Welcome to my official home on the web. Below, you will find a list of the most recent technology articles that I have published and the sites/magazines where they have appeared. You can also subscribe to this list via RSS and be constantly updated of any new features that I write.
You can also use this site to find out more about my professional background and the technology consulting and training services that I offer.
Warmly,
Ryan J. Faas
Published at Computerworld - 6/10/2009
The 2009 Apple WWDC keynote gave plenty for Mac users to crave - a faster and more compact Mac OS X, over a hundred new iPhone features for free in just over a week ($9.95 if you own an iPod Touch), new MacBooks that are both cheaper and faster, and a new iPhone model that promises both speed and unique new features. But what does this mean for business and IT staffers? Join me as I take a look at the announcements from the IT/business perspective.
Published at Datamation - 6/9/2009
Apple’s marketing may lead you to believe that your Mac is 100% secure out of the box, but the truth is that Macs can be as susceptible to malware and viruses, network attacks, and excessive spam as other computing platforms (particularly as their market-share rises, giving malicious users more reason to target them). In this guide, I profile the best Mac security tools on the market (from freeware to business tools) to help you find the best way for you to keep your Mac safe.
Published at InformIT - 5/22/09
With Apple boasting 50,000+ apps in the iPhone/iPod Touch app store, finding the ones that you really need and want to use can be a challenge. So, here’s my guide to the top twenty apps that every iPhone or iPod Touch user has to at least check out once. This may not be the definitive app guide, but it some of the cream of the crop and chance are you’ll end up hanging to a few of these and using them on a daily basis.
Published at InformIT - 4/17/2009
For years, NetRestore has been one of the staple tools for systems administrators that need to quickly and easily deploy large numbers of Macs - be it in a school or an office. Late last year, however, Mike Bombich (who created and maintained the free tool) announced that there would be no future versions of NetRestore and declared the product to be at the end of its life. So, where does that leave IT departments need to handle mass Mac deployments? With a number a number of free, commercial, and even cross-platform options to choose from.
Published at InformIT - 4/13/2009
Remote support and systems management tools allow help desk support and systems administration professionals to be able to manage, update, diagnose, and troubleshoot workstations throughout a company easily and effectively without requiring a desk side visit to each machine. This can make them invaluable, provided you pick the right tool for your needs. In this article, I take a look at the criteria you need to consider when choosing one as well as some of the common options on the market today.
Published at Datamation - 4/13/2009
In this tongue-in-cheek article, I take a look at fifteen signs that prove you’re not just a Mac user, but a true and hardcore Apple fan - and a few tips to spot when your fan nature might be verging into serious obsession.
Published at Computerworld 4/10/2009
Apple’s release notes for the 8.0.2 update to iPhone ‘09 did specified “minor fixes” and “over stability” as reasons for users to install the update, the company actually included some major updates to the functionality of iPhoto’s Faces facial recognition feature and to the Places location/geotagging functionality - updates that greatly improve the usability of both technologies. Since some of them are very easy to miss, here’s a guide to all of the changes and why they’re important updates that you should know about.
Published at InformIT - 3/6/2009
One of the great features in iTunes 8 (particularly if you have a large iTunes library) is the Genius feature that automatically generates playlists around a single song. Genius also appears in the latest iPods, iPhone, and Apple TV. But, it doesn’t always make the best matches. However, with a little work, you can make Genius smarter and it’s resulting playlists much more accurate to your tastes.
Published at Computerworld - 3/2/2009
It’s happening in a growing number of fromerly Windows-only businesses - the Macs are creeping in. First one or two, then a handful, and every one seems like a new headache to the systems administrators, support technicians, and other IT folks that need to be responsible for managing them. The good news for those folks is that tried and true solutions already exist for everything from basic file sharing to full scale management via group policies in Active Directory. In this article, I take a look at the options that predominantly Windows-based IT shops can use to get a handle on their Macs.
Published at Computerworld - 2/27/2009
If you’re a Mac user and you haven’t tried iLife ‘09 yet (or even if you have, but haven’t explored every app yet), here’s the skinny on all the features that make this a must-have upgrade. From the revolutionary Faces and Places features in iPhoto to learning an instrument in Garage Band to finally filling in some long-time gaps in iWeb, this update has something for everyone.
Published at Computerworld - 2/26/2009
The future of web-browsing (at least with Apple’s Safari) offers up a number of great new features including a Top Sites view, Cover Flow as a way to quickly review your bookmarked or previously viewed pages, and a new take on tabbed-browsing. There’s also a lot of powerful under-the-hood changes that seriously increase rendering of pages and that add compliance for emerging open web development standards. Get all the details about why I sold on Safari 4 (even as a beta) within my first of using it.
Published at Computerworld - 2/8/2009
With the exception of the online document sharing service, iWork.com, Apple’s iWork ‘09 doesn’t introduce many revolutionary new features. It does, however, offer up a healthy dose of refinements to an already powerful suite of office and productivity applications for both consumers and business users. And iWork.com itself provides an interesting take on simplifying collaboration. Find out all the details in this review.
Published at InformIT - 2/6/2009
Managing a large number of workstations is a challenging prospect for any IT department. When you have a mix of Macs and PCs to support, secure, and manage this challenge can seem like it doubles because of the need to manage two rather different platforms. With the right tools, however, you can streamline and simplify the process. Check out this article for my top three picks.
Published at Datamation - 2/3/2009
Mac users today are not lacking in options for office/productivity software. Apple’s latest version of iWork, Microsoft’s Office 2008 for Mac, and the web-based Google Docs are all options for home users, students, and businesses. Having put all three to the test, I can say that all of them can be good choices, but understanding the features you need and your comfort with the varying interfaces is key to making the right choice.
Published at Computerworld - 1/29/2009
The App Store has redefined how developers sell and distribute software to users of the iPhone and iPod Touch. Meanwhile other smart phone vendors scrambling to catch the wave with similar stores for their devices - but can this approach work for devices like netbooks or traditional computers? Find out the pros, cons, and challenges faced in applying the App Store concept beyond the smart phone market.
Published at InformIT - 1/16/2009
The ability to run Windows on Intel Macs has great advantages for businesses and schools (be they big or small), but it also presents some unique challenges in these environments that aren’t faced by home users. Issues such as large scale Mac/Windows deployments, client management, ensuring security, and dealing with network home directories can all create headaches for systems administrators. With the right combination of tools and approaches, however, you can avoid many of those headaches.
Published at Computerworld - 1/16/2009
Take a trip down memory lane in this timeline of significant moments in the history of Mac, from it’s inception as a basic low-cost computer in the 1970s through it’s release in 1984 and all the way through the release of Leopard and the the iPhone.
Published at Computerworld - 1/16/2009
As part of Computerworld’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Mac, I take a look at the people and events that were led to the Mac’s 1984 introduction.
Published at InformIT - 1/9/2009
Rolling out software across a network and maintaining a software inventory can be challenging and time consuming in any network environment. In situations where applications must be deployed and tracked across both Macs and PCs, these tasks can seem twice as bit. With the right tools, however, you can cut down the amount of time and energy that of managing software across all client machines regardless of platforms.
Published at Computerworld - 12/31/2008
2008 may go down as one of the significant years in Apple’s history since the introduction of the Apple II and the original 128K Mac. As 2008 comes to a close, I count down the five most significant moments for Apple during the year.
Published at Computerworld - 12/17/2008
For Apple fans and longtime Mac users, MacWorld Expo is more than a trade show. It is a chance to see the latest from every Mac/iPod/iPhone vendor, watch Steve Jobs unveil great new products, and meet other passionate Mac users. So, what will happen next year when Apple pulls out of the show altogether? I can’t say for sure, but here are my thoughts based on more than a decade of Apple-watching and MacWorld attendance.
Published at Computerworld - 12/12/2008
The iPhone may be on the way to becoming the most popular smartphone in the world, but there are still some serious improvements that Apple needs to make in order to truly make the device into the “it” mobile platform for business. Find out the top improvements needed from both an IT perspective as well as the perspective of the average business user.
Published at Computerworld - 12/10/2008
Apple’s upcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard may not have 300+ new features like Leopard, but it does promise to shrink the hard drive space used by Mac OS X and deliver new innovations for performance. However, there are plenty of ways to speed up your Mac and recover hard drive space right now - and here’s my picks for the top ten ways to do both
Published at Datamation - 12/9/2008
Apple introduced 300+ documented new features in Mac OS X Leopard, but the OS also offers a range of hidden features that typically require in-depth exploration of configuration files and Terminal command to uncover. For anyone wanting access to these hidden features and configuration options without the work of poking around Mac OS X, read this article to find out about a handful of tools provide easy access to hundreds of additional ways to customize and get more out of Leopard.
Published at Computerworld - 12/2/2008
Almost every Mac user is familiar with Safari and Firefox, as are most Windows users, who are almost certainly familiar with Internet Explorer (and we all at least know about Google’s Chrome, even if we haven’t tried it much yet). But there are several other browsers on the market, each of them with their own pro, cons, and unique features. In this article, I join two fellow Computerworld writers in examining six alternative to the traditional web browser options.
Published at Computerworld - 11/21/2008
Contrary to typical assumption, it is possible to have direct push email services for iPhone users within your business without deploying Microsoft’s Exchange Server (and without relying on consumer-oriented solutions like Mobile Me and Yahoo Mail). This guide examines alternate mail/groupware servers and solutions that can provide the same direct push but with far less cost and headache.
Published at Datamation - 11/19/2008
Thinking about buying a new or used Mac for a loved one (or for yourself) this holiday season? Get the skinny on Apple’s entire Mac lineup including which types of machines are best for which computing tasks in this guide.
Published at Computerworld - 10/31/2008
Getting the most out of a mobile business device can mean more than just getting your email, contacts, and calendar on it. Having custom solutions that allow users to interact with your in-house systems can turn a iPhone or other mobile device can open up a new world of productivity, but accomplishing that may be easier said than done. Find out the challenges, opportunities, and processes for developing in-house iPhone applications in this final installment of the my three part series on integrating the iPhone in business environments.
Published at Datamation - 10/30/2008
The old adage of “the right tool for the job” applies as much to troubleshooting and maintaining a Mac as it does to changing a car’s tires or fixing leaky faucet. With hundreds of varied Mac utilities, it can be overwhelming to find the right tools. To cut through the confusion, here’s a run down of the top Mac utilities including which ones are the right tools for which jobs.
