.

-If you have topics or something you would like to discuss on the show or mail in to the show, let us know!

351: Mirros Accross Devices

Topics:

-Deliveries is a great app from JuneCloud to track shipments for your business or your clients from any carriers
https://junecloud.com/software/iphone/deliveries.html

-Very top of mind is the delay of shipments from China due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

-It is reminiscent of the shortage of SSD drives from Taiwan due to extreme weather

-Conferences like Google IO, Facebook F8 have been canceled due to virus concerns as well

-Joe suggests to run a report to see where core equipment and hardware come from to make sure you have stock in case of shortages

-Jerry recently had to do a big restore from BackBlaze.  Both Joe & Sam suggested having a drive sent.  But Jerry proactively prepared the backup overnight and then restored all 70 GB before arriving to the client site. 

-After struggling to unzip the data using multiple GUI tools, Jerry was able to use the command line to extract the data

-All this reminds the hosts how many end users don’t think to backup their Mac

-DollyDrive anyone?

-With the uncertainties about data integrity on Catalina, listener Chris Hart writes in to provide his workflow for migrating to Apple’s latest OS.  Steps include booting from an external volume and using Carbon Copy Cloner

-Another option for comparing files that Joe suggests is using the ‘diff’ or ‘rsync’ commands

-Any listeners have their own methods for migration to mitigate the risks of data loss?