Bradley C

There’s been a lot of discussion about Apple’s decision to discontinue the original HomePod and its relation to what the future of Apple’s Home strategy will become. I highly recommend that you read Zac Hall’s piece on this topic. This week, I want to look at the positive aspects of where Apple is at with its Home strategy. After filling my house with HomePod minis, I’ve now discovered how essential having a voice-driven Home assistant in every room is for your home. Read on to learn why, despite having a lower-quality music speaker, the HomePod mini and HomeKit are the perfect match for each other.

One of the challenges that schools face with iOS is web filtering. There are multiple ways to filter web traffic for inappropriate content, but many of them require IT expertise that smaller schools might not have. Apple includes a web filter with iOS that can be controlled by a mobile device management system, but it’s a black box in terms of what’s blocked vs. what’s not. SPIN Safe Browser is now available as a “school edition” with no in-app purchases and controllable AppConfig from Jamf.

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In this episode of the Apple @ Work podcast, Bradley is joined by Greg Keller from JumpCloud to discuss their new Zero-Touch implementation and why it’s a key part of the IT security strategy for remote and in-office employees.

Since the last entry in my iPhone 12 Mini diary, I’ve seen a lot of snarky comments about the iPhone 12 Mini’s battery life from people who likely don’t even own it. Yes, the iPhone 12 Mini battery life is terrible compared to an iPhone 12 Pro Max, but if you want the iPhone 12 Mini for its size, you already understand these trade-offs. Today, let’s talk about the iPhone 12 Mini, how to improve it with the PowerCore Magnetic 5K Wireless, and why people in the tech community shouldn’t assume their opinion about a particular iPhone is the opinion of everyone.

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A few weeks ago, I took a look at what I believed Apple would do with FleetSmith long term, and how other MDM vendors shouldn’t be concerned about Apple offering a free solution because 2021 Apple would love a recurring subscription from enterprise customers. I have heard Apple is completely retooling its MDM APIs, and this acquisition may be part of it. So what does Apple needs to do with MDM in the future to better compete with Google Chromebooks in K–12 and Windows in the enterprise? Let’s dive in!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my wife and I purchased some land that I am starting to think through what some of the HomeKit setup I will end up having as I’ll install everything during construction instead of having to retrofit it. One of the things I am thinking through is cameras. There are several ways I could go. Part of me thinks I should stick with the eufyCam setup I have now, but then part of me wants to look at something hardwired to power like the Logi Circle View. To better prepare my decision-making, I am attempting to test all of the HomeKit cameras on the market to see what I want to include in our new house. This week, I am taking a look at the Eve Cam.

Earlier this week, Apple announced multiple new updates for its education offering, including Apple Teacher Portfolio, remote support in Apple Classroom, a Mac Catalyst version of Apple Classroom, and new updates to the Everyone Can Create curriculum. Apple is also releasing Apple School Manager integration with Claris Connect in the coming weeks. Claris Connect first launched in beta in 2019.

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Apple’s rise in the enterprise has come when Microsoft’s dominance on the local network is diminishing. If you could travel back to 2008 and explain to a group of IT professionals that it would be entirely possible to run an IT network without any Microsoft technology, they would have a hard time believing you. For Apple’s next move in the enterprise, I want the company to simplify the restore and migration process. Read on to learn how an iCloud Backup at Work solution would solve key problems for IT leaders while driving services revenue for Apple.

When someone asks me why now is a great time to get into home automation and build out a smart home, I tell them that we’re finally at a place where you can build off of a platform instead of having to buy everything from a single vendor. A product from one company can create triggers to turn on products from other companies. For people in the Apple ecosystem, as long as you see the HomeKit logo, you know that you’ll be able to control it from the Home app and from Siri using your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or HomePod. This week, I want to look at the Eve motion sensor to show you why having motion sensors in all of your rooms is a key part of automating your smart home environment.

In this episode of the Apple @ Work podcast, Bradley is joined by Chad Reid from JotForm to talk about data entry using iOS apps and how forms are being used in healthcare.

When Apple moved from PowerPC to Intel in 2005, one of the significant changes was the ability to run Windows in a virtualized environment natively. Apple would eventually add the Boot Camp functionality. Still, unless you were running games, using a program like VMware Fusion or Parallels, you could run Windows in a virtualized environment while still running macOS (OS X at the time). With the transition to Apple Silicon, the virtualization story for Windows is a bit messy.

HomeKit Secure Video, in my opinion, is one of the prime examples of what makes Apple great and terrible at the same time. HomeKit Secure Video is the most secure way to record footage inside and outside your home, but it can also be one of the most frustrating Apple technologies at the same time. This week, I want to discuss how Apple can continue expanding HomeKit Secure Video to solve its problems while making it a better service at the same time. Let’s dive into what Apple can include in HomeKit Secure Video 2.0.

As we head into spring, the excitement of summer and WWDC starts to become a reality. Apple’s plans for iOS 15 and macOS 12 are likely being finalized about this time, so it’s the time of year where I began pondering what to expect. While it was big news at the time, we’ve heard almost nothing out of Apple regarding its plans for Fleetsmith after it acquired the company.

Spring will be here soon, which means it’s officially time to start thinking about the summer of iOS 15 and macOS 12 betas after WWDC. From my vantage point, HomeKit is at a real crossroads for Apple. It’s a platform that I have invested thousands of dollars in. Still, it’s time to take it to the next level with expanded product categories, increased automation with Machine Learning, and increased stability – particularly with HomeKit Secure Video. Here are some things I want to see in HomeKit with iOS 15.

Jamf, an Apple-focused mobile device management vendor, has reported strong revenue for its Q4 FY2020 as well as across the entire year. Q4 revenue rose 34% to $76.4 million, while total revenue for 2020 grew 32% to $269.5 million.

Apple has two problems with its spoken word ventures. On the audiobook front, Amazon has a near-monopoly with Audible. On the podcast front, they are facing intense competition from Amazon and Spotify. After spending a few weeks with Blinkist, I think it would make an ideal acquisition for Apple.

Sponsored by DEVONthink 3: Manage documents the smart way on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Apple @ Work listeners get 10% off with this link. 

In this episode of the Apple @ Work podcast, Bradley is joined by Stephen Hackett of Relay FM to talk about how businesses (especially for conferences) could leverage podcasting technology in the future.

Apple started the music playlist idea when it debuted the “Rip, Mix, Burn” campaign 20 years ago. The idea is that you could create your mixes by ripping your CDs to iTunes, making a playlist in iTunes, and then burning it back to a CD. Since then, the idea of the digital music playlist has transformed how the music industry works with everyone from Apple Music to Spotify spending countless resources to create the perfect playlist for every occasion. On the other hand, Apple has made the anti-playlist with Apple Music Radio, and it’s something the music industry needs to lean into going forward.