Today kicked off the Apple World-Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) for 2017. This year’s conference takes place June 5-9, 2017 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, USA. It’s a place for app developers to gather and learn about the latest innovations in Apple’s operating systems, Swift programming techniques, and have access to Apple engineers. […]
FileMaker as a CRM and ERP – Software Integration
Two software important industry buzzwords today are CRM (customer relationship management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning). Both CRM and ERP software help you to run a business better by managing a business’s operations, customer relations, and financials. They provide access to data, analysis, and reports that can help you make smarter business decisions. FileMaker is […]
Mac Laptop and iPhone Travel and Photo Accessories – Mini’app’les User Group
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota is fortunate to have a vibrant and active tech community. One such group is the Mini’app’les User Group. It’s a group of of Apple users interested in sharing knowledge and experience with other Apple users and owners. Members vary from beginners, to consultants and developers of any age. […]
WordPress PHP CodeSniffer for your favorite editor
PHP Code Sniffer (PHPCS) is a code inspector that can help enforce coding standards by highlighting problems. We like it because using it is an easy way to make sure you’re using best practices while you’re editing, or before you commit your code. Because we work with WordPress, we use the the official WordPress coding standards […]
I dropped my iPhone in the Pool (or toilet)-What should I do?
A colleague recently suffered an accident involving a submerged iPhone. This person had accidental damage coverage from the carrier and was wondering what steps to take upon initial submersion, and what the best options are for replacement. Put it in Rice? Rice is commonly recommended as the remedy for liquid-exposed electronics. The idea is that […]
10th Anniversary of the iPhone Introduction and FileMaker Go
On January 9, 2007, Steve Jobs announced the iPhone at the Macworld Expo. Here is that historic video… The first iPhone was released later that year on June 29, 2007. It was a masterful presentation. Jobs starts out by saying that this was a day he was looking forward to for over 2.5 years. Every so often a […]
New Spam Vectors for Apple Users: Calendar and Photos Invites
Update: Response from Apple According to iMore, Apple is aware of the issue and has issued an official statement: “We are sorry that some of our users are receiving spam calendar invitations. We are actively working to address this issue by identifying and blocking suspicious senders and spam in the invites being sent.” I’m still hoping […]
Hawkins Chemical Creates Integrated Offline iPad Mobile Ordering App with FileMaker Go
Hawkins, Inc. is a widely known and respected chemical distributor that was founded in 1938. Hawkins serves thousands of businesses and municipalities throughout the central United States and employs hundreds of staff members, including drivers who deliver chemical products to water treatment facilities, manufacturers, food and dairy producers, research labs, and many other organizations. Hawkins […]
Changing Database Versions in Pressmatic
I just recently (yesterday!) started testing Pressmatic for my local WordPress development. Up until now I’ve been running my own Apache, MySQL/MariaDB and PHP servers which I installed using Brew by following this tutorial. Pressmatic is very attractive because it lets you quickly switch PHP versions, swap Nginx for Apache and use a virtualized […]
Recover a Stolen Macintosh with Undercover
At our office we’re prepared for the worst to happen to our computers…and you should be as well. You never know when something bad is going to happen. If you depend on your software, hardware, and data for doing anything important you need to take note now. First, we use strong passwords to protect computers, […]
Ransomware on the Mac
Recently a ransomware attack was discovered that affects the Mac OS. The malware would encrypt your hard drive data and only allow access if you paid a fee. The Ransomware attacked the application Transmission…a BitTorrent Client. You were only vulnerable if you downloaded the full, infected installer from the developer. If you performed in-app updates, […]
FileMaker Mobile iOS Development – Native App SDK
FileMaker mobile development just got VERY interesting in January of 2016. FileMaker released the iOS App SDK for FileMaker that allows developers to build a native iOS app with FileMaker. This new capability is mainly about distribution. In the past, FileMaker could create a mobile app with the help of FileMaker Go. It required FileMaker […]
Custom Application for iPhone and Android from WordPress
Question: I already have a WordPress website but I’d like to have my own mobile app available so that people can place orders with my online store. Is there a cheaper alternative to building a fully custom app for both iOS and Android? Answer: If your WordPress website is built so that it is responsive it should be available to both iOS […]
The Upgrade Cycle – Have a Plan
We recently did a check in with a client that we hadn’t worked with in a while to see if they wanted to do any updates, enhancements, or maintenance. We built a custom FileMaker solution for this commercial printing company to replace their paper job tickets and manual production lists for scheduling. In the past, the Production Manager had to go […]
Should I Install MacKeeper?
This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series SecurityYou’ve probably come across ads telling you that you can improve the performance of your computer by installing MacKeeper. While it’s possible that MacKeeper may improve your Mac’s performance, it’s unlikely. Usually, if your Mac is acting slower than normal, it’s because of one of […]
Adware on the Mac
This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series SecurityAlong with fake security alerts, a nuisance known as adware is another type of vulnerability that Macs are susceptible to. (See our post on fake security alerts.) When afflicted with adware, your computer will start presenting a slew of pop up ads when you’re browsing the web and […]
Fake Security Alerts on MacOS
This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series SecurityWhile the Mac is still the most secure operating system known to man, several security threats are becoming more prevalent for Mac users. These threats are actually more of a nuisance than a critical security threat. You don’t have to worry about changing all your […]
iOS 9 Multitasking
True multitasking is now available for iOS 9! This multitasking is not to be confused with UISplitViewController which is available on 6+ devices as well as iPad. Multitasking is currently iPad specific, and it was designed with the new iPad Pro in mind since it has the much larger screen it makes it ideal for having two […]
Use it or Lose It Year End Tech Budget?
Often at this time of year we find clients with budgeted technology dollars that are “use it or lose it.” There are several ways we can help you to invest that budget dollar before year-end by doing valuable work or pre-paying work to be completed early in the new year that will payback in positive […]
Apple Watch
I’ve been living with the Apple Watch attached to my wrist for a few months. It taps me to demand my attention and it tells me frequently that I don’t get enough activity. It is the first thing I put on when I wake up and last thing I disengage with before sleep. I wear an […]
What Technology Tool do I use When?
There is a world of choices out there in the technology world. Business owners are faced with the big decision of what software applications are best to run their company. There are a lot of factors involved in making this decision. Here we examine some of those factors that will lead you to an informed […]
Sticking with Apple
If anyone is having a bad day, remember that in 1976 Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake in Apple for $800. Now with Apple worth $750 billion his stake would have been about $75 billion. Apple is worth more than a lot of big things…for example: the GNP of Switzerland, Google and Microsoft combined, Four Apollo […]
The New Apple TV is Here – Mobile Monday
Today Apple releases the new Apple TV, where Apple is bringing apps to your living room. Apple TV apps are built for the brand new tvOS operating system so you can expect to find all of the same features that you are familiar with from iOS. Apple was able to keep to a similar design […]
The Ideal FileMaker Development Environment
Recently we were challenged with the following question: What is so special about the way you develop FileMaker apps? Can’t I just do that myself on my own computer with FileMaker Pro? Well…in some senses the answer is “Yes”…but with some caveats. One advantage of working with our full-time FileMaker solution engineers is their experience with multiple systems […]
50 Years with Technology
Tim Cimbura, 9/26/15 I just turned 50 years old. I feel as young as ever though I need to wear glasses nearly all the time. About halfway through my life I know there’s a lot more to come. It’s interesting to reflect back on a half century of technology and how it’s influenced my career […]
Get a Powerful iMac computer for only $350 for FREE!
Last month, we wrote about how (assuming you were going to buy a good quality 27″ 5K monitor), you could get an iMac for only $350 more than the Dell monitor alone. Today, that deal is even better! Apple updated their iMac lineup with a new 4K 21.5″ option. But the 27″ 5K iMac that we […]
iOS 9, watchOS 2, and OS X 10.11 El Capitan Releases Coming Soon
Apple recently announced the release dates of two key software products that drive the future of innovation on their hardware and the Apple platform: iOS 9: September 16 for iPads, iPhones, and the iPod Touch Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan: September 30 for Macintosh laptops and desktops watchOS 2: September 16 for the Apple […]
LuminFire is Member of Apple Consultants Network ACN
LuminFire (formerly Cimbura.com) specializes in supporting Apple Macintosh systems for ease-of-use, low life-cycle cost, and reliable virus-free computer operation. All our custom applications and web solutions run completely cross platform on both Mac OS or Windows. With all newer Intel-based Macintoshes, you can run any Windows applications when necessary. On the mobile side we build custom solutions primarily for […]
Apple New Announcements and FileMaker
Yesterday, Apple revealed their new and innovative technology lineup…with lots of potential Christmas gifts. Here we’ll review some of the announcements and their impact specifically on the FileMaker platform. Although FileMaker is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, they are seldom mentioned in events such as this because their focus is more on the consumer. […]
LuminFire Mac OS X Desktop Background Image
Updated 7-5-17 We’ve created a beautiful LuminFire inspired desktop background wallpaper. It’s modern, classy, but not overly busy so that you can easily see your icons against the blue background. It is a jpg image set to the ideal size of 5418×3408 pixels at 300dpi as are other Apple-provided desktop backgrounds so that it will look […]
