MacAdmins 2020 Campfire Sessions: Full Schedule

The MacAdmins Conference, one of the world’s largest Apple-focused IT events, is pleased to announce this year’s virtual series, MacAdmins Campfire Sessions. Inspired by the conference’s summer camp feel, MacAdmins Campfire Sessions will feature eight weekly two-hour sessions. As attendees virtually gather around the fire, speakers will give talks on topics concerning today’s Apple device administrators.

All MacAdmins Campfire Sessions are free for everyone! Come join your fellow MacAdmins around the campfire by registering for the series. Don’t worry if you miss a session, they will be recorded and posted on our YouTube channel at a later date.

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time.

R egister today!

1:00pm EDT

Things I Learned from the AutoPkg Maintainers

If you've used AutoPkg for any amount of time, you'll know that it is both simple and deep, especially if you start writing your own recipes. This session will share some tips and tricks, both conceptual and technical, that I have learned from the maintainers of the AutoPkg project. The diverse range of topics will include creative uses of input variables, categories of recipes, customizing your text editor for writing recipes, and even Pull Request tips. Come explore the wisdom of those who know AutoPkg best!

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Anthony Reimer
Head Technician, Integrated Arts Media Labs, University of Calgary
Anthony has been the Head Technician of the IAML at the University of Calgary since 1996, supporting work with Macs and other digital technology in Music, Art, Drama and Dance. He has given presentations on technology to artists and non-artists alike at major conferences like this... Read More →

Thursday June 4, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

1:40pm EDT

Introduction to MDM and Configuration Profiles

We all talk about MDM and profiles, but how do they really work? Let's look at the basics of both to understand how these essential management systems work.

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Rich Trouton
IT Technology Senior Consultant, SAP
Rich Trouton has been doing Macintosh system and server administration for over twenty years and has supported Macs in a number of enterprise environments. His current position is at SAP, where he works with the rest of the Apple@SAP team to support SAP's Apple community.

Thursday June 4, 2020 1:40pm - 2:55pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

Thursday, June 11

1:00pm EDT

Moving to zsh

Apple has switched the default shell in Catalina from bash to zsh. What does that mean? How does that affect you and your users? Your management tools and scripts? We will explore the reasons and consequences of this change, how to move to zsh, and what benefits you can gain from "Moving to zsh."

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Armin Briegel
Mac Admin, Consultant, and Author, Scripting OS X - Pro Warehouse
Armin Briegel has been managing Macs and their users for over twenty-five years and probably held most existing technical job titles at one time or another. He worked for nearly ten years at Apple in Germany and the US as a Systems Engineer, Consulting Engineer, and Solutions Architect... Read More →

Thursday June 11, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

1:40pm EDT

An Introduction to regex

Regex, like chess, is easy to learn but can take a lifetime to master. It's a handy way to identify "something" when you don't necessarily know what that "something" is (think of wildcards). Mac admins have a lot of existing tools that support regex like BBEdit, Jamf Pro and most any command line shell. Let's look at uses for regexes, the basics of how to create them and where we can use them.

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

William Smith
Professional Services Engineer, Jamf
Bill is a Professional Services Enginerd with Jamf and works with education, enterprise and government clients.In his travels visiting with hundreds of customers across the globe to help develop solutions for their unique problems, he picks up a few tips and tricks along the way and... Read More →

Thursday June 11, 2020 1:40pm - 2:55pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

Thursday, June 18

1:00pm EDT

How Did You Do That!? Tips and Tricks to Level Up your iPhone

This session will be loads of tips and tricks and useful things you can do with your iPhone! Follow along as Kelly walks through her stockpile of tips to show you all the things your iPhone can do that you didn't even realize.

See a full description about this session on our website

Speakers
KG
Kelly Guimont
Operations Manager, Technolutionary
Kelly has been explaining Apple hardware to people for most of her life. Currently she explains them as part of her job as Operations Manager at Technolutionary. Aside from friends and family, she began explaining things at TUAW in 2009, and now does so at The Mac Observer as host... Read More →

Thursday June 18, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac-camp3

1:40pm EDT

The rise of Mac malware

Macs have seen a significant rise in threats over the last few years. Learn about how the threat landscape has changed, through a look into real-world detection data, and get a closer look at some of the top threats.

See a full description about this session on our website

Speakers

Thomas Reed
Director of Mac, Malwarebytes
Thomas is the Director of Core Technology at Malwarebytes. He had a Mac before it was cool to have a Mac, and is a photographer in his spare time.

Thursday June 18, 2020 1:40pm - 2:55pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac-camp3

Tuesday, June 30

1:00pm EDT

Deploying Macs with MDS 3

Learn how to use the open source project MDS to deploy and refresh Macs in your environment.

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Timothy Perfitt
Founder, Twocanoes Software
Timothy Perfitt is founder and CEO of Twocanoes Software. He started the company in 2012 in Naperville, IL in an effort to build best of breed Mac and iOS software and hardware. Taking advantage of Apples iBeacon and the excitement around close-proximity sensors, Twocanoes has created... Read More →

Tuesday June 30, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

1:40pm EDT

Developing Mac apps at Microsoft - Q&A Panel

Come meet the engineers behind the leading Mac apps produced by Microsoft! We'll have speakers from the core Office deployment team, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, Remote Desktop and Defender ATP.

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Paul Bowden
Principal Engineer, Microsoft Corp
Paul is a Principal Engineer in the Apple Platform Experience (APEX) team at Microsoft, and primarily works on Office for Mac. Paul is the lead engineer for product installation and update experience. Paul has been at Microsoft for 23 years, with much of his career working in the... Read More →
GL
Gieta Laksmana
Software Engineer, Microsoft Corp.
Gieta is a Software Engineer in the Remote Desktop team primarily working on Remote Desktop for Mac and iOS. Gieta has been at Microsoft for 4.5 years, initially working on test scheduler for Remote Desktop before moving to client apps.
JL
Jonathan Leung
Program Manager, Microsoft
Program Manager on the OneDrive sync client team
ES
Erik Schwiebert
Principal Software Engineer, Microsoft Corporation
Erik is a Principal Engineer in the Apple Platform Experience (APEX) team at Microsoft. He has worked on Office for Apple platforms at Microsoft for over 23 years, including 10 years as a lead for various teams developing RDC, Excel, Visual Basic, and other components of Office for... Read More →

Tuesday June 30, 2020 1:40pm - 2:55pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

Thursday, July 9

1:00pm EDT

Early Efficiencies: prioritizing your time as a new Mac Admin through automation and other best practices

You've got your MDM or other tools in place, so now what? We'll be exploring some high-value goals you can set as an admin and review some tools, resources, and tips for getting there.

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Caroline Bodager
Mac Desktop Administrator, Wellesley College
Caroline Bodager is the Mac Admin at Wellesley College. She is interested in developing security awareness on campus, improving the College's mobile device management, and educating and empowering our users to take advantage their technology resources.
RM
Ross Matsuda
System Administrator, Forget Computers
Ross is a sysadmin who has worked in the Apple support ecosystem since 2008. During and before that, he had brief stints in iOS development, UX wire framing, and graphic design. When not staring at tiny, glowing rectangles, he works as an opera and theatre director in Chicago.

Thursday July 9, 2020 1:00pm - 2:15pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

2:30pm EDT

Mac Admins Orientation

Are you new to the Mac Admins community? Did you even realize that we were a community? This session is for you. Literally. Ask this panel of experienced SysAdmins in the Apple space anything that could help you join in, skill up, find learning resources, or simply know where to ask more questions. We want to help orient you to the ways of the Mac Admin community so don't be shy!

Speakers

Tom Bridge
Partner, Technolutionary LLC
Tom Bridge is a partner at Technolutionary LLC, providing IT support to dozens of Mac-focused businesses with more than 600 endpoints, from organizations as small as two to as large as two hundred. He is the producer of the Mac Admins Podcast. He lives in Brookland, District of Columbia... Read More →
JM
Jason Miller
From Level 0 to IT Support Lead, Thumbtack
I look to provide quality IT solutions in a preventative and proactive way to increase everyone's productivity. I am a Lead Support Specialist at Thumbtack, where I perform assessments, but also acquires and deploys infrastructure to meet the requirements including the integration... Read More →
EM
Erin Merchant
IT Success Manager, Envoy
Erin is the Workplace Tech Success Manager at Envoy, bringing her extensive knowledge of operational IT to the B2B space. She focuses on the success of IT through its redefinition as a decision maker in business and the success of individuals through the development of dynamic career... Read More →
DY
David Yoon

Thursday July 9, 2020 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

Thursday, July 16

1:00pm EDT

What's new with Adobe 2020 in Education

Covering Adobe 2020 deployment workflows, rollouts and updates to Shared Device Licensing

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Darren Wallace
Lead Systems Engineer, dataJAR Ltd
Darren has been tinkering with Macs on a professional level for more than 16 years. He started as a fresh-faced hardware repair trainee and has fond memories of iBook G4 Logic Board repairs! Over the years, he progressed on to executive relations and eventually consultancy. Now he's... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Around the virtural campfire Advance Restration Required.

Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

1:40pm EDT

Why Fi 6? EEEEEEEEEEEE! Upcoming Changes in Wireless Networking

802.11ax was finally starting to ramp up when the FCC came along and opened another 1200 MHz of radio frequency spectrum for unlicensed use. What does all this mean for your network planning, design, and troubleshooting?

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Chris Dawe
Principal Systems Engineer, Wheelwrights
Seattle-based consultant Chris Dawe handles a wide variety of Apple-focused work, including system assessment, design, deployment, and support. When not working, Chris dabbles in American history, cooks when he can, and appreciates both whiskey and whisky. Chris lives with Emily and... Read More →

Thursday July 16, 2020 1:40pm - 2:55pm EDT
Around the virtural campfire Advance Restration Required.

Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

Thursday, July 23

1:00pm EDT

Supplementing Jamf's Reporting with MunkiReport

In need of a board reporting tool to supplement Jamf's built in reporting? Tired of finding, creating, testing extension attributes? Try the open source route by using MunkiReport, Munki no longer required. In this session we'll go in-depth with how to setup and use MunkiReport to augment Jamf's native reporting. We'll touch upon some of the many things MunkiReport can gather and how it can be presented. Learn how to expand its functionality by using your Extension Attributes from Jamf and integrate MunkiReport into Jamf using the Jamf API. All of MunkiReport, but without the Munki.

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

John Eberle
Mac Desktop Engineer
A native of the Pittsburgh area and graduate of Penn State. Currently a Mac admin at a non-profit in the Pittsburgh area web apps, fixing hardware of all kinds, and supporting everything IT.
LR
Louise Radifera
Manager Client Services, CBS
Louise entered the world of geekdom after seeing her first tech movie where she watched HAL refuse to open the pod bay doors and then seeing the old Duotronic computers not only work, but provide answers by voice on starships on TV. She has been fascinated by computers ever since.Currently... Read More →

Alexander Smith
IT Engineer, Sprinklr

Thursday July 23, 2020 1:00pm - 1:45pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

1:55pm EDT

MDM Migration for MacOS

Adam regales us with his story of how his team, mostly, managed to migrate his entire organization to a new MDM during a pandemic.

Speakers

Adam Anklewicz
IT Manager, The Leo Baeck Day School
Adam has been the IT Manager for The Leo Baeck Day School since 2006 (with a minor hiatus). He has been using Macs since his parents brought home a Macintosh SE in 1989 to replace their Commodore 64.

Thursday July 23, 2020 1:55pm - 2:30pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link bit.ly/psumac2020-TBA

Thursday, July 30

1:00pm EDT

macOS Security Compliance Project

The macOS Security Compliance Project is an open source effort that can be used to create customized security baselines of technical security controls, which are mapped to various compliance frameworks.

See a full description about this session on our website

Advanced registration required. Register here!

Speakers

Bob Gendler
IT Specialist, NIST
IT Specialist in the Apple world. Jamf guru, wizard of Mac Management, and mastermind of Apple trivia.

Allen Golbig
Consulting Engineer, Security, Jamf
Consulting Engineer, Security @ Jamf. I have a love hate relationship with YAML.
DB
Dan Brodjieski
Senior Macintosh Engineer, DISA - JSP

Thursday July 30, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac-camp8

Thursday, August 13

1:00pm EDT

macOS 11: What's New, How It Affects You, and What To Do To Prepare

In late June, Apple announced macOS 11, continuing their cycle of annual macOS releases with significant changes. In this session, we will cover:
What new features in the OS that may be relevant to Mac admins
How the new functionality and changes might affect your provisioning/deployment and reprovisioning workflows
What you can do to prepare to support macOS 11 in your environment on Day Zero

Speakers

Robert Hammen
As a former IT manager, consultant, Apple Certified System Administrator, and Apple Certified Trainer, I've been managing Macs since before the days of OS X. For the last 3+ years I've been responsible for all of the Apple devices at a reusable rocket and spacecraft company.

Thursday August 13, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT
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Session

Feedback Link https://bit.ly/psumac-camp8

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