CAC or Smart Card connectivity on a Mac

The most frequently asked question I get from AAFES & NEX customers is "Where do I find the CAC card readers?"  My biggest frustration with that question is not the where part but rather the unceasing nature of constrained availability.  What I really don't get is why these items are not stocked at the MCSS.  In the 21st century the CAC card reader is as much a necessity as combat boots for today's Soldier, Sailor, Airmen or Marine to accomplish the DoD mission.  Well enough moaning on my part.  The follow up question usually is "Can I use a CAC card reader on my Mac?"  Answer is unfortunately a qualified "Yes."  My recommendation is to check out:

http://militarycac.com/apple.htm

The feedback I have gotten regarding this site for the most part is positive, so I pass on the recommendation for the first time on my blog.  I wanted to make sure I was as current as possible on this post and in doing so stumbled on some additional info.  

When researching anything related to Apple, Mac OSX & the iOS eco-system one of the most reliable resources are the great folks at Mac-Forums.

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/switcher-hangout/162131-cac-card-reader-mac.html

These links look like useful resources as well:

http://smartcardservices.macosforge.org/

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/28/cac-for-mac/

What might be of great interest to units who have switched to Mac OSX or have a majority of personnel who have switched to Mac OSX and are looking at making a unit purchase, then this software might be of interest.

http://www.thursby.com/products/pki.html

Also of interest, Apple sells a really nice third party CAC card reader online.  What make the SCM SCR3500 extremely interesting is that it folds up into the size of a standard USB stick and can be carried on your keychain or lanyard.

Here is the link to the Apple online store:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/H2312LL/A

Should none of these solutions lead to complete satisfaction, then there are still two final alternatives. Installing a legal copy of Windows XP, Vista, 7 or soon to debut Window 8 operating system via bootcamp on your Mac or running one of the Windows operating systems in a virtual PC via Parallels or VM Ware Fusion.

http://www.parallels.com/eu/landingpage/dskd86/?src=g&gclid=CLTLzMnA1LICFUGN3godeVgAPQ

http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/overview.html

Virtualization or the Bootcamp options are extremely popular and would allow one to use the CAC card in the same environment as the DoD does.  I will discuss these solutions in greater detail in a future post.

WEB TIP: Can I upgrade my Mac?

Often I am asked: How can I upgrade the RAM on my Mac? Can I upgrade the hard drive (HDD)?  My answer is always: Sure you can!  

My favorite upgrade resource is the website:

http://www.macsales.com/

The name of the company that runs this site is actually OWC: Other Word Computing.  The best part is that they do mail orders to APO, which is a huge deal to folks stationed overseas.  I personally have done both the RAM and HDD upgrade on my own MacBook.  The folks at OWC make this procedure very easy.  About two thirds of the way down on the right hand side of their site, you will find a link button labeled "My OWC Upgrade Center."

First step is to select which Mac and model you have:

Then find your computer and the upgrade you are seeking:

It has been my experience that OWC is very competitive when it comes to pricing and shipping rates.  I also have found the "how to videos" found under the Tech Support link to be excellently executed and help a great deal to diminish any misgivings one might have to pursue the upgrade options.

If you are considering a HDD upgrade, might I recommend you go for one of the kit options that OWC offers.  What you get is the hard drive, an empty HDD enclosure & best of all the tools you will need to install the HDD into your Mac.

Before removing your old HDD my tip would be to temporarily take the new HDD and put it in the supplied enclosure.  Then connect this external drive to your Mac and make a copy of your entire internal drive.  This cloning process is very easy using a software called SuperDuper for Mac and you can find a secure download link from the nice folks at CNET.com

http://download.cnet.com/SuperDuper/3000-2242_4-46651.html

Once this completed simply put the new drive in your Mac and your back in business, just with massively more storage space!  You can alway keep the old drive in the new enclosure as a backup or reformat with OSX disk utility and use as new external drive.

Happy Upgrading!