MacAdmins Conference 2024: Full Schedule

MacAdmins is the premier East Coast conference for anyone who deploys and manages devices in the Apple ecosystem. Over the last 14 years we featured hundreds of sessions and many workshops with top notch speakers in the MacAdmins community. MacAdmins offers an incredible level of expertise, value, entertainment, and a great opportunity to network with your fellow admins!

Registration is now OPEN!

3:30pm EDT

Conference Registration

Welcome to the MacAdmins Conference at Penn State! Once you are settled, come visit us at the registration desk to get your name badge and conference information.

Monday July 8, 2024 3:30pm - 7:00pm EDT
Registration Desk I Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Registration

6:45am EDT

Conference Registration

Welcome to the MacAdmins Conference at Penn State! Once you are settled, come visit us at the registration desk to get your name badge and conference information.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 6:45am - 4:00pm EDT
Registration Desk I Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Registration

7:30am EDT

Breakfast

Breakfast for all conference participants.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 7:30am - 8:45am EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

8:20am EDT

Conference Welcome - Workshop Day

Welcome to Day One! Get oriented to our day with some morning updates from a member of the conference steering committee.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 8:20am - 8:45am EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

9:00am EDT

Dive into PowerShell on the Mac

A workshop that will help you learn about Microsoft’s cross-platform scripting language, PowerShell, and how Mac admins can make use of its features to make their day so much easier

Any prerequisites: Yes – it’s required. A reasonably current MacBook, Visual Studio Code, and the current version of PowerShell for macOS. Scripting experience, especially in non-Mac environments is a big help.

Remember: You've already selected your workshop during registration. Adding this workshop to your sched agenda does not count.

Speakers

John Welch

Lead Software Engineer, Honeywell

John's been a part of the Apple world for decades, focusing on automation, network monitoring, and badgering companies about their install experience. He's worked in multiple industries including: Higher Ed (Private & Public), Finance, Advertising/Marketing, Datacenters, City Government... Read More →

Tuesday July 9, 2024 9:00am - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Workshop

9:00am EDT

Git for Mac Admins / Create AutoPkg recipes for software from scratch

This full-day workshop combines two half-day workshops.
In the morning:
Git for Mac Admins
Git is the most popular distributed version control system on the planet for software development. It also has broad application for Mac admins to use with managing scripts, configuration profiles, AutoPkg recipes, munki configs, and other files that form the backbone of admin tooling. In this workshop you’ll learn the basics of installing git on your computer, using git locally to manage version control, and using git with remote repositories (think GitHub, GitLab, etc.).

Any prerequisites: Yes – but optional. Attendees will need a computer with the latest release version of Xcode installed and should be conversant with using Terminal.app. Familiarity with Bash or ZSH will be helpful.

In the afternoon:
Create AutoPkg recipes for software from scratch
Learn how to create AutoPkg recipes for software from scratch. Autopkg can distribute software updates from vendor websites to your distribution tool of choice, saving thousands of dollars a week.
Being comfortable on the command line is recommended, but previous knowledge of AutoPkg is optional.
While AutoPkg is written in Python, writing Python code is not required to write recipes and will not be covered. Recipes use YAML text files.

Any prerequisites: Yes – but optional. A laptop with Visual Studio Code and Python 3.9+ (Mac or Win or Linux)Watch previous talk ( Using AutoPKG for Windows Software 2.0 ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDdcXtjv6y4

Remember: You've already selected your workshop during registration. Adding this workshop to your sched agenda does not count.

Speakers

James Stewart

DevOps Automation, BigFix

Systems Administrator, Software Developer, BigFix Expert

Weldon Dodd

SVP, Community at Kandji, SVP

Weldon Dodd began his career running a campus Mac lab and NeXT lab at the University of California. He then went to wireless telecom just as digital networks and the Internet came to mobile. The next stage was automating large Apple deployments and running the Apple Authorized Training... Read More →

Tuesday July 9, 2024 9:00am - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Workshop

9:00am EDT

Homelab 101: the alchemy, art, and science of a home lab

In this workshop, we’ll work through setting up a small lab environment for testing out new software and services. We’ll work through different virtualization environments such as XCP-ng, Proxmox, Apple’s hypervisor framework, and containerization. We’ll discuss hardware and networking. Finally, we’ll be working through setting up a service or two using these methods.

Any prerequisites: None needed.

Remember: You've already selected your workshop during registration. Adding this workshop to your sched agenda does not count.

Speakers

Adam Wickert

Senior Infrastructure Engineer, USAA

I've been doing IT support since high school when I stumbled into fixing the Macs in our computer labs because the IT staff didn't know what to do with them. I’ve spent the last decade or so working in Mac enterprise management and presenting at conferences like Penn State MacAdmins... Read More →

Bryan Heinz

IT Director

I’m the IT Director at Simantel, an advertising agency in Peoria, IL where I manage our IT infrastructure. No technology is into touch for me.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 9:00am - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Workshop

9:00am EDT

ITIL 4 – Is It Right For Me? / Get started with deploying Apple devices

This full-day workshop combines two half-day workshops.

In the morning:
ITIL 4 – Is It Right For Me?
Because you don’t have enough certifications yet, we give you ITIL 4. Normally taught over 20-ish hours, ITIL is a hefty course of study. In this workshop we will do a high-level overview of the framework. NOTE: this workshop is NOT an official ITIL 4 Foundations training course.

Any prerequisites: None needed.

In the afternoon:
Get started with deploying Apple devices
This session is ideal for admins who are new to deploying and managing Apple devices, expanding from a pilot, or needing a refresh in IT best practices. Join us to learn the basics of zero-touch deployment, device configuration, federated authentication, managing software updates, and more.

Any prerequisites: None needed.

Remember: You've already selected your workshop during registration. Adding this workshop to your sched agenda does not count.

Speakers

Apple Education

Apple Education, Apple

Brett is a human person

Pam Lefkowitz

Director of IT Operations

Pam spent years in IT-related support. Since being laid off, she spends her time job hunting, working out, visiting her kids and grandkids across the country, caring for her aging mother, and being a proud and vocal activist and organizer.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 9:00am - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 6 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Workshop

9:00am EDT

Learn How You Manage Mac Clients with GitOps – a Hands-On Walkthrough

Are you GitOps curious? In this hands-on workshop we will walk you through your own, fictional rollout of a Mac client based on GitOps workflows: Complete with patch management, software updates and compliance checks. By the end of day, you will have a first-hand impression about what it’s like to enroll and manage Macs with GitOps automations. As we go along, you can learn useful techniques and tools you can apply to your day-to-day, whether GitOps or not.

Any prerequisites: Yes – but optional. You do not need to be an expert in Git to follow along, but familiarity with this tool will definitely help. We will edit text files and run some commands in the Terminal, so bring a Mac if you want to participate in the hands-on parts of the workshop. It would be great if you could bring macOS or iOS test devices.

Remember: You've already selected your workshop during registration. Adding this workshop to your sched agenda does not count.

Speakers

Eric Falconnier

Co-Founder, Zentral

Sotware engineer.

Henry Stamerjohann

Zentral, Platfrom Engineer, Co-Founder

Henry Stamerjohann, a German platform engineer, consultant, and fomer-MSP, co-founded Zentral in 2015. Zentral, is an open-source platform that unites best-of-breed macOS tools in a vertical approach. It harmonizes configuration, hardening, patch management, inventory, change tracking... Read More →

Tuesday July 9, 2024 9:00am - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Workshop

9:00am EDT

Managing Macs for n00bs

New to managing Macs? This is the workshop for you. We’ll discuss and share basic, intermediate, and some advanced management techniques, tools, and best practices. While there will be info relevant to everyone, this workshop’s audience is for people new to Mac administration.

Any prerequisites: None needed.

Remember: You've already selected your workshop during registration. Adding this workshop to your sched agenda does not count.

Speakers

Adam Anklewicz

Manager, IT Endpoint Engineering, Thumbtack

Adam is part of the IT team at Thumbtack. He's manages a fleet of macOS, Chrome OS, Windows, and Linux devices. Adam helps organize meetups for Toronto Mac Admins. He has been using Macs since his parents brought home a Macintosh SE and working professionally with Macs since 2000... Read More →

Robert Hammen

IT Systems Engineer, macOS & iOS Platforms

As a former IT manager, consultant, Apple Certified System Administrator, and Apple Certified Trainer, Robert has been managing Macs since before the days of OS X. For the last 4+ years he's been responsible for managing all of the Apple devices both on earth, and in space, at a reusable... Read More →

Damien Barrett

Mac Platform Engineer, F500 Company

Damien has been supporting Macs for more than 25 years in corporate, small business, and education environments. He currently works as the Apple Platform expert at at Fortune 500 company.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 9:00am - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Workshop

12:00pm EDT

Lunch

Lunch for all conference participants.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 12:00pm - 1:15pm EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

4:45pm EDT

Speaker's Meeting

MacAdmins? Speakers ONLY
Meeting for MacAdmins' Speakers to meet the conference staff, get room orientation, and Q/A.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 4:45pm - 5:15pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

5:00pm EDT

Conference Opening and Dinner

Kick off the conference with dinner and a great opportunity to network with colleagues, speakers, sponsors, and the conference staff.

Join us in Presidents Hall for dinner and opening remarks, the Hack-A-Thon kick off, and special presentations. Later, enjoy dessert, games, and great conversation in the Penn Stater Courtyard. A cash bar will be on-site.

Tuesday July 9, 2024 5:00pm - 7:45pm EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

7:30am EDT

Breakfast

Breakfast for all conference participants.

Wednesday July 10, 2024 7:30am - 8:45am EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

7:30am EDT

Conference Registration

Welcome to the MacAdmins Conference at Penn State! Once you are settled, come visit us at the registration desk to get your name badge and conference information.

Wednesday July 10, 2024 7:30am - 4:00pm EDT
Registration Desk I Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Registration

8:20am EDT

Conference Welcome

Welcome to Day Two! Morning updates from a member of the conference steering committee.

Wednesday July 10, 2024 8:20am - 8:45am EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

9:00am EDT

Holy Imposter Syndrome, Batman: Embracing Your Inner Tech Hero

Join us for "Holy Imposter Syndrome, Batman," where we conquer the tech world's sneakiest villain. This isn't about the flashy tools or code—it's about mustering the confidence to say, "I've got this!" without a quiver. We'll unmask the doubts of Imposter Syndrome and replace them with unshakeable self-belief. By the end, you'll walk away ready to face any tech challenge with a hero's courage and a grin. Get ready to transform those inner doubts into a triumphal "I can do it!"

Speakers

Justin Esgar

Justin Esgar, a savvy entrepreneur and University of Rhode Island alumnus, boasts 20 years in technology. He's the brain behind Virtua Consulting and Virtua Computers, a leading Apple-certified consultancy. His firm excels in devising tech solutions for small businesses and nonprofits... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career All Levels

9:00am EDT

Virtual Machines: New in Deployment, Development and Testing

What's is the status and what's new in testing deployments with help of VMs on Apple Silicon Mac computers.

Challenges and solutions. Windows, macOS VMs.

Note: This session will not be recorded.

Speakers

Aleksandr Sursiakov

Senior Director of Product Management, Parallels Desktop product line, Parallels

Alex started working with Mac computers as a QA engineer in 2006, testing pre-release version of Parallels Desktop. During the career he worked on different server products in Linux and Windows worlds, always returning back to Parallels Desktop and Mac. During the last decade, Alex... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development All Levels

9:00am EDT

N-U-D-G-E Spells Relief for macOS Updates!

Is macOS update compliance giving you indigestion? Already using Nudge and want to go even further? Or maybe you need great data to feel better. Introducing a NEW & IMPROVED formula for fast-acting updates and heartburn-free experiences with Nudge. We'll review essential settings (and some uncommon tweaks), explore rapid prototyping with my very own RapidReload™ Nudge manager, and learn how to track & report your fleet's compliance with compelling, visually stunning progress charts.

Speakers

Brad Chapman

Mac Systems Engineer, NBCU

As a Mac Systems Engineer @ NBCUniversal, Brad Chapman works on a small team managing 14,000 Macs across every business unit. When not fixing computers or his car, he sings professionally with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at Walt Disney Concert Hall or the Hollywood Bowl. To celebrate... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Device Management All Levels

9:00am EDT

Conference Session - Coming Soon

A 75 minute conference session by a MacAdmins community member

Wednesday July 10, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security Intermediate

9:00am EDT

Maximizing macOS: Insider Tips for Efficient Mac Administration

Have you ever watched a conference presenter or YouTube tutorial about a topic, but while the presenter is talking, you notice them do some keyboard shortcut magic to complete a task that normally takes you 3 times as many steps?

In this session, we hope to teach you some of those shortcuts, tools, tips, and tricks to help you be a more efficient Mac Admin.

Speakers

Nathan Felton

Senior Client Platform Engineer, Flywire

Senior Client Platform Engineer @ Flywire, Father, casual gamer, nature and green advocate, and technology enthusiast.

Dennis Wurster

Associate Director of Computing, Eastman School of Music - University of Rochester

Dennis provides Apple-focused expertise in his role as Associate Director of Computing at Eastman School of Music. He has written for technology journals and presented at several conferences. Away from the keyboard, Dennis enjoys cycling, automotive technology, and travel.

Wednesday July 10, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Toolbox Fundamental

10:45am EDT

Creating a framework for collaboration between tech and teachers in K-12

In K-12 education, often tech teams are not deeply integrated enough to be viewed as a partner in the usage of technology within a school district. This session will share techniques to foster a more collaborative environment.

Speakers

Randy Saeks

Network Manager, Glencoe School District 35

Randy is an Apple Distinguished Educator with over 20-years experience supporting Apple Technologies in K-12 education. With a technical background initially focused on system integration, he brings a unique viewpoint on how using a goal-focused approach can lead to successful partnerships... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career All Levels

10:45am EDT

macOS application packaging 101

This session will discuss the various ways Apple recommends for packaging applications, with a focus on installer packages.

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 different environments, including education, government, research, and software development._x000D_ _x000D_ Rich has also written for Peachpit, Apress... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Deployment Fundamental

10:45am EDT

Intro to SwiftUI for macOS

Can you build a macOS desktop app in under an hour? Definitely! Lets go over some techniques to build a SwiftUI macOS desktop app that you can actually use.

Speakers

Ryan Ball

Director of Engineering - Alectrona, Alectrona

Ryan is a seasoned Mac Admin who has worked in environments managing over 12,000 Apple devices. Ryan Ball now supports engineering projects for small and medium-sized businesses as the Director of Engineering at Alectrona. As a member of the Apple Consultants Network, a Jamf Services... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development Intermediate

10:45am EDT

Managing Macs with Microsoft Intune

Have you or your org thought about using Intune to manage your Mac fleet? Or maybe you are currently managing Macs with Intune, but are looking for ways to improve your current infrastructure. Learn more about Microsoft Intune and Mac management, the differences (and challenges) in Intune when compared to other MDMs like Jamf Pro, and the tips, tricks, and best practices we’d like to share for managing Macs with Intune.

Speakers

Sam Gibbs

Client Platform Engineer, Alectrona

Sam is an Apple Client Platform Engineer at Alectrona, providing Mac and Jamf support for clients and partners. Prior to joining Alectrona, Sam spent 10+ years wrangling Macs in higher ed.

Andrew Myers

Client Platform Engineer, Alectrona

Andrew is a seasoned Mac Admin working within multiple MDMs, open-sourced MacAdmin tools, and just getting Macs into organizations. Before Alectrona, he worked in higher education for over 10+ years.

Wednesday July 10, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Device Management Fundamental

10:45am EDT

Signal vs noise: A case study on Apple device compliance with Conditional Access

Microsoft Entra ID Conditional Access presents one vision of using device health to determine whether or not online organizational data and resources can be accessed at any given time.

We will discuss the options for this on Apple's Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS platforms. We will provide a case study of implementing Conditional Access via different generations of Jamf Pro integrations, passing on decision points and lessons learned.

We expect ample time for Q&A on this complex topic.

Note: This session will not be recorded.

Speakers

Jeremy Reichman

Macintosh Systems Engineer, SAP

Jeremy has worked as a Mac admin in higher education, the financial sector, and the software sector. He has presented multiple times at PSU MacAdmins and is active in his local Mac admin regional group. When he is at rest, he likes to be encrypted.

John Woll

SAP

John Woll is a Senior IT Consultant with 15+ years of experience and an MBA in IT Management. Specializing in managing iOS devices for the past 7 years, he excels in optimizing IT infrastructure and platform engineering for businesses across diverse industries. He is committed to... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security Advanced

10:45am EDT

Custom Apps and Integrations in K-12

Discover how any school district, with assistance from Cross IT, can leverage the power of the Claris Platform to revolutionize educational processes. IT directors and staff in the K-12 space often deal with data distributed across multiple systems while managing a fleet of student iPads. Without the correct toolset, these tasks can be troublesome. Join us for an insightful exploration of real-world applications, best practices, and tangible results achieved by an innovative school district.

Speakers

D. Todd Weller

Senior Data Systems Architect, Cross IT Services & Solutions, LLC

Todd is the senior data systems architect with Cross I.T. Services & Solutions, a Claris Platinum Partner. He has used and developed custom operational apps as a workplace innovator for over 22 years for both in-house users and outside clients. Todd holds a degree in electrical engineering... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 6 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Sponsor Deployment All Levels

12:00pm EDT

Lunch

Lunch for all conference participants.

Wednesday July 10, 2024 12:00pm - 12:30pm EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

12:30pm EDT

Lunch and Visit our Sponsors

Lunch for all conference participants. After lunch, visit our sponsors in the lobby!

Wednesday July 10, 2024 12:30pm - 1:15pm EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

1:30pm EDT

So you want to be a project manager?

A talk for folks who want to better organize their work, but don't know where to start as well as folks who want to pivot their career towards management or project management.

Note: This session will not be recorded

Speakers

Matt Schnittker

Manager, Technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Matt Schnittker works as a Technology Manager at Walt Disney Animation Studios and has been involved in Disney Animated films from Dinosaur (2000) to Wish (2023). He spent over a decade as a software developer before moving into technology management where he now focuses on bringing... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career Fundamental

1:30pm EDT

AWKward no more: Text Processing Tricks for Macadmins

A journey into AWK and its benefits as a text processing language for Macadmins. Through practical examples and real world applications, the aim is to provide you with ways to simplify workflows and by the end of the talk, a fundamental grasp on the power and ease that AWK provides.

Speakers

Enrique Lau

Mac Enterprise Engineer, Tamman, Inc.

Part of Tamman, Inc since 2022, I occasionally weave code into solutions, often through AWK. I aim to share its simplicity with the Macadmin community.

Wednesday July 10, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development Fundamental

1:30pm EDT

Deploying Jamf + Munki in a Lab Environment

In this session, we'll discuss the pros and cons of managing Lab Macs in a Higher Education environment utilizing Jamf and Munki. This includes pre-staging for zero-touch deployment, packaging and distribution, and overall daily maintenance of a managed lab fleet.

Speakers

Kyle Keilson

Cloud Systems Engineer, Ringling College of Art and Design

Kyle Keilson has been in the IT industry for 12 years, specializing in Higher Education and focusing in areas such as Systems Infrastructure and Networking. Currently, he's the Cloud Systems Engineer at Ringling College of Art and Design. An avid Apple fan, Kyle enjoys sharing knowledge... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Device Management All Levels

1:30pm EDT

Passkeys! What are they?

Passkeys, FIDO-enabled credentials, offer passwordless security and combat phishing. Their popularity has grown, prompting a closer look at their types: synced and device-bound passkeys. Understanding these options is crucial for organizations choosing the right fit.

Speakers

Joe Scalone

Senior Solutions Architect, Yubico

Joe Scalone is a Senior Solutions Architect at Yubico, dedicated to making the internet safer. His main focus is ensuring secure login options are available to everyone. He is also the co-chair of the Government Deployment Working Group and co-chair of the US Government Deployment... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security All Levels

1:30pm EDT

GitHub Actions for Mac Admins (CI/CD)

You’ve been using git to manage your scripts, and you have a GitHub repo for your team. Learn how to use GitHub Actions to run workflows that can update your MDM, Munki setup, etc. whenever a change is approved in your GitHub repo. This is an intermediate session for those that are familiar with git, but are new to GitHub Actions.

Speakers

Weldon Dodd

SVP, Community at Kandji, SVP

Wednesday July 10, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 6 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Sponsor Deployment Intermediate

1:30pm EDT

A Contemporary Wi-Fi Toolkit for Apple System Administrators

This session provides a survey of the current landscape of built-in and third party Wi-Fi analysis and troubleshooting tools available to administrators of Apple platforms.

Speakers

Chris Dawe

Fighting Tiny Fires

Chris Dawe is an independent consultant specializing in Apple technologies and networking. Chris speaks regularly on industry topics such as Wi-Fi networking and IT management, acts as Board Secretary for the Mac Admins Foundation, and helps lead the regional meetup group Apple Admins... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Toolbox Fundamental

3:15pm EDT

How the Personal Computer Peaked in 1984

What can the modern Mac Admin learn by studying the ancient relics of computing’s past? Join Charles as he blows the dust off a blocky beige behemoth that belongs in a museum. You might just gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the latest generation of slick Apple silicon, how it all really works, and what it’s hiding under the surface.

Speakers

Charles Mangin

Bash scripts in a trenchcoat

Charles Mangin enjoys setting up camp at the intersection where divergent disciplines meet: Analog and digital, creative and analytical, the old and the new. He’s been working with Macs for nearly three decades, having transitioned into IT by way of graphic design and web development... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career Fundamental

3:15pm EDT

Supercharged CI/CD with GitHub and AWS: Extended Edition

Learn more about how to leverage GitHub Actions and AWS CodePipeline for secure CI/CD workflows!

Speakers

Bryson Tyrrell

Former benevolent Casper Admin

Bryson Tyrrell is a Systems Development Engineer with a background in Apple Device management, Jamf Pro systems administration, and AWS. In days of yore he spoke widely, and exhaustingly, on topics around the Jamf Pro API, webhooks, and serverless application development. An avid... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development Intermediate

3:15pm EDT

Nuts and Bolts of Updating Apps

Updating third-party Mac apps: how does that work? A technical deep dive into various methods to install and update macOS applications to see how developers and administrators tackle this admittedly tough problem.

Speakers

Justin Henderson

Technical Services Director, Alectrona

Justin is the Director of Technical Services at Alectrona with over 8 years of experience in the Apple Consulting world in various roles. He’s a member of the Apple Consultants Network, a JAMF Services Partner, and an evangelist for remote work. He is a music, travel, technology... Read More →

Chad Swarthout

Founder & CEO, Alectrona

Chad Swarthout is Founder & CEO of Alectrona, providing Mac management services and software solutions to IT organizations. Chad has been supporting Apple devices in the enterprise for over 15 years providing managed services, training, and consulting services for rapidly scaling... Read More →

Ryan Ball

Director of Engineering - Alectrona, Alectrona

Wednesday July 10, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Device Management All Levels

3:15pm EDT

Compliance for Overworked MacAdmins

Too much work and too little direction keeping you from establishing security baselines on your Macs? Wondering what security rules should you apply, and how do you get started? Questioning why should you even bother? You're not alone! In this session I'll show how I'm using the macOS Security Compliance Project, Jamf Compliance Editor, and a healthy dose of gumption to implement security compliance on our fleet of higher ed Macs.

Speakers

Beth Johnson

Endpoint Engineer, Systems Administrator, Cat Herder, Mount Holyoke College

I came to tech support and computer administration after a career as a postpartum doula and childbirth educator. (When you think about it, they're not that different.) Now I work in higher education, where I architect our workstation management, as well as administer the applications... Read More →

Wednesday July 10, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security All Levels

3:15pm EDT

How Apple Rolls: A Guide to Understanding What’s Next

Come learn how Apple constantly iterates and how it affects MacAdmins in this history lesson in Cupertino-ology, as we take a look at technical milestones and transitions such as MDM and Apple silicon and learn how to see what’s coming next.

Speakers

Adam Selby

Senior Platform Engineer, Mac Engineering

Adam Selby is a Senior Platform Engineer working in the Financial Services Industry, after spending a decade managing Apple platforms in Higher Education.

Wednesday July 10, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Toolbox All Levels

5:00pm EDT

MacAdmins on the Mountain: An Evening of Food, Friends, and Fun

Join us for festive dinner and summer fun at Tussey Mountain, our local ski mountain. A bar will be available for additional beverages. There will be go-karting, mini golf, batting cages, a skate park, hiking trails, and more*! The ski lift will also be in operation to take you to the top of the mountain for some of the best views of Happy Valley.

Plus, we've got bussing provided between the Penn Stater and Tussey Mountain. Don't miss this chance to network with fellow MacAdmins and make lasting memories. Join us for a night to remember!

* Par-3 golf, and driving range are an additional cost paid at the Fun Centre

Wednesday July 10, 2024 5:00pm - 8:00pm EDT
Tussey Mountain 301 Bear Meadows Road Boalsburg, PA 16827

General

7:30am EDT

Breakfast

Breakfast for all conference participants.

Thursday July 11, 2024 7:30am - 8:45am EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

7:30am EDT

Conference Registration

Welcome to the MacAdmins Conference at Penn State! Once you are settled, come visit us at the registration desk to get your name badge and conference information.

Thursday July 11, 2024 7:30am - 4:00pm EDT
Registration Desk I Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Registration

9:00am EDT

Device Management Strategies and Solutions: A Value-First Approach

Are you unhappy with your existing MDM? Do you have a product that doesn't meet the needs of your users? Are you wanting to switch solutions or maximize the value of your existing solution(s)? How do you pick the right solution? How do I gain buy-in from my users and company leadership? Get answers to these questions and more by attending this session where we we'll delve into the intricacies of evaluating a device management solution by assessing the value it brings to your organization.

In today's rapidly evolving technology landscape, choosing the right device management solution for your organization is critical to optimizing efficiency, security, and overall value. The number of solutions and enhancements available continues to grow year over year making each decision in this arena a critical one. Join Jackson Pavelka from Pacific Dental Services in this insightful conference session to delve into the intricacies of evaluating a device management solution by assessing the value it brings to your organization.

In this session, we will explore various aspects of device management and go on a journey through the transition of two fictional organizations from one device management strategy to another.

By the end of this session, you will have a solid understanding of the essential considerations involved in selecting a device management solution that not only fits your organization's needs but also delivers lasting value. Whether you're an IT professional or a business decision maker, this session will equip you with the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed decisions that drive your organization's success.

Join us for an engaging discussion, interactive Q&A and some good laughs. Leave MacAdmins with actionable insights to make the right device management strategy decisions for your organization's future.

Speakers

Jackson Pavelka

IT Engineer, Pacific Dental Services

For six years I have held roles ranging from tier one desktop support to top level escalations as an Engineer with varying perspective of enterprise device management. My passion is creating value through device management and automation. Over the past few years, I have furthered... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Deployment All Levels

9:00am EDT

Working with and Leveraging Data at Scale

A technical deep dive of working with data at scale

Speakers

Tom Larkin

Sr. Manager Systems Engineering & DevOps, Snowflake

I have been working in tech since the late 90s and have held jobs across several industries. Today I manage an IT Engineering team at Snowflake.

Thursday July 11, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development All Levels

9:00am EDT

Delving the Depths of DDM

Apple is slowly shifting its device management focus to Declarative, and we can expect MDMv1 to slowly die by attrition over the next few years. This year's session is a sequel to last year's "Behind the MDM Curtain," updating it for this new DDM age. We will discuss how declarations are created, activated, and how the client is now making its own decisions about what gets managed. With a focus on Software Update declarations, we'll dive into examples and look for logs for inspection.

Speakers

Joseph Chilcote

@chilcote, Meta

Joe manages Macs at a large tech company, and is based in Seattle.

Thursday July 11, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Device Management Intermediate

9:00am EDT

Macs Factor: The Risks and Rewards of Single Sign On

Apple's Single Sign On framework for cloud identity providers is finally in the wild. Configured correctly, it's magical for endusers. Configured wrong - it's an incredible security risk, and you're gonna take the blame. Learn how to configure your Mac, iPhones, and iPads to behave as a security factor to access your organization's deepest secrets.

Speakers

Sean Rabbitt

Sr. Consulting Engineer, Identity and Access Management, Jamf, Jamf

Born a small human child, Sean has since gotten larger. These days he helps organizations succeed with Apple, consulting on how to manage and secure fleets of devices. He is often performing extreme social distancing traveling the country in an Airstream trailer with his husband of... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security Intermediate

9:00am EDT

macOS 15: What You Need To Know

Need the lowdown on what's up with the latest version of macOS? This session will be your guide into the new features and changes coming in macOS 15, and how they'll affect you and your users, and what you can do to prepare!

Speakers

Robert Hammen

IT Systems Engineer, macOS & iOS Platforms

Thursday July 11, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Toolbox All Levels

10:45am EDT

Squirrel! 2.0 How to be and Work With Neurodivergent’s in IT

Are you Neurodivergent? Do you work with or manage someone who is? Do you know what Neurodivergence is? In this presentation and open discussion we will cover many topics and give tips and advice for those who are, work with, or manage those with ADHD, LD’s, or Spectrum disorders.

Speakers

Roger Herling

Apple/Jamf End User Computing Engineer, McGraw Hill

Roger has over 20 years of IT experience with almost 15 of those managing Apple devices in both corporate and educational settings. He is currently the Apple End User Computing Engineer for McGraw Hill

Jason Stanford

Neurovarietal Footslogger, Lehigh University

Jason Stanford is a Sr. Computing Consultant at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A Mac Admin since the late 1990s, Jason is a Jamf Certified Expert, security wonk, coffee nerd, and nature walk aficionado. He and his beautiful wife are the doting waitstaff of “Hank the... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career All Levels

10:45am EDT

You Got Your Installomator in my swiftDialog!

Learn how to safely deploy and update applications directly from the vendor automatically and without hosting any infrastructure. swiftDialog can be used to keep your users informed of what you're doing on their workstation, with professional, branded, and Apple native dialog boxes and notifications.

Installomator and swiftDialog go together like peanut butter and chocolate! Learn how these open source and vendor agnostic tools can fill in the gaps in your management system.

Speakers

Trevor Sysock

Author of open source tools Baseline and Renew, Second Son Consulting

Trevor Sysock (aka BigMacAdmin) is the author of macOS open-source projects Baseline and Renew. He is also a maintainer and contributor to Installomator. Trevor is the Director of MDM and Automation at Second Son Consulting in Los Angeles, where he has worked for over 10 years.

Thursday July 11, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Deployment Intermediate

10:45am EDT

Access to Jamf API: A Novel and secure Client-Side Approach

There are countless methods that folks have come up with over the years to access the Jamf API from a client. Nearly all of them though, are incredibly insecure - leaving a significant attack vector wide open. I'll walk through the primary methods used today, and their shortcomings. And then, present on a method I've developed that is truly secure.

Speakers

Chris Cohoon

Founder & Consultant, Chippewa.io

Chris Cohoon leads Chippewa.io, drawing from over a decade in the Apple device management space to tailor innovative and bespoke solutions. Living in Chippewa Falls, WI, with his family, he combines his tech expertise with a passion for the outdoors and various creative projects... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development Intermediate

10:45am EDT

Best Practices for Deploying Platform SSO with Microsoft Entra ID

Local identity management on macOS has long been a pain point for enterprises, especially as organizations have moved towards cloud-native IDPs. With the release of the Platform SSO feature built into macOS, Apple has added options for more modern and secure approaches to authentication. In this session, we will cover how Microsoft Entra ID leverages Apple's new features to enable phishing-resistant strong authentication natively with macOS - vastly improving end user experience and security.

Speakers

Mark Morowczynski

Principal Product Manager, Microsoft

Mark Morowczynski is a Principal Product Manager on the Security Customer Experience Engineering (CxE) team at Microsoft. He spends most of his time working with customers on their deployments in the IAM & information security space. He's spoken at various industry events such as... Read More →

Michael Epping

Senior Program Manager

Michael Epping is a Senior Product Manager in the Entra ID Customer Experience team at Microsoft. As part of the customer experience team and his role is to accelerate the adoption of Identity features from Microsoft across enterprise customers. He's spoken at various industry events... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security Intermediate

10:45am EDT

Building Support Tools with a Purpose

Support and troubleshoot Mac and macOS with a small, remote team, remote clients, and excellent customer satisfaction. Empowering users, translating problems, asking the right questions, and building a team to do more.

Speakers

Andrew Myers

Client Platform Engineer, Alectrona

Andrew is a seasoned Mac Admin working within multiple MDMs, open-sourced MacAdmin tools, and just getting Macs into organizations. Before Alectrona, he worked in higher education for over 10+ years.

Justin Henderson

Technical Services Director, Alectrona

Thursday July 11, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Toolbox All Levels

12:00pm EDT

Lunch

Lunch for all conference participants.

Thursday July 11, 2024 12:00pm - 12:30pm EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

12:30pm EDT

Lunch and Visit our Sponsors

Lunch for all conference participants. After lunch, visit our sponsors in the lobby!

Thursday July 11, 2024 12:30pm - 1:15pm EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

1:30pm EDT

Mentoring Technology Professionals

Mentoring is critical to job satisfaction and organizational success. While technology professionals are a diverse group, we have a tendency towards self-reliance. How then can we benefit from mentoring and becoming mentors?

Speakers

Tom Egan

Senior Application Developer - Core Business Solutions, Core Business Solutions

Tom is a professional nerd. He has worked in laboratory quality assurance, small business technology support, software development, and devops. He is an advocate of open source, green technologies, and slow food (home cooking). He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, son, and two... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career All Levels

1:30pm EDT

Homebrew: Balancing the needs of IT, Security, and Engineering Teams at Scale

In this session we'll take an in-depth look at the challenges faced by IT, Security, and Engineering teams running Homebrew on hundreds to thousands of endpoints. I'll also share some common and not-so-common workarounds to problems to better equip you for managing Homebrew at your company.

Speakers

John Britton

Co-Founder & CEO, Workbrew

John Britton is a developer, entrepreneur, and investor. As Co-Founder & CEO of Workbrew he’s on a mission to improve the way software is deployed and managed at organizations. He is an industry-leading expert in the realms of open source and developer-tools go-to market, and invests... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Deployment Intermediate

1:30pm EDT

Leveraging Proxmox for email and virtually everything else.

PROXMOX is an open-source enterprise grade virtualization platform which offers system administrators and developers a full featured, convenient, scalable and high-availibility platform for hosting a variety of services. Let’s talk about what it can do for you.

Speakers

Ben Greisler

Owner, Kadimac Corp.

Over a quarter century in the tech world building, fixing, writing, training and still always learning.

John Soward

Research IT, Dataseam & University of Kentucky

John has been working in IT since 1988, spending most of it with Unix-like systems including NeXTSTEP and MacOS. He's worked in startups in the insurance, VR and film industry, and spent over 20 years in higher ed. He currently teaches computers science at the University of Kentucky... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development Intermediate

1:30pm EDT

Managed Apple IDs and You

Whether you're a small business deploying a few apps, or a big company looking to federate your identity, manage access, and deploy public and private apps across your whole org, you need to understand what Managed Apple IDs are, how they are made, and what they do for you.

Speakers

Tom Bridge

Director of Product Management, Devices, JumpCloud

Tom Bridge is the Director of Product Management for Devices at JumpCloud, the Producer of the Mac Admins Podcast, and the Co-Chair of the Mac Admins Foundation. He lives in the District of Columbia with his family.

Thursday July 11, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security All Levels

1:30pm EDT

Unified System Logs - The key to root cause

sysdiagnose and Unified System Logs are one of the corner stones to good root cause analysis. Learn how MDM vendors like Jamf and Addigy use these logs internally for anything from support cases to better understating OS features where documentation is not as detailed as it could be. We will cover use cases for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS. Additionally we will cover best practices in submitting Apple Feedback to ensure full details and the right logging is included and useful to Apple.

Speakers

Bryce Carlson

Senior Product Manager, Addigy

After my family's iMac G4 in 2002 changed the course of my life to focus on Mac management I have worked for K-12 and Higher Education organizations in macOS and iOS deployment, and evolved that into directly working in the MDM sector. First, at Jamf in 2016 and now Addigy since... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 1:30pm - 2:45pm EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Toolbox Intermediate

3:15pm EDT

What your neurodivergent colleagues want you to know but are just too distracted to tell you

You got into IT to work with tech, only to find yourself supporting users instead. Users can be distracted, indecisive, even frustrating. While resources exist for people on the spicy ends of the neurodiversity spectrum (aka habañeuros), not so for helping a neurotypical admin to understand their neurodivergent users. Can an empathetic normie like you negotiate the challenges of interacting with a scurry of squirrels, and not go nuts? Did you know the collective noun for squirrels is "a scurry"?

Speakers

Charles Mangin

Bash scripts in a trenchcoat

Kelly Guimont

Technolutionary Rabblerouser, Technolutionary

MacAdmin, podcaster, and friend of the Rebel Alliance

Thursday July 11, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career Intermediate

3:15pm EDT

Jamf App Installers & Software Update: Reclaim your time and sanity

Since last years engaging session Jamf app installers have grown up, with plenty of new features. And now it has a new sibling; Software Update

Hear first hand from David (Horizon BCBS) how both work in the real world, saving precious time, and sanity while increasing productivity

Adam (Jamf) will discuss new features and enhancements, and see where we are going in the future. There will be time for attendees to share their experiences and feedback with Jamf App Installers and software update

Speakers

Adam Derrick

Apple macOS and iOS Professional, Jamf

Hi there! I started using a Mac while in school back in the early 90s. I thrived on helping others with their Apple devices and became "The Apple Guy" at my first employer. I've since spent the last 16 years wearing many hats supporting Apple devices in Education, Commercial, and... Read More →

David Goldberg

Desktop Engineer, Horizon BCBS of NJ

Mac Admin specializing in Jamf Pro

Thursday July 11, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Deployment All Levels

3:15pm EDT

Awk, sed, grep: Together, we can change anything!

Three little commands — awk, sed, and grep — are the workhorses of shell scripts. They let us extract data from blobs of text and turn it into information we can use.

Let’s spend a little time getting nerdy by examining each of these command line tools independently and with each other.

We’ll review each command line tool, define their advantages, and watch them in action. The goal of this session to show Mac admins how they can change anything with a little help from awk, sed, and grep.

Speakers

William Smith

Partner Program Manager, Jamf

Bill is a Technical Enablement Manager with Jamf and works with partners, certified engineers, and consultants to provide training, support and documentation related to delivering services for Jamf customers._x000D_ _x000D_ He enjoys teaching and writing about technology — both... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development Intermediate

3:15pm EDT

Why in the world do you want to migrate systems? MDMs, IdPs, and more!

Sometimes you need to move from one platform to another, and often it feels like the scariest thing you'll ever do. We'll talk about why you might want to do this, how to plan for large systems migrations, and how we have stumbled and succeeded with changing MDMs, Identity Providers, and collaboration tools.

Speakers

Chad Swarthout

Founder & CEO, Alectrona

Andrew Myers

Client Platform Engineer, Alectrona

Andrew is a seasoned Mac Admin working within multiple MDMs, open-sourced MacAdmin tools, and just getting Macs into organizations. Before Alectrona, he worked in higher education for over 10+ years.

Sam Gibbs

Client Platform Engineer, Alectrona

Sam is an Apple Client Platform Engineer at Alectrona, providing Mac and Jamf support for clients and partners. Prior to joining Alectrona, Sam spent 10+ years wrangling Macs in higher ed.

Thursday July 11, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Device Management All Levels

3:15pm EDT

Cybersecurity is more than having the right tools

Cybersecurity is more than just deploying a few tools. As a new ISSO I walk you through how I created a 1 year strategic plan for rolling out a comprehensive security and compliance program for my hybrid based company (Mac/PC).

Speakers

Jon Brown

ISSO, MBA, CMMC RP & ACSP, Montage Marketing Group

Jon worked for many years supporting large scale non profit organizations, and digital agencies as a MacAdmin prior to starting his own IT Services Consultancy in 2014. He grew and scaled his company Grove Technologies where he provided Apple Focused IT Support solutions & cybersecurity... Read More →

Thursday July 11, 2024 3:15pm - 4:30pm EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security All Levels

3:15pm EDT

5:00pm EDT

Evening Event

The MacAdmins Conference team is putting on the final touches to this fun night. Reserve your spot and stay tuned for details.

Dinner will be served at 5 pm; the event will begin at 5:45 pm. More information will be announced at a later date

Thursday July 11, 2024 5:00pm - 8:00pm EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

7:30am EDT

Breakfast

Breakfast for all conference participants.

Friday July 12, 2024 7:30am - 8:45am EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General

9:00am EDT

Who Is Your "Wilson?" - Building An Apple IT Coalition

Have you ever felt like Tom Hanks on a deserted island with only a volleyball named Wilson to rely on for Apple IT feedback? Find out how over the past 24 years I created a coalition of the willing at our higher ed institution by leveraging the PSU MacAdmins Conference and MacAdmins online community for the insight you can’t get from coworkers.

Speakers

Chris Hart

Enterprise Apple Systems Administrator, Florida State University

I have played the piano since 3rd grade and have my undergraduate degree in Instrumental Music Education from Ball State University. I earned my masters degree from FSU in the College of Information. In 2008 I graduated with my doctoral degree from FSU in the College of Information... Read More →

Friday July 12, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career All Levels

9:00am EDT

Adopting an Active Update Cycle

Always changing is NOT always improving. NEVER changing is getting worse. This session is a journey: where I was, where we are and, most importantly, how we got there.

Speakers

Casey Scruggs

Endpoint Engineer, Western Kentucky University

I've worked at the same organization, Western Kentucky University, for ~18 years; first at the help desk for 10 years, then 4 years as an in-person tech, and currently in my fourth year as the Endpoint Engineer for non-lab org-owned Macs.

Friday July 12, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Deployment All Levels

9:00am EDT

Spatial Computing/VR/XR/AR and Beyond

The Vision Pro has brought Spatial Computing to the masses, while Meta's Mixed Reality headsets make it known they aren't to be underestimated.

What is this tech even about? How will it affect the future of admins? What headsets fit your use case?

The names Alexander and in this session we are going to see what the state of this technology is, whats coming and also go over my own productivity experiences using these headsets.`

Speakers

Alexander Smith

DevSecOps Engineer, JetBlue Travel Products

Alexander is a South Florida-based tech enthusiast fascinated by consumer tech, productivity software, and obviously Apple products. _x000D_ _x000D_ Headphones in: Learning some new random tech thing, or watching too much YouTube._x000D_ _x000D_ Headphones out: The gym, coffee, cats... Read More →

Friday July 12, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development Fundamental

9:00am EDT

Roll a Nat 20 with mSCP

Gather your party, we're going on an adventure! A compliance adventure!

I'll start this session with how to use the Jamf Compliance Editor to create a macOS compliance script and configuration profiles. Then I'll cover the best practices on how to configure policies in Jamf Pro to ensure your fleet is secured automatically!

Let's roll initiative and dive right in!

(D&D theming not guaranteed :) )

Speakers

John Mahlman IV

Mac/Linux Platform Lead, Leidos

I have over 15 years of platform engineering experience mainly with macOS but recently with Linux as well. I am a contributor to the macOS Security Compliance project and the macOS CIS Benchmarks and very active within those communities. I have been a planning member of the Greater... Read More →

Friday July 12, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security Intermediate

9:00am EDT

Optimize DNS for Cloud Service Performance

Solid DNS is needed to allow high performance access to cloud services. This session will review how to test DNS, optimize DNS and provide high performance DNS access.

Speakers

Ben Greisler

Owner, Kadimac Corp.

Over a quarter century in the tech world building, fixing, writing, training and still always learning.

John Soward

Research IT, Dataseam & University of Kentucky

Friday July 12, 2024 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Toolbox Intermediate

10:45am EDT

Conference Session - Coming Soon

A 75 minute conference session by a MacAdmins community member

Friday July 12, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 3 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Career All Levels

10:45am EDT

Return to Service Interactive Lab

It's summer. Are you refreshing your student or classroom iOS devices and want to do it quickly? Return to Service eliminates the need to manually guide an erased device through certain Setup Assistant screens that could previously not be skipped, including the screens for setting the language and region, and connecting to Wi-Fi.

Join us for a hands-on tour of our latest iOS and iPadOS apps and workflows that simplify and scale mobility at large.

Speakers

Adam Derrick

Apple macOS and iOS Professional, Jamf

Friday July 12, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 4 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Deployment All Levels

10:45am EDT

Get more out of scripting than you may expect

Learn how to leverage the expect binary into your day to day scripting to automate interactive terminal scripts or prompts at scale with your MDM of choice.

Speakers

Jon Brown

ISSO, MBA, CMMC RP & ACSP, Montage Marketing Group

Friday July 12, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 1 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Development Intermediate

10:45am EDT

Conference Session - Coming Soon

A 75 minute conference session by a MacAdmins community member

Friday July 12, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 5 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Device Management Intermediate

10:45am EDT

Conference Session - Coming Soon

A 75 minute conference session by a MacAdmins community member

Friday July 12, 2024 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
TBA 2 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

Security Intermediate

10:45am EDT

12:00pm EDT

Lunch

Lunch for all conference participants.

Friday July 12, 2024 12:00pm - 1:15pm EDT
Presidents Hall Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, USA

General