We're hiring an Apple Enterprise Specialist

We're excited to announce that we're looking for our fourth and fifth team members! (See this article for the Apple Product Specialist position.) We love what we do, and our customers know it. So we're looking for someone who appreciates a challenge, likes to be recognized for his or her accomplishments, and wants to be a part of something that improves lives.

So what is it like to work at Foojee? Justin says, "It's challenging and exciting. I get to work at a place where I totally believe in the leadership and the focus of the company."

You will help Foojee take the next step by focusing primarily on small business and education related projects. These projects will involve intermediate networking, OS X Client, OS X Server, and iOS deployments. You'll be using tools like iPCU, Apple Configurator and MDM software like JAMF Software's Casper Suite.

We're currently doing about 70% of customer work onsite, and 30% of work remotely for both residential and business in Atlanta and a few parts of the southeast. Our remote work is performed from home and our office in Midtown using remote support software, phone calls, and emails. Therefore we're looking for someone who can communicate clearly over the phone and in writing.

Although designing solutions and configuring new Macs and iOS devices are the technical aspects of what you'll do, our top notch customer service and desire to do things the right way are what make our team so great.

Please send an email to jobs@foojee.com with the following:

  1. Why do you want to work in Apple IT?
  2. What is appealing about working at Foojee?
  3. A description of a solution that you have put together for a customer in recent past, and what made the solution right for them.

Also, include this writing sample:

  1. Someone just submitted a request on our website. They'd like to have Foojee setup a backup solution for their 15-person company. They have 15 iMacs and iPhones. How would you reply?

Features:

  • Full Time
  • $32,000 - 38,000 annually.
  • Health and dental benefits available for you.
  • Phone and computer reimbursement.
  • Personal Hotspot service paid for.
  • Progressive work environment.
  • Work with a team that loves doing what they do.

System Requirements:

  • At least 2 years experience with sales or support of Apple products.
  • OS X client certification.
  • OS X Server and/or MDM certification preferred.

Is it you? Let us know.

Help Us Welcome Justin McGough

Meet our newest team member Justin McGough! For those of you who have met him, I'm sure you will agree that his experience with Apple products and his genuine interest in serving others makes him a perfect addition to our Foojee family. As a Foojee Apple Product Specialist, he has already been involved in a 600 MacBook + iPad rollout with one of the schools we work with in Atlanta, and works with both our residential and business customers on a daily basis implementing Apple-based solutions.

On the weekends you will find him shooting weddings with www.375photography.com (stellar stuff, you should check them out). His field experience with photography and understanding of digital workflow will benefit our Aperture clients too. (Score!)

We're thrilled to have him, and can't wait for you to meet him if you haven't already. We thought it'd be fun to introduce him to our customers and friends with some Q & A. Enjoy!

What do you do at Foojee?

I am an Apple Product Specialist / President of the Lucas Acosta Fan Club

What did you do before Foojee?

I worked for Apple for 3.5 years. I loved it and wouldn't trade it for anything.

Which app could you not live without?

Tweetbot - thanks a lot Lucas. (he always talks me into the paid apps....haha)

Coolest place you've ever been?

the Virgin Islands

What do you do for fun?

Photography, iPhoneography, and watch a small handful of TV shows

So...what are your plans for tonight?

either go home and hang out with my cool wife or go to one of her basketball games.... better check the calendar.

...Favorite apple?

A Fuji apple!!! (except they spelled it wrong)

First Ever Blu-ray Player for Mac Makes its Debut

This one's for you HD buffs out there. Looks like there's finally a method to easily playback Blu-ray discs on a Mac. That's right, up until this point there's been no real supported way to pop in a Blu-ray disc into a Mac. The software, called "Mac Blu-ray Player" (I know right) will set you back $39.95.

Keep in mind this software still requires a Blu-ray drive, either internal or external. See TUAW's link for recommendations on where to buy your Blu-ray player first.

Apple Answers Questions About MobileMe Transition to iCloud

We've been getting a good amount of questions from our friends and clients about the new iCloud service Apple announced in June. (Yes, we're excited too!) As it turns out, along with iCloud, Apple will be discontinuing the MobileMe service. What does this mean for current MobileMe users? We figured it would be best for you to hear it straight from the horse's mouth.

In a nutshell, iCloud is better, free, and Apple will be transitioning MobileMe users this fall. If you choose not to transition, you will have until June 30, 2012 to transition yourself. Why would you want to wait? You'll see in Apple's FAQs that three main MobileMe services will not make the cut: iWeb Publishing, Gallery, and iDisk.

We're looking forward to iCloud's debut this fall! Head on over to our Facebook page to join our poll by answering what your favorite iCloud feature is. While you're there, "Like" us to be notified of other fun stuff in the future!

Leaving Clear 4G for the iPhone's Personal Hotspot

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A good amount of our business is done on the road. Whether we're between cross-town projects, or in dark attics we need to have an Internet connection to use many our our tools. For example, we use many of 37signals.com's products, as well as Onsip.com for our phone service (both highly-recommended), which all require an Internet connection.

Until recently, we've relied on Clear's 4G service. For the most part, we loved it. It's fast, and has decent coverage around ATL, albeit not as good as our AT&T iPhones. We decided last month to try the new Personal Hotspot feature from AT&T to see how it compares. Keep in mind the Personal Hotspot feature requires the iPhone 4, not any of the previous iPhones.

We just cancelled our Clear accounts today and I'll tell you why:

  1. The AT&T 3G connection has surprisingly decent speed. Not as fast as 4G, but decent.
  2. It's actually cheaper. Clear's services are around $40/mo per user, whereas the Personal Hotspot only adds $15/mo to a typical iPhone plan.
  3. Less devices. No more USB dongle that sticks out of our laptops, getting Internet is built into the iPhone.
  4. We can share the connection. Yes Clear has a hotspot service as well, but not for the $15/mo you'd be paying for AT&T. BTW, AT&T allows 3 devices to be connected to your phone simultaneously.

Of course, your city may vary on connectivity, and your iPhone plan may not be just like ours, so I'd call AT&T to get your specific rundown (Dial 611 from your AT&T iPhone). One downside to "upgrading" to the Personal Hotspot service is that we lost our unlimited data plan. We're now capped at 4GB per month per user. It turns out, I was only using about 1GB/month on average on my iPhone, and I've yet to get near the new 4GB limit. (Your online AT&T account can show your monthly data usage on a graph.)

What are you currently using? Do you like it? We'd love to know.

Switching to the Mac: What programs do I need to buy?

This question is one of the most frequently asked by our friends and clients, and with good reason. Since the "dark ages" of the Macintosh, much of the hesitation of making the Switch is due to the uncertainty of compatibility.

Thankfully a lot has changed since the mid-90s, and I think you'll be surprised at how few applications you'll need to buy for the Mac. I'll outline the applications that most people end up purchasing in order to continue using the same files from the PC. I'll also list applications that come free on the Mac.

You might consider purchasing these:

  • Microsoft Office: Mac 2011 - These applications are almost identical to Office in Windows. Most of the keyboard shortcuts are even the same. If you're using it for home or schooling purposes, you can purchase the Home and Student version for $149, and you can install it on up to three Macs.
  • iWork '09 - If you're ready to take the full plunge into the Apple world, iWork serves as an excellent alternative to Office. It can also open and save to Office files, however for more advanced documents, the conversion can be spotty. Tip: if you purchase it through the App Store on your Mac, it's only $60.
  • Quicken or QuickBooks for Mac - Before making this purchase, there are some differences between the Mac and PC version. Depending on your needs, you might prefer switching to an alternative by Acclivity, or even running Windows on your Mac via Parallels and keeping your current software.

Now that list wasn't too bad, was it? For other tasks like email, Internet browsing and pictures, here's a list of Windows programs that have free alternatives on the Mac, and are what make the Mac "so easy to use".

  • Internet Explorer: Safari (or Firefox or Chrome)
  • Outlook: Mail, iCal, and Address Book. (These three applications will cover most features of Outlook.)
  • iTunes: iTunes :)
  • Adobe Photoshop Elements: iPhoto
  • Windows Movie Maker: iMovie
  • Solitaire: Sorry, no free alternative! You'll either have to purchase Solitair in the App Store, or use the free Chess game that comes with every Mac.

If you have specific needs that weren't outlined above, feel free to leave them in the comments. For some specific industries that require Windows-only software, you can always run a virtualization application like Parallels. Virtualization has come a long way since its inception, running Windows on your Mac is easier than ever.

What other applications did you need to purchase before making the Switch?

The Ultimate iPad Stylus

Although I do about 90% of my iPad tasks with the ten styli God gave me, sometimes using a stylus is the perfect tool for drawing out ideas, or taking scratch notes. Unfortunately, even after using the highest rated styli like the Pogo and Targus Stylus I've been left dissatisfied. The main reason: using the stylus on a touchscreen doesn't feel natural, and I'm always tempted to rest my palm on the screen... which doesn't work on a touch screen device. Instead of explaining the Cosmonaut, I'll just let you watch their video. They began as a Kickstarter project, which was hugely successful, and they will begin manufacturing their idea this summer. If you didn't help fund their Kickstarter project, you'll need to sign up for email notifications to find out when it will go on sale to the public.

I'm looking forward to receiving mine next month. Do you have a stylus you love? Let us know below!

Export Daylite Contacts to CSV or Tab Delimited format

It's humbling when a client of yours shows you something new about a platform you teach, isn't it?

We helped Connie Carlson a Realtor in Cobb County, GA, dive into Daylite a few months ago to help her manage client history, leads, and sales opportunities. She returned the favor by letting us in on this "hidden" feature in Daylite. Daylite is a tool we often recommend, and at one point every Daylite user can probably benefit from this tip.

It turns out, Daylite can export a contact list into CSV format. You'd think a CSV export would be an obvious feature, but it's almost hidden, unless you do the following steps. For a video walkthrough, see Marketcircle's tutorial. Jump toward the middle of the clip for the feature we're writing about.

We've also listed the quick list of steps below:

1) In the Contacts, select the contacts you wish to export. (Create a Smart List to filter your contacts.)

2) Switch to column view using the view buttons at the top of the list.

3) Choose which data you'd like to export by clicking the blue triangle in the top-right corner of the list.

4) Drag the columns desired to the "Active Columns" section of the dialogue. (The "Email" column is actually labeled "Electronic" in Daylite.)

5) Go to File -> Export -> "Export Visible Columns and Selected Rows to File".

6) Depending on your end goal, choose the export options accordingly. For most applications, all you need to change is the format from "Tab-Delimited" to "CSV".

Now you're ready to send your contact information to your email service platform or virtually any Mac or PC database application.

Have questions? Let us know below!

The MacUpdate Spring Bundle is Here! (2 Days Left)

It's that time again where MacUpdate bundles together several popular Mac software titles and sells them at an insanely low price. In this particular bundle they're packaging the following titles for $49.99:

  • Parallels Desktop 6
  • 1Password
  • MacUpdate Desktop
  • DVDRemaster Pro 7
  • Mac DVDRipper 2
  • Hands Off!
  • App Tamer
  • TechTool Pro 5
  • Civilization IV
  • A Better Finder Rename

Parallels 6 is a must have if you're running Windows on your Mac, and 1Password is by far the coolest app I've used on the Mac in the past several years. It's an indispensable part of my everyday computer use. If you need just one or two of these, the bundle is well worth it. You better hurry up though, you only have 2 days left! Head on over to MacUpdate to read more about each title and purchase the bundle.