bgaid

run some continuous integration for OSX software

I can confirm this (I work at MacStadium). We've got 1. a large number of CI SaaS companies that run their OS X/iOS builds on our hardware and 2. at least several hundred companies that run their own custom build tools or Jenkins on individual or clusters of Mac minis, Xserves, and Mac Pros in our data centers.

Hosting company that does Mac only[0] here (I work at MacStadium[1]).

We've got customers of all sizes. It started out with just individual developers and small teams using our solutions so they didn't have to spend capital and IT resources on their own Mac hardware. Many are still here with Mac minis rented or colocated.

Now though, we've got fortune 500 customers, many enterprise tech companies, and a growing number of unicorns joining the service since they can't do internally what we can do at scale in data centers with the Mac Pro. A lot of these customers are using us to test iOS apps with large clusters of dedicated Mac Pros connected to SAN.

[0]: We mostly serve customers that need Mac hardware for app development and CI/CD. We also have HP bladeservers, though, as a few companies have moved their entire infrastructure to our data centers or have migrated from Mac hardware to generic Linux systems and don't want to leave due to certain features we can offer.

[1] https://macstadium.com

Apple's included screen sharing tool is a Mac-specific solution. At MacStadium, we provide iRAAP server on our dedicated Mac servers for customers connecting from Windows computers; it allows for RDP access to the remote Mac.

I'm with MacStadium and we just acquired Macminicolo. Let me know if you have any questions. We've got large enterprise customers, developer shops, and popular SaaS tools like Travis CI using our dedicated rented Mac servers and Mac private cloud platform.

Both of our teams at MacStadium and Macminicolo are looking forward to the new opportunities this offers. That's a fairly vague statement but isn't that what everyone says in these moments?

Here's a press release we just released with a bit more info: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/macstadium-secures-n...

We'll also both be sharing more info in the next few weeks on both[1] our websites[2]. Another vague statement, but true nonetheless.

Obvious disclosure: I work at MacStadium.

[1] https://macminicolo.net/blog/

[2] https://macstadium.com/blog/

Thanks for sharing! I'm interested in learning a bit more about your lifestyle at home; I'd love to see the pictures you mentioned about creative use of IKEA.

I'm currently downsizing possessions to a point where my 1100 sq.ft apt is starting to feel too big.

From the creator, Sebastian McKenzie: https://medium.com/@sebmck/2015-in-review-51ac7035e272#.e80o...

I completely agree. We've got support until December so I'm considering replicating as much of YNAB 4's methodology and functions as possible in either Excel or Google Sheets when I have free time.

GitHub better hurry up and get hu.bot

Why not try out a hosted mac mini solution like https://macstadium.com or http://macminivault.com? Travis-CI does all of their OS X testing at MacStadium - http://www.macstadium.com/blog/how-travis-ci-halved-boot-tim...

[I work at MacStadium, fyi.]

We can help you setup firewalls and have your hosted/rented Mac mini appear as part of your network for your team to access from anywhere.

It's unique for sure. And a rapid departure from the previous logo. It sort of reminds me of the old MTV logo.

MacStadium - Atlanta, GA - Onsite

Network Engineer / Systems Engineer - Linux/ OSX/Windows/VMware/Cisco

You will be working with the operations team at MacStadium.​com to deploy server and network hardware in a data-center environment.​ You will also support customers as a Tier 2 engineer with more advanced support incidents.​

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Configure and deploy network infrastructure as required.​ Configure and stage code Rack & Stack Test & Deploy

Configure and deploy server infrastructure as required.​ Apple Mac, HP Blades, and SAN.​

   - Install RAM, SSD's, HDD's
   - Mass-deploy servers via imaging processes

   - Network configuration issues (TCP/​IP)
   - Network infrastructure issues (cabling, switch ports, etc)
   - Adjusting firewall configurations
   - Bad hardware (bad optics, server components, etc)

Application: http://jobview.local-jobs.monster.com//Network-Engineer-Syst...

Sorry to offend; I was referencing the "We require Mac OS X" part more liberally. It looks like this author could use any hardware as long as they had HDMI enablers to enable the GPU's in headless servers like the Xserve and Mac Pro.

I don't think they're opening up each row of MacBook Pro's continuously for they're software though. I think they've just got the lids open to make sure the GPU is enabled for better performance in remote sessions.

For many people that need to develop, test, and deploy on Mac hardware they're doing iOS app or OS X development.

For example, you may have a macbook pro, but it's not powerful enough to run tests in a few minutes while you do other work on it at the same time. In this case, you'd want another Mac like a Mini, Pro or Xserve to send jobs to.

Anyone using X Code has to run it on a Mac and often, you're wasting precious development time when your jobs are taking up your Macbook's processing power for an hour while it tests your latest build.

Travis-CI, the continuous integration platform, will send your jobs to a cloud of Mac servers when they require OS X to build against.

With such a large capital expense, it makes a lot more sense to rent dedicated mac hardware from a data center. You get simple monthly bills, guaranteed uptime, and the infrastructure is looked after for you.

It might have more to do with running GPU-assisted tasks through remote sessions. You need to either leave a screen attached and on or trick the device into thinking one is attached and on to take full advantage of the GPU on Mac hardware. You can actually do it with any mac hardware (even headless devices like Mac Mini's and Mac Pro's) but it's not advertised well enough.

For example, with mac Mini's in a server environment, you need to plug in a hdmi enabler to get full GPU performance front the system while using it over remote access.

Here's more information: http://www.macstadium.com/blog/osx-10-8-10-9-headless-gpu-en...

Any Mac hardware will do like Mini's, xServes, and Mac Pros. Mac Pro's work really well and if you just rent them from a data center, the capital expenditure isn't there so you don't get hit with the $3k price tag.

If you switch to Mac Mini's and assemble mutiple mini's in a private cloud running VMware, you can have a much more efficient setup. You can do it with xServe's and the latest Mac Pro's as well.