Command Control Power: Apple Tech Support & Business Talk

Recorded Live on September 10, 2013 Topics: - Steve Jobs "Boom" Supercut - the trouble with leaks leading up to Apple announcements - Touch ID, camera improvements - Amazon warning: Mophie case, hard drives Picks of the Week: - ProClip – Joe - Push Diagnostics – Sam - Analytics App, Analytics HD on iPad for Google Analytics – Jerry

Recorded Live on September 3, 2013 Topics: - subcontracting for another consultancy - OnForce - what we do to unplug and unwind: stare at the wall, sail, hike/backpack, camp, kayak, run, play soccer, play poker, walk, listen to music, listen to podcasts, do yoga - what you do to unplug and unwind: cook, row, do karate - podcast recommendations - standing desk recommendations Picks of the Week: - TeamViewer and join.me – Jerry - Passenger – Sam - Delivery Status – Joe Mentions: - Downcast - Kangaroo Adjustable Height Desks (not to be confused with Kanguru.com flash drives!)

Followup: - Jerry reports that Find My Mac only works on WiFi; only works when WiFi network interface is listed first in Network preferences set service order; requires Recovery Partition Topics: - password manager frustrations; Apple's opportunity to solve the problem with iPhone 5S and iCloud Keychain - Jerry mentions Ryan Block's idea to prevent iPhone from turning off unless passcode was entered to improve security and allow Find My iPhone - Sam discusses using Profile Manager to enable Remote Wipe without iCloud - Mac OS X Server services discussion; in-house email hosting considerations - rates discussion: how to charge; minimums; project-based billing vs. hourly - onsite/phone/remote; labor; diagnostics fee; travel time - discount for contracts/prepaid hours - whether to post rates on the website - remote support options: ARD over VPN, join.me, TeamViewer - remote hard drive shredding vs. occupying space on the workbench to securely erase

- Sam discusses some of the stresses associated with Apple Professional Services (APS) projects; normally as consultants we have flexibility and can work directly with clients to address unforeseen issues; but in the case of APS, due to travel and other agreements, APS gigs must be completed in the allotted timeframe which adds pressure - Sam updates us on his hiring process; interested consultants in the CT-NY-NJ area should contact @IAMSamValencia - Jerry reports difficulty with Find My Mac on machines with a static IP address; to be continued - Jerry brings up the pitfalls of full disk encryption using FileVault 2 on an unattended server; in case of an unexpected or soft restart, the system will boot to the FileVault 2 unlock screen, prompting for the encryption password before the system starts up or any services start; this prevents any kind of remote access via screen sharing or remote login; Apple provides a command line tool (fdesetup authrestart) to perform a one-time restart that bypasses the initial unlock; however, this doesn't help if the machine has lost power or become unresponsive; a KVM-over-IP device can solve that, but typically requires a Java app on the client machine to access the remote machine - Allen identifies a common problem for consultants: how to track and bill for all those random emails and quick phone calls - Allen's solution: "Personal Support" @ $25 per month, per person; includes unlimited quick emails or phone calls - Allen estimates this service earns him about $2500/month after 1.5 years - clients paying monthly for unlimited quick questions encourages them to call on a whim; this leads to billable work too, since anything over 15 minutes would be a billable consultation - Proactive Monitoring service: $10/month per computer; results in more billable work as machines report issues to consultant and consultant notifies client with recommended resolution

Followup: - iPhone 5S: Joe doubles down on prediction from Episode 002 that new iPhone would be called iPhone 5S, the S for Secure. Last week, iOS 7 beta 4 leaked a new folder called “BiometricKitUI" including strings containing VoiceOver text describing a "photo of a person holding an iPhone with their left hand while touching the Home button with their thumb"; home button fingerprint scanner + passcode = two factor authentication, iCloud Keychain providing seamless integration with Safari on the Mac Topics: - sending clients to the local Apple Stores for good will and possible referrals vs. earning extra cash for your referrals through the Apple Business Affiliate and Apple Store Affiliate programs - the added pressures of actively selling your services and promoting a solution vs. passively offering to help - Jerry does a client impersonation - what not to do: don't bash a previous tech - what to do: trust your gut; trust your instinct; let a new client know about the fee in advance and get paid at the time services are rendered; carry a Square card reader and take credit card payment using your iPhone; don't let too much time go by before collecting accounts receivable; document everything; get paid; get a good read on a new client and don't be afraid to say no - ACN Plus membership; ACN Member Store coupons - ACN Company membership; multiple locations - Terms of Service Memorable lines: "Don't bash a previous tech." – Sam Mentions: - LightSpeed - Daylite - Highrise ​

Followup: - Gary Hustwit, director of the Helvetica and Objectified documentaries tweeted that the correct pronunciation of Helvetica Neue is "noya" - Command-Control-power "Have you tried restarting?" first generation shirts funded! Topics: - hybrid Managed Services offerings; Joe's "Tech Checkup", Sam's "Wellness Visits"; Jerry's offering periodic monthly maintenance to check backups, check disks, run updates; discounted rate when paying for six or twelve months in advance - the advantages of sporting an Apple logo onsite and in public; whether or not to advertise on your car; great sources for logo merchandise aside from the ACN-direct options: Zuse, Queensboro - Apple Professional Services; operating as an arm of Apple; how to get involved with APS? face time with Apple, building a reputation over time - Francois Daumard, former channel relations manager at Apple in the Consultants Network, heading up Mobile Technology Competency, left Apple a couple of weeks ago to join Fiberlink, sellers of MaaS360, a cloud-based Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution - Apple Remote Desktop frustrations; Jerry coins a phrase for dealing with the black screen of doom: "cleaning the windshield" Memorable lines: "There's just these big black chunks of blocks and you have to open up a new Finder window and drag it around to have it clean the windshield." – Jerry Mentions: - Passenger

Topics: - Managed Services requires a change of mindset: it's a value-based approach to billing, not time-based - references: Value-Based Fees, The Consulting Bible, and Million Dollar Consulting Proposals by Alan Weiss - strategies for migrating break/fix clients to managed services model - importance of trust, educating the client, and setting expectations / Memorable Lines: "this is the amount of money we charge per month and it includes these services" - Luis

Followup: - Sam's Office365 email migration / Topics: - enlisting help from outside consultants; no one does things the way you do; importance of communicating with clients - social media for professionals; how to gain followers; who do you want to follow you? great way to get support from vendors; advice from Allen Hancock: want great followers, post nice things about vendors - ACN Locator Ratings and Reviews; Google Places, Google Plus - best mobile workstations: MacBook Air 11-inch vs. 13-inch; remote support from iPad - Tile: product for locating objects - Leap Motion: looks cool! - Backup: mirror vs. clone; examples of backup strategies: Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner, Archiware P5 (formerly PresSTORE), CrashPlan; the 3-2-1 rule of backup; is needing two forms of media an outmoded idea? reference: the DAM book by Peter Krough

- pros and cons of cloud-based solutions - clients don't understand the cloud - storage issues with people moving to flash storage with limited space (e.g., MacBook Air with 64/128 GB) - backing up locally vs. to the cloud - Mail Service on Mac OS X Server; backup and restoration considerations - Kerio Connect and Microsoft Exchange; built-in backup and restore options - private cloud services - DropBox security considerations, and secure alternatives - get comfortable with saying "no" by repeating it to yourself - charging for the discovery process and protecting yourself when writing a proposal; offering a free introductory hour - clients stumbling on support from rogue third-party companies when trying to find first-party support - clients accidentally moving the Microsoft User Data folder or iPhoto database; iPhoto used to allow iPhoto Library to be in the Trash! - Time Machine does not back up the Trash, but some clients store data there - question from the audience: "What part of your job, as an Apple consultant, do you enjoy most?"

We discuss aspects of app development including working with contractors, outsourcing, and providing end user support, and explore some pitfalls including user confusion and bias toward negative reviews. Naturally, we also manage to talk shop. Jerry shares his encounter with permissions issues after migrating from a Time Capsule backup to a new Mac that came home from the Apple Store with a new user account, and Joe describes similar permissions issues when migrating from a clone of a corrupted Time Capsule backup. We also discuss the importance of protecting sensitive data with FileVault 2, and compare it to PGP Whole Disk Encryption and legacy FileVault. Plus, a live calendar check with three consultants!