Want to find me at MacWorld?

While I won’t have a cool give-away if you find me at MacWorld, I will be around the conference if you are interested in seeking me out and having a conversation about a specific topic.

I will be presenting three sessions at the MacIT Conference of MacWorld | iWorld this year.  If you are interested in attending any of the sessions, you can find the schedule below along with session descriptions.

Thursday, January 26th 4:10pm – 4:55pm

IT843: Apple Tools for iOS 5 Deployment and Management

With the release of iOS 5, new technologies and tools will be updated to help with the deployment and management of these devices. This session will look at techniques for imaging iOS devices, setting device profiles and restrictions, as well as looking at how these devices can be updated once in the hands of users. The tools utilized in this session will all be Apple-provided applications.

Who Should Attend?

Individuals responsible for configuration and deployment of iOS devices. Individuals responsible for application purchasing through iTunes. Organizations looking at methods for iOS deployment / management

Attendees Will Learn:
•    Benefits of the VPP program for application purchasing and management
•    New methods of management within iOS 5
•    Deployment and various “imaging” techniques
•    New tools and applications for iOS 5

Friday, January 27th 10:20am – 11:05am

IT851: How Lion has Changed Mac OS X: Services, Features & Capabilities
(presenting with Justin Rummel, Sr. Project Manager, Qivliq Commercial Group)

This discussion will review the major changes between Snow Leopard and Lion, and what it takes to configure these services. There are many changes in Lion–some subtle, and some no so subtle. In either case, though, an admin needs to be aware of the changes and how it impacts them. There are changes in Directory Services, Kerberos, Database Services, Server Control, Machine Management and more. Lion is growing to be a major change vs. little differences that was experienced from Leopard to Snow Leopard. It will be easier to grasp seeing what was once performed is now accomplished by “this new process”.

Who Should Attend? 


Anyone interested in Lion Server
Attendees Will Learn:
•    odutil vs. dsconfig: there are many command line changes when configuring and managing Open Directory; the most obvious as of today is the addition of odutil vs. dsconfig[ad]
•    MIT Kerberos vs. Heimdal: Review of what is Heimdal and what are the similarities (and differences) between MIT’s Kerberos
•    PostgreSQL vs. MySQL: MySQL is MIA, and PostgreSQL is now ‘available’, but what should the plan be if you are currently using MySQL on Snow Leopard. What is PostgreSQL’s primary function within Lion (how Collaboration Services are doing calls to the database vs. a full _running_ database).
•    Server.app vs. Server Admin.app: There is a new App in town, and you the confusion level can easily skyrocket to the likes of Directory.app in the /App/Utility folder vs. the Directory Utility.app. What does it do, and when should you use it?

Saturday, January 28th 10:40am – 11:25am

IT8113: Bringing Deployment and Post-deployment Under the Same Umbrella

Two of the major issues for system administrators is deployment of computers and applications as well as keeping those applications up-to-date once the computer is in the hands of users. In the session, we will look at how a free application, munki, allows for this to happen. We will also cover the thought process behind the setup and management of a munki repository so your adoption can move smoothly.

Who Should Attend?


Individuals responsible for deployment and imaging of OS X computers. System Administrators, Technology Managers.

Attendees Will Learn:
•    How to setup munki and various methods for building software distribution lists.
•    How to use munki in imaging, and the benefits it provides for overall systems management workflows.
•    Extending this to DirectorySerivces allowing computer group membership to control software.
•    Upkeep and relationships within munki.