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Apple iOS Security and Mobility, MTC and Mobile Device Management

September 13, 2011 By

Just a few hours ago, after two months of preparation that included reading a 300-page tome, a test on the Apple Consultant Network website and a 2-day Apple-sponsored class/workshop in Chicago, I passed Apple’s Security and Mobility exam at a Prometric testing center. This makes me (and consequently, our company) certified in Mobility Technical Competency, or MTC for short.

What does this mean? If anyone reading this is considering the deployment of a large number of iPads, iPhones and/or iPod Touches, My Technology Pros can help you make decisions before, during and after that deployment. We can help you decide if you need to join Apple’s iOS Enterprise Developer Program, run a mobile device manager (MDM), or set up provisioning certificates. We can make sure your devices are secured in ways that would surprise you, such as limiting user activities like watching YouTube or using the camera. We can require difficult passwords and help your employees reset them remotely if forgotten, saving them the hassle of bringing the device back to the office. We can also put systems into place that will allow us to remote wipe devices that have been lost or stolen, ensuring the safety of your corporate data.

We can make all of this happen within your own network as well as securely (via VPN, for instance) from public networks so that sales people can safely check their calendar, mail, address books and internal services from their Apple mobile devices while on the road, minimizing risks to corporate intellectual property.

This just scratches the surface of what’s now possible, and we’re proud to be on the cutting edge of these new services.

As of this writing, September 13, 2011, I am one of fewer than 100 people in the country — and the only person in the state of Florida — with the MTC designation. So take advantage of this new knowledge and let me put it to work for you.

After all, you’re the reason we keep learning!

Filed Under: Apple News, Future Tech, General Technology and IT

Internet TV

November 10, 2010 By

The next generation of Internet connected TVs is arriving, continuing the trend towards convergence devices based on the idea of gathering around a piece of living room tech. First the gramophone, then the radio, then television, now, in essence, a 46″ or larger computer screen that can be anything to anyone at anytime, on demand.

The new Sony Google TV is a great first step toward true convergence, but I’m not sure I really want to watch low-quality Internet video on an HD screen. I prefer the Apple TV paradigm of streaming HDTV, but until all the content providers are on board, both solutions are limited in scope and appeal.

My advice is to wait another year before you start jumping on the Internet HDTV bandwagon.

Filed Under: Future Tech

The U.S. Bandwidth Scam

July 19, 2010 By

Are you happy with your Internet service provider? I didn’t think so. I’d also fairly confidently surmise you also rue the lack of real choice in the market. The United States telecommunications system is a mess, and we’re literally paying for it out both ends. Through taxation and monthly fees any Internet bandwidth subscriber in the U.S. (this means you, reading this post) is paying more subscription, taxes, and services fees than most other Internet users in even less-developed countries than the U.S. And the real kicker is the service we’re paying so dearly for is absolute crap.

Check it out: The U.S. has less kilobits per person available than most other regions on the globe. In industrialized nations, the U.S. is at the bottom of the rankings.

Bits Per Person Bandwidth Usage

Per Capita, the U.S. has among the lowest bits available per person of any country.

This is bad news in and of itself. But associated with other factors such as our near-capacity pipes and our high cost-per-bit ratio, well, we’re screwed. All the consumer is left with is expensive, slow, spotty service with zero customer support.

Cost-Per-Bit is killing us

In other countries, the cost for using the Internet is absorbed jointly by consumers, bandwidth providers, and government (sometimes these are local, civil projects as well as state funded mandates). In the U.S., we don’t have a centralized authority to fund the Internet. We rely on Congress, and Congress relies on the “free market” to sort things out. Well, this didn’t work with electricity and it won’t work with Internet access.

Would you like your meter in pink or blue?

I think the only logical solution to this mess is going to be turning Internet access into a utility like gas or water or electricity. Your useage will be metered and you will pay for what you use. So if you have a house with a wireless router, an Internet TV, a couple iPads, a computer or two, but are only checking eMail, your costs will be low. If you start using IP telephones and streaming all your television and movies, then of course your data rate increases and you pay more. There are effects caused by this much too complex for this blog post.

But if you want better, more reliable service–like you get from your utility companies (when’s the last time your electricity went out for no reason whatsoever?), then get ready for metering. Or Internet service so expensive and crappy it will make you want to move to Asia.

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The Future of TV

June 2, 2010 By

There was a time when we in the tech world discussed “convergence” devices. These were far-off and mystical devices that combined several functions into one great device–web surfing, eMail, telephony and chat were usually the most desired apps. Well, for the most part those convergence devices have finally appeared in the form of Smartphones. Certainly the iPhone and iPad are convergence devices.

But now that we have these fabulous convergence devices, which also happen to be brilliant media players, we want our content with us all the time. We’re tired of having the Tivo and the Playstation tied to the TV, with content that is locked to those systems and the TV they are attached to. What we want is all our media, all the time, on any device.

Well, that future is coming, but if you want it sooner rather than later, you best write your Congressman and tell them you’re ready to end the stranglehold the Cable TV industry has on your content. Because companies like Apple, Google, Sony and Microsoft are all ready to stream content on demand to your favorite tech device, but the content providers like Fox and Disney are wont to strike deals with new distribution services for fear a company like Comcast or Time Warner will simply stop carrying their channel. Just like Comcast/Time Warner has done to ABC in New York City several times.

However, that is not going to stop the television manufacturers from putting more and more Internet connectivity and application ability into their TVs. This is going to force companies like Apple to redefine their computers. I mean honestly, the only difference between an iMac and a TV is the TV has an HDTV tuner built-in and the iMac doesn’t.

Television is changing, both in the way content is delivered and in what we are going to think of as a TV. In a few short years, TV will be any device that plays what used to be called a TV show.

My guess is that within a decade, we’ll just say, “Have you seen this week’s episode of ‘Beach Bingo Death Match’?” because we’ll all be watching the show on different devices at different times throughout the week.

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