Category: Uncategorized

#ilovemyjob

I got to write this to a client today:

Good afternoon. In response to your server’s alert that one of its storage volumes was filling up, I dialed in to take a look.

I used a utility that tells us what’s consuming space.

It looks like the folder called “Crap” takes up the most room. Are the contents of the Crap folder indeed crappy? Can we get that crap off the server, or should it remain, crapping up the rest of your crap?

Let me know. It would be real easy to get a cheap hard drive and put all your crap on it.

How much should I fiddle with the privacy settings on iOS?

O’Grady is a legit writer, and his tips here are not specifically wrong. But I personally have less worry about this stuff, mostly because I think anyone who actually wants to track my location that bad can follow my car around.

This article by Jason O’Grady has some reasonable recommendations.

O’Grady is a legit writer, and his tips here are not specifically wrong. But I personally have less worry about this stuff, mostly because I think anyone who actually wants to track my location that bad can follow my car around.

Also, there are so many other things that companies know about us. Every time we charge our credit card, we reveal our location.

I don’t know how someone would cause me harm just from having the information. But I do know that I benefit from my phone being able to use my location to give me more relevant data and get me through my day.

So, while one can certainly switch these switches, and feel a little more private, I think it’s important to take privacy concerns in context, and recognize where each of us are, and are not, truly vulnerable.

Who I am, what I do, and why I do it

Who I am

In 1984, my dad and I took the very first Mac model for a weekend test drive. I’ve been hooked on excellent, beautifully designed technology ever since.

All through other paths — as an English major, graphic design and production, writing, and publishing — I really always excelled at helping people understand how to use technology. I’m patient, I’m a communicator, and I like to see people delighted by gadgets. Coincidentally, I realized my calling right about the time broadband made the internet fun, and Mac OS X came into its own.

So in 2003, I left my job at the San Antonio Current to start J2 Consulting, now jjmarcus.

Since then, I started one of the few server-rated, Apple-certified Mac consulting firms in San Antonio and South Texas. In 2014, I got married and moved my family and business to Dallas. I have been incredibly grateful that my whole San Antonio clientele agreed to come with me, and lucky that the tools are now available to help me support them from afar.

I focus exclusively on Apple devices and networks. From small businesses to consumers, nonprofits to public companies, I have been thrilled to help hundreds of people improve their lives through technology.

That was then

I started my own business in 2003 to help people with their Macs. Back then, IT work was still a little complicated. Not every question had a simple answer.

I worked, happily and proudly, in the traditional reactive mode of IT for 10 years, performing hourly service as needed. I have helped hundreds of people work easier and play more.

This is now

Five years later, tech cut loose. People learned to get and use powerful applications on portable devices. We started calling them “apps,” which sounds a lot friendlier than “applications.” Even “smart phone” is better than “computer.” And when the phone doesn’t work, well, just turn it off and turn it on again.

Now we take our gadgets, and their internet connections, for granted. We get informed and entertained, wherever we are, whenever we want.

And we want it to All. Just. Work.

I usually does, and when it doesn’t, it’s so much faster to fix than it used to be. That’s where my managed support comes in. For the first time ever, I can know the health of all the computers under my administration, and take comfort knowing that they are automatically maintaining themselves. So if something goes awry, I can resolve it even before it causes downtime, and all the basic troubleshooting has already been done for me.

So I think the old model of IT is outdated. It’s not about break/fix. It’s about automation and proactive management. And making people happy with their Macs has never been easier.

Word up

“Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!”
Gonna leave this here. Welcome to the new J2Mac page. Redesign is happening as we speak. On the off chance you happen to be watching today, please pardon any back ‘n’ forth. And if you have any WordPress tips for me, throw ’em at info@j2mac.com. I’m doing this seat-of-the-pants as usual, and will clean it up quick as I can.

LogMeIn available for Mac… um… last year

Oh, man, this is top notch: LogMeIn, probably the leading package that let’s you control your computers from afar, finally came out with a Mac controller for their Free package, and … I guess I’m the last to know about it.

Doh!
Previously we have been able to control PCs with LogMeIn, because it has been browser-based, and the same company has had Hamachi, a free VPN thing that I always meant to play with, but didn’t like that I had to use a 3rd-party app to do it. But now LMI has a plug-in to install on the Mac. Very very sweet.

So, I was talking with a new client who lives a little ways out of San Antonio, and we were discussing the methods I use to provide support, and he said, “Well, you could always connect to me with LogMeIn.” 
Hernh-wha?!
Sho’ ’nuff: About 20 minutes later, I had an account at LogMeIn and was able to access my own computer from afar. I had set up a VPN for this already, but LogMeIn is way easier. I can’t believe they released it to beta a year ago, and went 1.0 in December, but anyway I’m glad to have it now!
Now, they don’t have their Pro version available for Mac, so you can’t grab files or print remotely like you can with a VPN, so that latter option might still be preferable for many folks, perhaps with Hamachi and perhaps with the iVPN solution I mentioned previously. But just being able to get to your screen is huge.
Incidentally, security goes like this: You have a password to log in to your LogMeIn account, and then to control your computer you need to enter the name and password for your user account. 
And what do we learn from this? Pleeeeeeease make sure you have good, strong passwords on all of your accounts, both online and on your computer, and please don’t use the same password for every frackin’ thing you do!
Log me up, Scotty.

Free VPN!

Finally I had the opportunity/need/inspiration/circumstances to look for a free VPN server that would run on a server with a static IP on a LAN. 
Turns out Mac OS X has one built in! It’s an open-source UNIX deal called vpnd, and it’s the same one on OS X Server and configured through the GUI. It’s no surprise that Apple left a VPN GUI out of OS X client — Server costs either $499 or $999 — but a very nice developer named Alex Jones came up with the free iVPN, and after a little port forwarding on the router, and 30 seconds of config of iVPN, we had ourselves a legit L2TP VPN tunnel.
It was important to me that the VPN be accessible by the client built-in to OS X — found in Internet Connect in Tiger or earlier, and in Network System Preferences in Leopard. I have become bored with downloading and config’ing standalone software: too many checkboxes, not enough stability.
So…. whoop! Very easy, very free. 
Now, one thing about most VPN connections that has always bugged me is that, even if the client connects to a network resource, say a server, via its local Bonjour hostname, e.g. server.local, when a connection is attempted over the VPN it fails, and the user has to revert to using the IP address. Which is sort of fine, but a turn off to the less technically minded. So I just found this article on macosxhints.com about editing the /etc/hosts file:
I haven’t tried it yet, but it makes sense to me.