It’s an unfortunate fact of life that software has bugs. Often times in IT, users report problems or inconsistencies that can be linked to these bugs. Bug resolutions are usually completely dependent upon fixes that need to be released by vendors. Apple provides a free, easy to access, and incredibly valuable resource to IT professionals that many companies do not, and that is a publicly available bug reporting tool. The value of Apple’s bug reporter is often underestimated; Apple’s bug reporter enables a direct communication path to Apple engineering that can help get important business-impacting issues resolved within your company or organization. In this session, attendees will learn a bit about the bug reporting process with Apple, why it’s so valuable, and what’s required to be able file a bug with Apple. Bug-filing best practices will be discussed and the process of filing a bug will be demonstrated. We’ll touch on logging and we’ll also explore a relatively new way to communicate with Apple through their Submit Feedback menus and webpages.
Session disclaimer: Session presenter does not work for Apple, and although the practice of filing thorough bugs with Apple has benefited his organization immensely, he cannot guarantee the same for any other company or organization. Responses to bugs and impact assessments are handled at Apple’s discretion on a bug-by-bug basis.
Key Concepts:
- OS X/iOS Debug Logging
- Filing bugs with Apple
- Communicating to Apple through Submit Feedback
Foundational Lecture – 75 minutes
Mike Boylan, Robert Morris University
Mike Boylan is a recent graduate of Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA where he received his Master’s of Science in Competitive Intelligence Systems. Mike is a systems engineer for the University focusing on core University server infrastructure and telephony. He also still administers and manages all of the University’s Macs. He’s been doing Mac systems administration for over eight years, having worked previously for Fox Chapel Area School District in Pittsburgh, PA. Fox Chapel holds one of the largest Mac deployments in the Pittsburgh area. When not at work or in class, Mike enjoys spending time with friends and exploring new restaurants. He’s also active in and passionate about Pittsburgh politics. He’s on Twitter at @mboylan.