In this screencast tutorial I cover how to set up the Calendar Service on Mountain Lion Server. Calendar allows you to manage a CalDav standard calendar for all of the users on your server. It allows you to set up locations and resources that you can make available for scheduling and sends invitations to those you invite to events that you schedule. I cover not only how to set this up on the server but also how to configure your clients to use the service as well and even include an optional way to have one calendar that all of your users have as their primary calendar for those families that only want to worry about one standard calendar for the whole household.

As always, feel free to email any questions or leave a comment on my YouTube Channel.

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Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, Server, Screencast

In this screencast tutorial I cover how to connect to any AFP shares you have set up both locally and remotely on your devices. I also cover how to set up certain files and folders to auto mount every time you log into your computer so they are mounted and ready to go when you need them instead of having to repeat the process of mounting your files and folders every time you log out or reboot.

If you have any comments or questions feel free to email or leave a comment on my YouTube Channel.

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Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, Server, Screencast

In this screencast tutorial I cover how to set up the File Sharing Service on Mountain Lion Server. File sharing is one of the basic things everyone thinks about when setting up a server. The need to share the same files among multiple users and have them stored in a centralized location is what servers do best and Mountain Lion Server has an excellent and easy to set up file sharing service. The service includes the ability to set the permission levels of shared files and folders with either Read & Write (the user can both view and upload/change content), Read Only (the user can only view the content but not download or upload), Write Only (the user can only add content but not take any away), and no access which hides the file or folder from the user so he/she doesn’t even know it is there. The service all allows the ability for the shared file or folder to be shared as AFP (Apple File Protocol) or SMB (Windows File Sharing Protocol), shared with iOS devices over WebDav, or used to set up and store home folders on the server. I cover all of these topics in the tutorial below.

As always, if you have any comments or questions feel free to email, or comment on my YouTube Channel.

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Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, Server, Screencast

In this screencast tutorial I cover how to set up users & groups on Mountain Lion Server. I explain how to tell the difference between local and network accounts and what the advantages are of each. I also talk about how setting up groups can make easier for you to manage multiple users at one time and how you can create groups for family members that allow you to do things like make on change that effects all the kids instead of having to change each child manually.

As always if you have any questions, feel free to email or leave a comment on my YouTube Channel.

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Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, Server, Screencast

In this screencast tutorial I cover how to set up the Profile Manager service. Profile Manager is a powerful MDM (Mobile Device Management) application that puts the power of enterprise servers in the hands of home users. Profile Manager is a great way to manage all the devices in your household like Macs and iOS Devices from a web browser. The beauty of Profile Manager is you can manage these devices from any computer or device that has a web browser so you don’t need to be at your server to manager your devices.

In this tutorial I walk you through the steps of setting up the service which includes Apple’s Push Notification Certificate and SSL Certificates for secure connections between your server and your other devices. In future screencasts I will walk through each of the features available to manage and customize on your devices.

If you have any questions, feel free to email or comment on my YouTube Channel.

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Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, Server, Screencast

In this screencast tutorial I cover how to set up Open Directory on Mountain Lion Server. Open Directory Service sets up a Network Directory or LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) which allows the set up of network accounts. This allows you to set up various services on MLS that require network accounts such as Profile Manager and home folders stored on the server that allow users to log into them on any computer in the network.

There are two ways to set up Open Directory in MLS. In this tutorial I walk through how to set up the service itself. It can also be set up by starting up Profile Manager, which checks to see if an Open Directory Master exists and if it doesn’t, then it walks you through the process of setting one up.

Let me know how you enjoy the screencast and feel free to email or leave a comment on my YouTube Channel if you have any questions or comments.

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Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, Server, Screencast

In this screencast tutorial I cover how to set up and check the DNS of your server. DNS stands for Domain Name System and it is responsible for connecting an IP address to a particular name. For instance, every website like www.toddolthoff.com had a domain name like 192.0.0.0.0. That number is difficult to remember so that is why we use things like toddolthoff.com. Your DNS controls all the naming not only on your server but also the computers on your network. So if your DNS is off, your server will not function and you will have trouble getting your services to work.

In this tutorial I cover how to set up your DNS and how to check to make sure your DNS is working properly. If you have any questions feel free to leave them here or reply on my Youtube Channel.

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Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, Server, Screencast

In this screencast tutorial I cover SSL Certificates. SSL Certificates allow secure connections between computers keeping that communication safe from those who might want to get to that information. These secure connections are used by banks and other organizations that want to protect what is being transferred between their website and your computer. You can usually tell if a website is secure by the https in front of the web address (the “s” shows it is a secure connection).

In this tutorial I cover how to set up a self signed SSL Certificate for Mountain Lion Server to allow you to have secure connections with your server. This is required if you are going to use Profile Manager and is recommended for things like Calendar, Address Book, Mail, etc. I also cover how to integrate a third party verified SSL Certificate and how to get that certificate added to your server.

As always if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here or on my Youtube Channel.

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Tags: Mac OSX, Tutorials, Apple, Server, Screencast

This week I had the privilege of having one of my screencasts on MoneyWell shown on my favorite Mac tutorial site ScreenCastsOnline. Don McAllister who is the Host and Founder of the weekly screencasts was really one of the people who inspired me to do screencasts as a great way to educate people on how to use Apple Software. I started with my own YouTube Channel and started with screencasts for my family and friends and found others were interested in viewing the screencasts as well, especially the ones I have recently been doing on Lion Server. You can see my other screencasts at my YouTube Channel below or here on my site by clicking HERE.

If you haven’t checked out ScreenCastsOnline and you are an Apple Computer user I highly recommend checking Don’s tutorials out as they are very well done and a great way to learn new ways to use your Mac. Click the screenshot below to check out my guest spot and to get a feel for the great service Don has to offer. Thanks for using my screencast Don and making it look even better to boot!

Tags: Screencast, Finances, Productivity, Software

One of the main reasons to have a server is to manage all of your devices and the users in your network. For home users this usually means your family and all the devices in your household. When setting up users in your household who will access the services you have available on your server you need to determine who needs what type of access and what services each person is allowed to access. So at home, you may want to limit the access your kids have to certain services like email, calendar, and maybe even some web services. You may want to give your spouse the ability to administer the server just in case you are not around to do it. Lion Server gives you the ability to set that up.

When managing multiple users it can be time consuming if you have to make changes on a per account basis, so Lion Server has the ability to set up groups that allow you to make changes to the group that filters down to all the users in that group. That way you can set up groups for your kids or other groups that allows you to make those changes once that will affect everyone in that group.

In this screencast, I cover setting up users and groups in Lion Server. I cover how to determine the difference between a local and directory account, how to add new users and set the right permissions for services, and how to use groups to make changes once that affect all the users in the group. Building on this in Part 7, we will cover how to set up home accounts on the server.

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Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Server, Apple, Screencast

One of the best things about having a server is being able to manage the devices you have in your network from a centralized location. IT professionals have had the ability to do this for years but now with Lion Server, home users can now do the same thing with Profile Manager. Profile Manager allows you to manage all of your Apple computer, laptops, and iOS devices. Using profiles you can push changes to all devices at once, remotely wipe or reset devices, change passwords, and allow or restrict certain things.

In this tutorial, I cover how to set up Profile Manager. In the set up, Lion Server makes sure you have an Open Directory set up and your SSL Certificate in place (required for running Profile Manager). Open Directory allows you to manage global accounts and allows remote access as opposed to a local network directory which only allows local accounts. I am doing this tutorial early because Profile Manager sets up al the services required to run it without having to start each service separately. In a future screencast I will cover the web interface that is used to manage your devices and groups.

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Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Server, Apple, Screencast

If you are looking at accessing your server from a remote location or are going to have devices that access it from the internet, you will need to have an SSL Certificate set up. An SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate is an encrypted connection from a remote computer to another computer. This encrypted line keeps people from “listening in” on your connection and allows your server an extra layer of validation.

In most cases you want an SSL Certificate from a trusted third party registrar who vouches for the identity of your server. You would want this type of certificate if you were hosting a business or a server that a lot of people from the outside world would be accessing. Since we are talking about a home server, the only people accessing your server are people in your household so you really don’t need to buy a certificate you can generate one within the Server.app which is called a self-signed certificate. This certificate still keeps your information secure and works just like a purchased certificate. The difference is that you will get a message when logging in the first time saying that the certificate is not validated by a third party and to make sure you know who generated the certificate. Once you check allow you won’t have to answer that question again and everything works behind the scenes.

In this screencast, I show you how to set up one of these certificates and get it installed on your server.

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Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Server, Apple, Screencast

In order to give your server and its services access to the internet, you need to make sure your router opens up access or “ports” to the internet so you can access those services over the internet. Opening this access is called “Port Forwarding” because it tells your router to forward certain traffic that comes in on a certain port to the proper service on your server. So your router serves as the gate keeper for all traffic in and out of your server as your router serves as a physical firewall keeping out traffic you don’t want to access your server. Thus, your router with port forwarding enabled allows you to access your server remotely over the internet while keeping others trying to access our server out unless they have been given access by you.

If your router happens to be an Airport Extreme Base Station, you can have Server App manage your router for you, making sure all the necessary ports are open and allow access to the services you have configured. If you don’t have an Airport Extreme or would like to do your own port forwarding, you can do this in the software that came with your router. It will usually be referred to as NAT (Network Address Translation) and will have a section for you to add ports that you want to open up. For Lion Server, you can see a list of ports it uses for certain services HERE. Below is a tutorial I put together that explains port forwarding and how to do it both in the Airport Utility that comes with the Airport Extreme Base Station and through the Server App in Lion Server.

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Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Server, Apple, Screencast

To make sure your server will function properly you need to make sure you have the DNS of the server set up properly. You need your host name set up and configured, which means determining whether your server is local only or will be accessed on the internet and, if internet accessible, making sure your domain name points to the right external internet address of your router/server. To make sure that your server is accessible from both the internet and internally at the same address all the time, we need to make sure the server is assigned a static, or permanent, IP address. In most network settings there is what is called a DHCP server which distributes addresses to computers that come on and off the local network. The DHCP server works with a bank of addresses and makes sure no computers have the same addresses so everything runs smoothly. In most cases your router is the device that is distributing these addresses. Once a computer goes off the network that address could be used for another machine that is just coming on, so there is no guarantee that your server will get the same address every time your network goes down and comes back up, or your router reboots, or you reboot your server. This is where a static IP for your server solves this problem.

In this tutorial I walk you through the steps to assigning a static IP assigned to your server using an Airport Extreme Base Station. I also cover how to update the network settings on your server to make sure it is reading the right information. This is the second part of my home server tutorials and I’ll be following up with one on port mapping in the coming week.

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Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Server, Apple, Screencast

Budgeting is on one of those things most of us like to think we do but spend little time actually implementing it. If we do put a budget together we look at it after the fact and realize that we didn’t stick to it. For those serious about making budgeting a reality might use an envelope system of budgeting where their check is cashed and cash put in envelopes that represent their budget categories. Once the envelope is empty, you don’t spend any money in that category until the next check comes in. It is a physical way of keeping you from spending money you don’t have. The problem with that system in today’s world is the fact that everything is digital and it is difficult to keep on top of all of it. That is where MoneyWell 2.0 comes in. With MoneyWell’s event based budgeting system, built into the money management program, is the ability to set up buckets (the equivalent to envelopes) for each budget category and set up the amount each bucket has available to spend. From there you can monitor your money, just like you could with envelopes.

In this tutorial I cover the changes from version 1.7 of MoneyWell to it’s 2.0 version. I also cover the basics of using this software to set up a budget using an event based system which makes it far more flexible than the old version and saves a lot of time manually calculating what goes into each bucket category. I like the new system and think you will as well.

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Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Apple, Screencast, Finances

Managing finances can be a difficult thing with today’s complexities. Finding just the right computer software to help you with the task can be intimidating because there are so many titles out there. Most of the software out there really doesn’t help you manage your money. Instead it just becomes a fancy reminder of how badly you have managed your money and tells you where your money went instead of where it should go. In my search for good financial software, I came across a great software package called MoneyWell.

MoneyWell is not just a digital ledger for your finances, though it does that very well. It is also an envelope system at the same time. MoneyWell uses the analogy of buckets that you fill with money instead of envelopes. You set a budget based on your spending for different categories and MoneyWell lets you know how well you are doing against that budgeted amount. So you can actually see where your money is going instead of lamenting after the money is already gone. I have used this software for a few years now and I have really grown to love it.

Recently the developer of MoneyWell, Kevin Hoctor, put out a new update which changed the interface quite a bit. It really made it nicer to look at and updated it to the new Lion/iOS look and feel. Many people got upset and felt it was completely different and there was some uproar over at the Mac App Store about it. In and effort to show how the program is similar to old one and some of the things that have changed, I did this screencast. Hopefully it will help people to decide whether to upgrade or not. Personally, I like the new interface and some of the changes that were made. There are some things I would like to get back, but over all it has been a good upgrade for me.

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Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Apple, Screencast, Finances

As we get more and more sophisticated as home computer users and have more and more devices we have to manage as a result, the idea of a home server is becoming more and more attractive. Apple has recently made their industry grade server software very accessible for the home user with Lion Server. Deemed as “the server for everyone,” they have lowered the price from $400 to a $49 add on to your existing Lion Client install. They have also simplified the Server App interface and made set up relatively easy with assistants that do most of the work for you.

Still with all of the improvements, this is still a server package and as a result has some complexity to it over what you may be used to with your current client software. To help you through the process of setting up and installing a home server, I am doing a series of screencasts on Lion Server to walk you through the process. This tutorial includes thinking through hardware, setting up a domain name if you want to access your server from outside your home, initial installation, and setting up your host name. All of this is done from the perspective of adding Server to your existing lion install not a new computer set up.

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Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Server, Apple, Screencast

One of the things I am constantly having to do is fix my relatives computers. I am the resident computer guy so they all naturally come to me for help. Now I don’t mind helping and I actually enjoy it in some ways, but it can be extremely frustrating when you can’t actually see the screen of those you are trying to help. Because my relatives are spread out all over the country, I am not able to sit with them to help them resolve their computer issues. If you have ever tried to help someone on the phone and walk them through what to click to fix the problem, you know how frustrating that can be. Well I’ve found a program that has helped me to support my family that is cheap and works extremely well and it’s a program called Slink.

Slink is a remote computer management program that is simple to use. You install the main management component on your computer. Then you install a small preference pane program on each of the computers you want to manage. You only pay for the management component which is currently $19.99 US in the Mac App Store. Once this is all set up, you add your relatives computers to your computer list and connect to those computers with a unique code that each has. Once you have those computers added, you only have to click the computer you want to connect with from a menubar drop down, plug in their password, and you are all set. The cool thing is it sets your computer up as if you are on the local network of the computer you are trying to help. That way you can share the screen and connect to any of the bonjour services that your relative may have running on their computer, including iTunes home sharing and iPhoto sharing.

It really is a neat package. I did a screen cast walkthrough on it which you can view below. The developer Olof is a really great guy and offers excellent support. If you are the IT department for your family you will find this tool indispensable!

Tags: Tutorials, Mac OSX, Screencast, Apple

This is the second screencast in the series I’m doing on Google+. In this screencast I cover how to set up your profile page and what all the security features look like. If you have any questions or comments feel free to respond below. Also if there are other screencasts you would like me to do leave a comment and I’ll see if I can make it happen.

You can also follow all my screencasts at my Youtube Channel. Enjoy!

Tags: Tutorials, Screenflow, Social Media, Google, Plus, Google+, Screencast

Here is a screencast walkthrough of Google+, Google’s new social media site. Google+ is a lot like Facebook but with some added features. You also get the integration of many of the other Google services into Google+ and it has become a pretty big hangout for photographers especially with unlimited uploads at high resolution (2048x2048 pixels). I will be adding more screencasts on each feature of Google+ but this should get you started if you always wondered what it was and wanted a tour without having to commit. Let me know what you think and any other screencasts you would like me to do in the comments below.

You can also follow all my screencasts at my Youtube Channel. Enjoy!

Tags: Tutorials, Screenflow, Social Media, Google, Plus, Google+, Screencast

I recently had my dad ask how to update two drives to one. He has two internal drives in his MacPro that he he wants to back up to his Drobo without using Drobo Copy which has been giving him errors lately. He doesn’t want to go through the process of partitioning his Drobo which I have tried before on a Drobo and is not really the way I like to use my Drobo either especially since my space needs could change at anytime and having to repartition a Drobo takes a lot of time and takes away the benefit of just adding storage. I prefer to use it as one big drive myself.

To help him see how to back up two drives to one, I put together a podcast to walk him through the process. The basic instructions on how to do this can be found in the manual for SuperDuper! found HERE. Enjoy!

Tags: Mac OSX, Backup, Tutorials, Screenflow, Screencast

Apple recently revamped their MobileMe service and moved it to iCloud which is a way to keep all of your information in sync between your devices and also available in the cloud. This is a major update and involves a few steps to get everything moved over so I thought I would do a screencast to record my process of moving my MobileMe account over to iCloud for those who are visual and want to see what will happen step by step before they take the leap. In the video I reference a few sites that Apple has put up to help walk people through the process so I am putting the links below for those who just want the facts and don’t need to see the walk through. This is my first podcast so there are probably some things in the production that are not quite right such as the number of times I say “um”.

How to Set Up iCloud: http://www.apple.com/icloud/setup/

MobileMe Move Site: http://mobileme.com/move

Tags: Apple, ICloud, Tutorials, Mac OSX, Screenflow, Screencast