June 2005

A fair number of people have asked me why I use an Apple Mac when my business centers primarily around Microsoft products such as Windows Server 2003, Active Directory, and Exchange?  That’s a reasonable question.

My computer is simply a tool to get my job done.  About two years ago, I started to evaluate the tasks that I tackle on a regular basis as part of supporting my customers’ networks.  In reviewing those tasks, it become evident to me that using Windows myself was not a prerequisite for designing, installing, and supporting Windows-based networks.  I could run a different OS—like Linux or Mac OS X—and still be perfectly able to get my job done.  In fact, given that I wanted to increase the amount of work that my company did with open source software such as Linux, Apache, Postfix, and SpamAssassin, something other than Windows might actually make that easier.

I then set out to compare the alternatives.  After comparing Linux and Mac OS X, I found that Mac OS X had the best fit for my particular needs.  I loved the mix of open source technologies (the BSD underpinnings and various other open source projects) and closed software (the ultrasmooth Aqua interface).  I loved the hardware.  And, most importantly, I found that there were applications available for Mac OS X to help me get my job done. (See my blog posting about Preferred Mac OS X Applications.)  The fact that many of the applications I needed for my job were open source applications was a bonus.

Is Mac OS X right for you?  I don’t know; that depends upon what you do at your job.  I believe that Mac OS X is a great fit for more people than Windows, but I also believe that people must use what is most ideally suited for their work.  If that is Windows; so be it.  If that is Linux, then great.  And if, like me, it is Mac OS X, then fantastic.  Each of these operating systems have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is up to each user to determine which OS is right for them.

I suppose I should go ahead and post the obligatory list of preferred Mac OS X applications.  So, without further ado, here goes.

• SFTP Client:  I used to use Fugu, but switched not too long ago to Cyberduck.  I like Cyberduck’s Synchronize feature (to keep local and remote directories synchronized) and the built-in Growl support.  I still keep Fugu around, but don’t use it nearly as much as I did.
• Web Browser:  I primarily use Camino, although I will use Safari from time to time.  I know that Firefox is available in a Mac OS X version, but I just prefer Camino.
• Usenet Client:  I tried a couple of open source applications, but finally settled on Unison.  My only complaint with Unison is that I can’t post a message to a newsgroup and send a copy of the message to someone’s e-mail address at the same time.
• RSS Reader:  Again, I tried a couple different applications (like NetNewsWire Lite) but was most satisfied with PulpFiction.  The Mail.app-like interface and built-in Growl support fit my work habits well.
• Instant Messaging:  The open source Adium client won my heart, although Fire was a very close second.
• Organization:  OmniOutliner is a great application, very versatile and very flexible.  I’ve found numerous uses for it so far, and expect that I’ll continue to find more and more ways to use this application.
• Miscellaneous Applications:  These applications defy any sort of categorization.  The Growl notification system, the ecto blogging client, Desktop Manager virtual desktop application, and the Cocoalicious del.icio.us client all have a home on my PowerBook.

Of course, I can’t live without Microsoft Office, iCal, iSync, OmniGraffle, and others.  This list should at least get things started.

I setup some cool networking stuff today with some HP ProCurve switches.  A customer of mine was converting from a T-1 based WAN to an Ethernet MAN.  The carrier brought in a separate Ethernet drop for each location, and I configured a separate port-based VLAN for each drop and then set up routing between them. All in all, it took about an hour to convert all the locations from the old WAN to the new MAN, and 50 minutes of that was spent driving from location to location (everything is in the same city).

I know it’s nothing unusual (I’m sure there are those of you out there that do this stuff everyday), but I was particularly pleased at how smoothly we managed to make the conversion for all 12 locations. Plus, I’d done this before many times with Cisco equipment, but this was only the second time using HP equipment.

I’ll probably do a write-up of this on my company web site.  If you are interested in more details, look there soon.

I’ve added a couple new links to my del.icio.us bookmarks.  Most notably, I’ve added an entry for a recent article on ONLamp.com, a site hosted by the O’Reilly Network, on mod_security.

The article, Securing Web Services with mod_security, is a great introduction to an Apache module that I’ve known about and used for a while now.  Similar to URLScan for IIS 5.0, mod_security serves to block malicious URLs and invalid requests, even within encrypted HTTPS sessions.  As such, it acts as the perfect complement to firewalls and intrusion detection/prevention systems (both network-based and host-based), which typically operate at lower layers of the networking stack.

If you use Apache, I urge you to evaluate and deploy mod_security to enhance your web server’s security.

I’m adopting a new hyperlinking convention with this post and all future posts.  From this post on (I’ve actually been doing this already for the last few posts), I’ll only hyperlink the first instance of a company, product, term, etc., rather than all instances of that item within a posting.

Many of you probably use del.icio.us, or have at least heard of it.  You may not have heard of a native Mac OS X client for del.icio.us called Cocoalicious.  If you use del.icio.us and Mac OS X, you should give this application a try.

While I was away in Florida on vacation, Apple announced at WWDC 2005 that they will transition to Intel CPUs over the next couple of years.  I won’t try to predict what this will mean, or whether Apple will go away, or anything deep like that.  It makes perfect sense from a hardware perspective; Apple needs faster CPUs because the whole theme of “processor speed doesn’t matter” just isn’t cutting it with the masses.  The ordinary John and Jane Doe out there don’t know that a 2.5GHz G5 is as equally powerful as a 3.6GHz Pentium 4.  They just know that the Pentium 4 is faster, and that means the system is better, right?

I bought a PowerBook for Mac OS X, not for the PowerPC CPU inside.  Did the PowerPC G4 processor add an era of mystique, of uniqueness?  Sure.  In the end, however, I bought a PowerBook because I liked Mac OS X and because I could get the applications I needed to get my work done on a Mac.  If I can do with with an Intel-powered Mac that is just as fast or faster, then so be it.

(Truth be told, I do worry about Apple’s hardware business, though, and what this will mean for them.  Time will tell.)

I finally got back from my family vacation in Florida.  It was (for the most part) a very relaxing two weeks.  I had the opportunity to visit a small Church of God congregation in Kissimmee, FL (the Living Waters Church of God—if you live in the area or are going to be visiting the area, go by and see them) and was alerted to a potential ministry for my wife and I within the church.  We’ll see where God leads with that.  Of course, I also had the chance to see some theme parks, swim in the pool, go to the beach, and spend some time with my family.  All in all, a well-deserved and well-enjoyed vacation.