Mocha VNC Lite allows your iPhone or iPod touch to connect to your Mac or PC via VNC. For those of you who don't know, VNC is a protocol that allows you to screenshare/control other computers via a VNC client (which is what Mocha VNC Lite is). It is amazing to see this working right on my iPhone. I remember back when I used a Palm device to do this sort of thing and it was very kludgy, but this seems to work rather smoothly.
When you are connected to the computer via VNC, you are able to control pretty much everything on the screen, with the exception of special keys (i.e. command, option, F keys, etc.). You can, however, "pinch" the iPhone's screen to zoom in or out the viewing area.
Now for the gripes. Mocha VNC Lite uses left-clicks on the screen (which can be quite annoying after a few minutes use). You are also unable to change the refresh rate (however, if you click the "+" button, you're given a "refresh option.")
Mocha VNC also offers a paid version which gives you more useful features like extra PC keys, cursor keys, text macros, and a right mouse key. However, the lite version will give most users everything they need for casual VNC management.
You can download Mocha VNC Lite from the App Store for free. At the time of this writing the paid version has not yet been placed on the App Store. Feel free to look at our gallery of screenshots before you download.
Scott posted yesterday on a new series about SSH coming to Apple Matters. If you want to skip the learning and go straight to the Secure Shell-ing, then why not take a look at this recent post by John Welch. In this post, he describes how to set up a simple AppleScript that uses Apple Remote Desktop to SSH into a set of Macs on your local network. The script takes the machines you have selected in ARD (or, if you've only got one selected, just that machine) then opens SSH sessions in Terminal, ready for you to type your UNIX commands to your networked computers.
If you want to get the script and start batch-connecting to your machines, visit his website.
If you're the kind of Mac administrator who likes to be notified when a drive fails or a server goes offline (the word for this kind of Mac admin is "employable"), you'll want to check out John Welch's deep-dive primer for SNMP on the Mac. Building on a May 2007 introductory article from Andrina Kelly at MacEnterprise, John provides a walkthrough for Leopard's new SNMP hardware reporting and much more helpful info.
For those asking "What the heck is SNMP?" see here. Simple Network Management Protocol lets you monitor remote devices, servers and printers in a lightweight and reasonably standardized fashion. Whenever you see a gaggle of geeks checking Blackberries or iPhones and casually announcing "Server's down," chances are you're seeing SNMP at work.
The iSlayer crew has released a preview screenshot on the company's blog that highlights a few key features coming in v1.1 of iStat menus, their utility for keeping an eye on your Mac's various statistics from the menubar. Specifically new in this upcoming version will be network graphing, monitoring of S.M.A.R.T. hard drive temperatures, a breakdown of every temp sensor on a CPU and what looks like a significantly redesigned calendar. Stat junkies will likely appreciate these new and finely tuned features, though there's no word on when this new version will become available.
iStat menus, like every one of iSlayer's mostly statistic-obsessed products, is still provided as freeware.
Reader Andrew dropped a note that Michael Rossberg, developer of KisMAC, the wireless network sniffer based on Kismet, has declared the project discontinued. I can't get the project's website to load (most likely because it's been Slashdotted), but apparently the reason Rossberg gave was that a change in Germany's laws would make it dangerous for him to continue working on it. The law apparently makes it illegal for anyone to sniff out a password that "allows access to data", and since that's a big part of KisMAC's function, Rossberg is calling it quits.
But he is asking for interested parties to continue his work, in the EU or the US, so if the site ever returns, feel free to grab the source and check it out yourself.
Of course, from what Slashdot commenters are saying, this isn't much of a loss anyway-- the program hasn't seen any real updates in a long time, and apparently it didn't even work with the new MacBooks. In terms of network finders, there's lots more to choose from (including iStumbler, which I didn't mention in the other article), but in terms of cracking WEP and WPA keys (legally, of course), are there any other OS X specific options out there? Update: Clarification: the program will run on MacBooks, but it doesn't do anything but find networks, which is just a fraction of the intended functionality.
TUAW reader Randall Bennett sent us a link to this write-up he did about the iPhone's secret field test mode. To enter this mode, you must dial *3001#12345#*, that is star-3001-pound-12345-pound-star and tap Call. Your iPhone places you into the field mode shown here. You can even do this while on another call. Bennett says you just hit "add call", enter the code and tap Call--although I didn't try this multi-way calling out.
So what information is available in field test mode? Quite a lot, as it turns out: network info, cell info, GPRS (primarily used for GSM digital cellular technology, hmmm!), PDP (packet data protocol, presumably), call information (handy if actually taking a call), and Versions--which amusingly has a misspelled Firmware ("Firware") version unless that's some technical term that I'm simply misunderstanding. Anyway, tap on Refresh to update the info or tap Home to return to your normal iPhone interface. Update: You can't store this sequence as a contact; sorry, it just doesn't work. You have to enter it by hand each time.
Scott sat down with Martin Bestmann of LANrev to talk about their powerful cross-platform client management application and got a sneak peek at what's coming in the next version.
The apparently unexciting circle on the right is the main interface for DropCopy, a very cool little application for sending files between computers on your local network. First of all you need to install DropCopy on all the Macs on your LAN. When it is running, this little circle appears on your desktop and when you drag a file to it, a list of destinations (i.e. the other machines running DropCopy) will pop up. You choose the one you want and the file will "warp" to the other machine, no fuss, no muss. In addition to copying files you can also retrieve the clipboard contents of other machines running DropCopy (e.g. you can copy something to the clipboard on one machine, turn to another machine, retrieve it and paste it). I've found DropCopy to be the easiest and fastest way for sending a couple of files between machines on my home network (though you may have to open port 5052 on your firewall).
DropCopy is donationware on networks with 3 or fewer Macs, and $25 for larger networks. It's definitely a convenient time saver.
There is a powerful firewall built into the UNIX underpinning of OS X, but getting access to its power is sometimes difficult. GlowWorm FW Lite is a network utility that allows you to control outbound network traffic on your Mac. You can set up relatively simple rules by which "you can easily define the behavior that is acceptable on the basis of a particular application, host or ip address, port number, and any combination thereof, and what action to take if such an event occurs." This seems to be similar in functionality to the Little Snitch, but Glowworm is free (however the registration process is slightly arduous).
New to iTunes comes the Style Network, home to shows about beauty, fashion, home and entertainment. I have never personally watched the Style network and, until it popped up on iTunes tonight, was never actually aware that it existed. The new shows include "Clean House", where the host inspires homeowners to--wait for it people, wait for it--clean their houses, "Split Ends", which covers the sheer shear madness (the wit!) of stylists who swap hair salons and "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?", which dives into the lives of wedding planners. Sadly, none of the new shows offer any free episodes to sample.
Got a big ol' bunch of Macs to be managed? Your choices are numerous, with Casper, FileWave and of course Apple Remote Desktop all smoothly monitoring and updating your OS X clients. Now, with the latest update to cross-platform asset manager LANrev (which bears a striking resemblance to another management tool -- not surprising, same development team!), we get supercharged Active Directory integration, new packaging and deployment tools for software installs, and theft prevention features like IP tracking and iSight snapshots.
NetworkLocation is a handy utility that allows you to create templates of actions and settings based on (you guessed it) your network location. Like WiLMa and Location X before it, NetworkLocation can set up batches of settings to apply, apps to open and scripts to run, and keep them all accessible at the click of a mouse. It comes with preset actions, such as loading a specific iTunes playlist, setting system volume and connecting to a server, but it can also run AppleScripts, leaving the possibilities wide open. NetworkLocation does all this with a very slick and flashy UI; in fact, it might be too over-the-top for those who just want to get at the meat of automating their system. In fact, the UI is so glammed up that John Gruber had a hard time figuring out how to quit the app. Here's a tip if you're in the same boat, as there are two ways to do it: click on its menubar item, then click on the timer in the window that pops up, and then click the power button that slides out. You can also simply use cmd-q when that timer window comes in to focus. See what I mean about a funky UI?
Getting back to this concept of automating all forms of system settings - it's a great one, and I was first turned on to it by Location X (recently Universal-ized), which is still my favorite primarily because it handles all these tasks automatically in the background, based on which network(s) you connect to. There's no need to pop up a window and chose a location - you simply set up your batches of settings, and it gracefully performs your tasks automatically as you move between your home, work and favorite coffee shop's network.
But I digress (again) - this is a post about NetworkLocation, as it looks like a capable (though flashy) approach to network-based Mac automation. A demo is available, and a license costs $15.
I knew something was up when I noticed my Apple Matters feed turn brown in NetNewsWire (that color means the feed hasn't been updated in over 60 days), and sho 'nuff, I was right. Today Apple Matters launched Macitt, an Apple-centric social news site (or: 'digg clone', if you wanna go that route). Logins for Apple Matters will also work for Macitt, and all the typical social news features seem to be present. A tabbed panel with a list of categories adorns the top right of the page, while accompanying tabs list top users, a tag cloud and a submit section. Yea, that's right: a big advantage Macitt has over digg's system is tagging, which other social news sites seem to be adopting more and more often.
Ultimately, it looks like a strong offering that will probably be well-accepted as long as the word gets around, but I'm starting to worry about an overabundance of social news services. After all, a guy can only take so much socializing before he starts mis-tagging headlines and forgets to vote.
Location Switch is an Automator action that adds some painfully missing features to Mac OS X's built-in Locations option (y'know, that feature you never touch in the Apple menu?). Location Switch can a whole host of application preferences and settings based on which location you chose, such as sound volume, SMTP servers, default printer, etc. Before you use it, however, the action requires some customization on your part, so check out the accompanying ReadMe file for instructions, and open the action in Automator to give it your personal touch.
Location Switch is available free from Automator World, but if you enjoy it, consider sending its creator, Charles Schoenfeld, a donation at his site.
While I'm still a bigger fan of the iStat pro widget, miniStat2 definitely wins points for compactness, creativity and for quickly incorporating a monitor for Intel Mac temperatures. Other updates include the ability to change the currently monitored network interface right from Network tab of the widget, the storage tab only displaying physical hard drives (as opposed to including .DMG files and the like) as well as a Spanish localization.
A demo of miniStat 2 is available from ShockWidgets, and a license will cost $5.
Mocha VNC Lite allows your iPhone or iPod touch to connect to your Mac or PC via VNC. For those of you who don't know, VNC is a protocol that allows you to screenshare/control other computers via a VNC client (which is what Mocha VNC Lite is). It is amazing to see this working right on my iPhone. I remember back when I used a Palm device to do this sort of thing and it was very kludgy, but this seems to work rather smoothly. 
Scott posted yesterday on a 
If you're the kind of Mac administrator who likes to be notified when a drive fails or a server goes offline (the word for this kind of Mac admin is "employable"), you'll want to check out 
Reader Andrew dropped a note that Michael Rossberg, developer of KisMAC, the wireless network sniffer based on 
TUAW reader Randall Bennett sent us a link to this write-up he did about the 
The apparently unexciting circle on the right is the main interface for 
There is a powerful firewall built into the UNIX underpinning of OS X, but getting access to its power is sometimes difficult. 
NetworkLocation is a handy utility that allows you to create templates of actions and settings based on (you guessed it) your network location. Like 
Location Switch is an Automator action that adds some painfully missing features to Mac OS X's built-in Locations option (y'know, that feature you never touch in the Apple menu?). Location Switch can a whole host of application preferences and settings based on which location you chose, such as sound volume, SMTP servers, default printer, etc. Before you use it, however, the action requires some customization on your part, so check out the accompanying ReadMe file for instructions, and open the action in Automator to give it your personal touch.
While I'm still a bigger fan of the 
