Archive for category: OS X

Clean Migration of Existing Open Directory Users to a New Mavericks Server

Clean Migration of Existing Open Directory Users to a New Mavericks Server

For many reasons, you may find yourself needing to start a new Mavericks Open Directory server from scratch. In this article, I’ll go over how to import your existing users from an older Open Directory server and import them to your new Mavericks server. I will also use a tool […]

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InstaUp2Date + AutoDMG

If you use InstaDMG/InstaUp2Date and are worried that your workflow is going to break sooner than later, swapping AutoDMG in for InstaDMG may be your best bet. This article shows you how to make it work.

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Announcement (Cross Post) – JSS Add-On for Autopkg

Announcement (Cross Post) – JSS Add-On for Autopkg

Over on the 318.com blog I’ve announced a new ‘processor’ add-on that can be installed with autopkg, which therefore can leverage the JSS API to fulfill many of the functions which up until present only Munki enjoyed(direct pipeline to testing, automatically adding the package to the distribution point, other associated metadata handling.) […]

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Deploying MinecraftEDU

Deploying MinecraftEDU

Minecraft is of course a huge thing. It’s hugely popular at our school, and has become a valuable educational tool. Minecraft allows structured but almost unrestrained creativity, giving students a change to realize the unlimited nature of their imagination and persistence when building worlds and creating narratives. Minecraft’s multiplayer options […]

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Coping with curl on Mavericks

Coping with curl on Mavericks

Of the UNIX tools shipped with OS X, curl has become one of the most used in recent years, whether as a simple URL fetcher, or a component of much larger projects. It takes any URL as an argument, and reliably fetches it, as well as giving many additional options […]

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Episode Four – Don’t Stab Yourself in the Leg, Then

When we last caught glimpse of our heroes, MacSysAdmin Conference was still around the corner and there was nothing automatic about damage. Here in episode four, Ed Marczak turns the (significantly less echo-y) microphone on Graham Gilbert for a reverse-interview, and juicy confessions emerge, like their shared, scandalous predilection for… […]

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AutoDMG, a modern replacement for InstaDMG

AutoDMG, a modern replacement for InstaDMG

At MacSysAdmin 2013, Per Olofsson started work on InstallESDtoDMG, a replacement for InstaDMG.  The first prototype was on a piece of paper: InstallESDtoDMG prototype 0.1 pic.twitter.com/E0fiPHkOMq — Per Olofsson (@MagerValp) September 19, 2013 Per was having trouble with InstaDMG and the then-current Developer Preview of Mavericks, and decided to write […]

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Modifying the OS X Mavericks Authorization Database

Versions of OS X prior to Mavericks had a file located at /etc/authorization, which controlled the rights for many different actions, such as adding a printer, changing the time, or setting up Time Machine.  These rights were based on groups, and many admins modified this file so that users who […]

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OS X Mavericks is Out (and Free!)

OS X Mavericks is Out (and Free!)

Apple today announced immediate availability of OS X Mavericks, along with major upgrades to the MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and iPad lines. With its many new features, Mac admins will be inclined to upgrade quickly, especially since Mavericks is free for all supported machines. We are putting the finishing touches […]

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Enabling Location Services Programmatically

Enabling Location Services Programmatically

Location Services is an important part of OS X, but it is not obvious on how to enable it without going through the System Preferences GUI.  The preference that controls it is not in /Library/Preferences, and due to cfprefsd it is hard to find. Thanks to Tim Sutton for help […]

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