Bradley C

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Kandji, the MDM solution built exclusively for organizations that run on Apple. Kandji is a modern, cloud-based platform for centrally managing and securing your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV devices, saving IT teams countless hours of manual work with features like one-click compliance templates and 150+ pre-built automations, apps, and workflows. Request access.

Employee choice when it comes to technology is something I applaud. Technology is deeply personal to many people, so using the tools you’re comfortable with improves morale and streamlines productivity. Unfortunately, employee choice with technology wasn’t always something employers considered. Many people give the iPhone credit for driving employee choice as it created a halo effect. The iPhone contributed that, but I want to argue that Google deserves a lot of credit here as well. Read on to learn more about how Google helped drive the concept of employee choice with technology.

When it comes to listening to podcasts on iOS, there are so many great options. The Apple Podcasts app comes built into every iOS device with syncing. It’s undoubtedly a great app, but is it the best? On iOS, users have countless third-party options. My goal for this article is to break down some of the major podcast apps and help you determine which is best for what you want out of an app. What’s the best podcast app for iPhone?

Last year, I wrote an edition of HomeKit Weekly that talked about building a new house and the smart home decisions that would go into that process. We’ve now broken ground, so I felt like it was time to update readers on what products I am leaning towards as I build out a new home and smart home from the ground up.

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Kandji, the MDM solution built exclusively for organizations that run on Apple. Kandji is a modern, cloud-based platform for centrally managing and securing your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV devices, saving IT teams countless hours of manual work with features like one-click compliance templates and 150+ pre-built automations, apps, and workflows. Request access.

The months in 2022 keep moving along. It feels like we were waking up on a 1/1/22, but here we are, nearly through with Q1. If you’re in the same community, these are the “quiet months” before we move into the period where speculation about Apple’s summer software announcements ramps up, followed by the fall releases. If you’re in the IT world, you’re possibly just coming up from air on deploying macOS 12 to your fleet, so the concepts of yet another software release might be exhausting. Truthfully, it is, but it’s coming whether you want it or not. There are things you can do today to prepare for macOS 13 in your organization, though.

I get to test many HomeKit devices, and my family is used to new devices coming in and out of the Home app. Still, the reviewer’s kit for the Eve Motion Blinds gives me insights into a high-end HomeKit future with custom integrators.

Sponsored by Kandji: A modern, cloud-based platform to manage and secure your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV devices. Kandji saves IT teams hours of manual work with features like one-click compliance templates and 150+ pre-built automations, apps, and workflows. Request access.

In this episode of Apple @ Work, Michael Cato from Bowdoin College joins the show to discuss why they choose the MacBook Pro, iPad mini, and Apple Pencil for their students.

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Kandji, the MDM solution built exclusively for organizations that run on Apple. Kandji is a modern, cloud-based platform for centrally managing and securing your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV devices, saving IT teams countless hours of manual work with features like one-click compliance templates and 150+ pre-built automations, apps, and workflows. Request access.

There’s no nice way to say it: File sharing to Windows Server on macOS is a half-baked solution at best. I am not sure if it’s how Apple implemented the protocol, but I’ve talked with countless IT professionals over the past year and everyone comes to the same conclusion: It’s the worst part of using a Mac at work. Disconnects plague macOS in the middle of transfers while Windows stays readily connected to the same server.

When it comes to oil diffusers, some people think they’ll solve the world’s problems and others believe they are humidifiers that smell nice. I fall in the latter category, but we still have multiple products around our house. We’ve tried several HomeKit options in the past, and while they technically worked well the overall appearance of them left a bit to be desired. The new Meross Smart Wi-Fi essential oil diffuser brings a much better-looking option to this category of products. Let’s dive into how it works.

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Kandji, the MDM solution built exclusively for organizations that run on Apple. Kandji is a modern, cloud-based platform for centrally managing and securing your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV devices, saving IT teams countless hours of manual work with features like one-click compliance templates and 150+ pre-built automations, apps, and workflows. Request access.

Apple IDs have come in a lot of forms over the years. From iTools, .Mac, MobileMe, iTunes Accounts, iCloud, and now managed options – they’ve become an important part of the Apple hardware experience. Managed Apple IDs are the newest part of the Apple ID family, and they are going to be a strong building block for the future of using Apple hardware in the workplace. In recent years, User Enrollment has extended the functionality of Managed Apple IDs.

Today, Aqara has announced the US release of its new G2H Pro camera designed as an Aqara hub and supporting HomeKit Secure Video. Aqara’s product lineups allow end users to build out a HomeKit setup at the lowest cost possible. Read on to learn more about the G2H Pro and its comparison to the original.

In this episode of Apple @ Work, Dean Hager from Jamf joins the show to discuss the benefits of Apple Silicon in the enterprise.

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Mosyle, the leader in modern mobile device management (MDM) and security for Apple enterprise and education customers. Over 28,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the deployment, management, and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on auto-pilot at a price point that is hard to believe.

For many years, I’ve been reading articles and listening to podcasts about how Apple’s OS quality has gone downhill over the years, and Snow Leopard was peak reliability. However, whenever I talk to someone about it directly, I try to explain that technology has evolved a lot since 2009, so it’s not an Apples to Apples comparison (pun intended).

One of the challenges of going ‘all in’ with HomeKit and other smart home platforms is it creates challenges when guests come to your home, as they need to turn on lights, etc. However, the Wemo Stage Smart Scene Controller is so simple yet powerful when simplifying daily usage of HomeKit. With its mountable frame to match a light switch, it might be one of my most recommended HomeKit products in the future.

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Mosyle, the leader in modern mobile device management (MDM) and security for Apple enterprise and education customers. Over 28,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the deployment,  management and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on auto-pilot at a price point that is hard to believe.

The line between personal and work devices has blurred. Even in situations where you have a corporate-owned laptop, you might still use your iPad or iPhone to get your email on the go or access company documents for reviewing away from your computer. Managed Open In and Managed Pasteboard are the ideal solutions for IT departments to enable users to be productive wherever they are while also protecting company assets.

Recently, I updated my review of the iSmartGate Homekit garage door opener to reflect how much more I am using it now that I have the Intellidash CarPlay unit in my car. I’ve stopped using the standard RF garage door opener with easy access to open and close my garage door from CarPlay. The usage spurred on some thinking about further integration with HomeKit and CarPlay.

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Mosyle, the leader in modern mobile device management (MDM) and security for Apple enterprise and education customers. Over 28,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the deployment,  management and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on auto-pilot at a price point that is hard to believe.

Since the original iPhone, the rise of “App Stores” has created a new digital economy. There’s a secondary use case for App Stores, and it has become a crucial part of how enterprises deploy and make apps available for end-users. Let’s look at why Self Service App Stores make using Apple at work even better.

Nearly two years ago, I installed the iSmartGate garage door opener. During that time, we used it a decent amount, but never daily. Since we still have RF-based remotes, they were often faster to use vs. opening the Home app, waiting on it to connect, and then opening the garage door. Since I finally added CarPlay to my car through the IntelliDash CarPlay Unit, having access to my garage doors in HomeKit has become a daily use.

The Starling Home Hub is a core part of my HomeKit experience, as it bridges my Nest Thermostat and Google Home Mini to HomeKit and AirPlay, respectively. One notable feature that’s been a wishlist item for many Starling customers is Nest support for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video. Now, with the latest 11.0 firmware update, a handful of Google Nest cameras are now compatible with HKSV.

Apple @ Work is brought to you by Mosyle, the leader in modern mobile device management (MDM) and security for Apple enterprise and education customers. Over 28,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the deployment,  management and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on auto-pilot at a price point that is hard to believe.

We learned back in December that Apple has yet again delayed its return to the office. It was also reported that Apple gives employees $1,000 bonuses to spend on home office gear. When I read that, I thought to myself – what would the best use of it be?