Symantec Antivirus Server for Mac OS X

Well, one of the contractual obligations we have here at the hospital is that all desktop systems have antivirus software installed.

That's not such a big deal, after all there are some obvious standalone AV solutions for the Mac, ClamAV, Intego VirusBarrier, Symantec AntiVirus, and others. The catch is, for IT, we want to manage that client. Immediately the list shortens, and when I'm doing mostly stealth support of the (now almost a dozen) Macs here, I look for the no-cost option.

Strangely enough, we have a super-massive enterprise license for SAV 10- including the Mac Client-Server model. So I start petitioning for a Mac server, running 10.5, before they are impossible to get (after all, I started this a couple weeks after the relase of 10.6). I ask and ask, and now it's January and I have no server. So I have to run this on my own. Fortunately I have a copy of 10.5 server that I can install on ... a Mac Mini. Yes, I am one of those. I believe the Mini has great promise in the role Apple recently promoted it to, as a small workgroup server. Since I am setting up a test and pilot only, not deploying a full live environment, I go ahead and get 10.5.8 Server, mySQL and Web Services going. After a couple odd installation mistakes (I should know by now to actually read the installation guide first, rather than dive right in) I got it all together, with my little cluster of machines running a managed SAV solution.

Frankly, I hope when I start testing the Endpoint version (assuming there is one, I haven't looked) it's a bit more robust. Although the default web interface is functional, it's not really user friendly. No easy way to re-push policy, updates, or changes to systems that may have errored out, really simple (not always clear) error reporting, and a bit of a kludgy interface. But, as of today, I've been running a managed AV environment for about a week on 3 systems, successfully with reporting and all...

Magic Mouse: Long Term Review

So I got a Magic Mouse when they were released.

I love the multitouch interface on my iPhone, and on the newer laptop trackpads, so had high expectations for the mouse. I unplugged my USB mouse (formerly known as the Apple Mighty Mouse) and went 100% on the Magic Mouse with my work iMac. I use it daily as my primary input device in OSX and Windows (via VMWare Fusion). I can say that after months of use (and a battery change) that it is a satisfying input device.

I have no complaints at all - and it works better than the bluetooth Apple Mouse I used before. Sure, there could be more features enabled for input options, but for real day to day use in an office I actually think it's a great product.

I read a lot of reviews of this product, and many people complained about the shape and size of the mouse, and I don't find it a problem at all. Maybe I'm too ... delicate with my mouse use, maybe I'm crazy (maybe both), but I actually think I like it better than the old mouse, or the mouse on my Wacom tablet, or the stock Lenovo USB mouse on my PC.

After regular use day after day, I can recommend it as a solid interface device. Now if I could only use it on two computers on my desk without fiddling with Bluetooth settings....