Part of the reason why I’m so good at what I do is because I enjoy doing it. I genuinely like Macintosh computers and enjoy helping others get the most out of their systems. I would love nothing more than to be able to give away all of my knowledge and skills for free, but unfortunately I can’t afford to do that for very long. I don’t believe in hidden charges or other surprises so here’s how my pricing schedule works.

• Above and beyond anything else, if you hire me and I can’t solve your problem your total charge is $0. You don’t pay. Period.
• Otherwise, my standard rate is $40 per hour. There’s a one hour minimum on any successful job.
• After the first hour, I charge $20 per additional half hour.
• The map below represents my service area, which is primarily Middlesex county and surrounding areas. If you are in the green zone of my service area there is no additional charge.
• If you are in the yellow zone of my service area there might be an additional $10 travel fee. This largely depends upon exactly where in the yellow zone you are, whether or not I have any other appointments near you that particular day/time, and what day/time you are requesting from me. For example, an appointment during a weekday rush hour will always incur a travel fee.
• If you are outside of my service area then there is a $20 per half hour travel fee in each direction. For example, if you're 45 minutes away that's 90 minutes of travel time, so there would be a $60 travel fee.

Writing a complete list of available services would be impossible, simply because there's so many things which can be an issue which I can resolve. Simply put, pretty much anything about your Macintosh computer that you have a problem, issue, complaint, or confusion with, I can resolve. I can upgrade your operating system, install software, configure your printer or scanner, teach you how to use your digital camera and iPhoto, set you up with email and instant messenger, configure a backup system, install and troubleshoot your home network, upgrade your memory or hard drive, set up your Macintosh computer with Windows and Windows software, give you advice on appropriate hardware and software upgrades for your system, help you shop for a new computer (and move your files from the old to the new), and more.

My experience with Windows is also nothing to sneeze at. I can perform many of the same functions as above on your Windows PC or mixed-platform network.

I am also available for certain special projects. I am reasonably talented with web design and publishing and have created many web sites for personal friends and professional clients alike. (I have, of course, set up this very site using my own talents.) I am also adept at the creation of FileMaker Pro databases and can create a FileMaker solution to many database problems.

In short: Even if I don't specifically say that I can do it, just ask!

There's a well-known phrase amongst people who know computers. It goes like this: "There are two kinds of computer users. Those who have a backup, and those who wish they did."

First, let's define exactly what I mean by "backup system". A backup system is a means in which you can recover and restore any and all of your computer's reasonably current data in the event of user error (one or more files are accidentally changed or deleted from your computer), theft (someone steals your laptop), or catastrophic failure (the hard drive mechanically and/or electronically fails). The important thing to remember here is that a backup system doesn't only protect your data, but it also safeguards your time. Imagine how long it will take to recreate a deleted file from scrach, or set up your entire computer after it crashes.

In better than 95% of the clients I've had, there is no backup system in place. These are tragedies waiting to happen. Don't let it happen to you! I've heard a lot of reasons (or excuses) over the years from people who don't think they need a backup system. For example:

1. "My computer is new. The hard drive won't crash so I don't need a backup."
2. "None of my data is important enough to back up."
3. "I back up my important files to CD (or DVD) once in awhile, when I remember."
4. "I just don't care. If my computer crashes I'll just set it all up again."
5. "I can't afford a backup system."

All of these reasons are inherently flawed. If you are truly one of the very, very, very few people in this world who puts no value on either your data or your time, then you're correct in thinking you don't need a backup system. But if your data or your time is of any value to you, you need a backup system. I can help you decide which one is best for your needs, set it up for you and show you how to use it.

The term "Classic" can mean one of two things, in Apple parlance.

1. The technology that Apple uses to allow pre-OS X applications to run under OS X is called the "Classic Environment" or simply "Classic". This technology appeared first in OS X 10.0 and was in every version of OS X until 10.5. It is also not supported on Intel-based Macs. It requires Mac OS 9.1 or higher (typically version 9.2.2 is used as that is the last version of OS 9) to be installed on the computer in addition to OS X.
2. Although the "Classic Environment" in OS X requires Mac OS 9.1-9.2.2, the term "Classic" is often used to refer to all versions of Mac OS prior to OS X (that is, prior to 10.0) even if they aren't a part of the "Classic Environment". For example, Mac OS 8 is incompatible with the "Classic Environment" but many people refer to Mac OS 8 as being a "Classic" Mac OS.

Apple moved to OS X for a number of practical and desirable reasons, but because OS X is substantially different from previous versions of Mac OS it is incapable of running applications designed and programmed for pre-OS X operating systems. In order to maintain compatibility with existing software, Apple created the "Classic Environment" for OS X. With this environment in place you could run applications that were designed for OS X and applications that were designed for OS 9 side by side.

Therefore, you will need "Classic" on your Mac if you use one or more applications that were designed and programmed for Mac OS 9.2.2 or earlier. There is no other reason to have "Classic" on your Mac.

If you need "Classic" on your Mac, all of the following criteria must be true:

• You have a PowerPC-based Mac (not an Intel-based Mac);
• You are running Mac OS X 10.0 through 10.4; and
• You have the original installation discs that came with your Mac (which has the "Classic" installer on it).

When applications are written, they are written for a specific operating system and computer processor in mind. Over the years, Apple has used three distinctly different processors in the Macintosh computer. Every time Apple changed processors, they included a technology in the operating system that allowed the new processors to pretend to be the older processors (a process called "emulation"). The benefit of this is obvious; it ensures that all of the software that Macintosh owners had purchased would continue to run on the newer computers, and ensures that the companies selling that software didn't suddenly find themselves unable to sell their products to new customers. However, this compatibility came at a price; software runs slower under emulation, even when the newer processor speed was faster than the older processor speed.

Those three processors are generally referred to as 68k (used from 1984-1994), PPC (or "PowerPC", from 1994-2006), and Intel (2006-present). Therefore, applications that were written for those processors are referred to as 68k, PPC, and Intel applications. As a rule, for best performance you want to run the appropriate software for your Mac. If you have a PowerPC-based Macintosh you want PPC software, and if you have an Intel-based Macintosh you want Intel software.

A "universal" application is a sort of hybrid. For a period between 1994-1996 Apple was manufacturing both 68k and PPC Macs, and for a period between 2006-2007 Apple was manufacturing both PPC and Intel Macs. To accommodate these two simultaneous platforms the "universal" application was introduced. A universal application is simply one that runs at full power (that is, not through emulation) on both types of processors. Currently, the term "universal application" refers to an OS X application that will run at full power on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.

I get asked this question a lot. A whole lot. Not everyone needs the same software as everyone else, but there’s some software which should be installed on everyone’s Mac, and the best part is that it’s all free. Here’s the software that I most commonly recommend.

(TIP: Most of these applications have versions that are specific to different hardware versions and OS X versions. When downloading these packages, make sure you download the version that’s compatible with your hardware and version of OS X. To check, go to the APPLE menu and select ABOUT THIS MAC. The version of OS X will be listed there as well as the word “PowerPC” or “Intel” for your processor type.)

INTERNET NECESSITIES
As great as the Mac is on the internet, it still needs a little help. Adding the following software to your Mac will help ensure that you're seeing everything the internet has to offer.

	Mozilla Firefox (Mozilla Corporation) http://www.getfirefox.com/ Apple includes Safari as the default web browser with OS X. Safari is a fine browser but Firefox has two distinct advantages. First, more web sites are designed around Firefox than Safari. And second, Firefox has a HUGE collection of plugins — add-ons that increase the performance and functionality of Firefox. For example, Adblock Plus will block 99% of the web advertisements you’ll find online; Flashblock stops Flash content from playing automatically (helpful for avoiding those annoying advertisements that may slip past Adblock Plus); and Easy Youtube Video Downloader allows you to download any YouTube video in a variety of formats (including a ready-to-go-on-your-iPod format).
	Flash Player (Adobe Systems Inc.) http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-FLASH The Adobe Flash Player is software for viewing animations and movies using computer programs such as a web browser. In other words, Flash Player lets you see animation and movies on a web site.
	Shockwave Player (Adobe Systems Inc.) http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-SHOCKWAVE The Adobe Shockwave Player allows Adobe Director applications to be viewed in a web browser.
	Adobe AIR (Adobe Systems Inc.) http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-AIR Adobe AIR ("Adobe Integrated Runtime") is a cross-platform environment for displaying rich Internet applications using Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, HTML, or Ajax as a desktop application.
	Microsoft Silverlight (Microsoft Corporation) http://silverlight.net/ Silverlight is a web technology that provides functionalities similar to those in Adobe Flash, integrating multimedia, graphics, animations and interactivity.
	Flip4Mac (Microsoft Corporation) http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx Microsoft officially discontinued support for Windows Media Player (WMP) for Macintosh a few years ago. In return, a company called TeleStream released a free set of QuickTime extensions called Flip4Mac which allows QuickTime to play WMP files in QuickTime. Microsoft quickly purchased rights to the software and now provides it as an official alternative to further development of WMP for Macintosh.
	Adium (Open Source Community) http://adium.im/ Apple's iChat application is excellent for chatting with other users on the AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Google Talk, or Jabber systems, and its audio and video chat capabilities are second to none, but it has some other shortcomings. It doesn't connect to other systems such as Facebook Chat or MSN, and you can only connect to one account per network at a time. Adium is an all-in-one chat client that lets you use multiple accounts and chat with people on over a dozen different chat systems at the same time, with a single application.
	Perian (Open Source Community) http://perian.org/ Perian adds a number of codecs (compressors-decompressors) to QuickTime, thus allowing your Mac to play a greater number of audio and video files than QuickTime alone.
	Transmission http://www.transmissionbt.com/ The BitTorrent protocol is extremely popular and efficient at transferring large files between multiple computers. Transmission is a fast, clean, and efficient BitTorrent client for uploading and downloading those files.
	Cyberduck (Open Source Community) http://cyberduck.ch/ Cyberduck is an open souce FTP client for Macintosh computers that offers a very Mac-like interface and a great development community.

PRODUCTIVITY APPLICATIONS
Apple bundles every Mac with their outstanding iLife application suite. As great as iLife is, it doesn't do everything. These applications add necessary functionality to your Mac — for free!

	OpenOffice (Sun Microsystems) http://www.openoffice.org/ (NOTE: If you have a PowerPC-based Mac, see NeoOffice below.) OpenOffice is the culmination of a large open source effort by Sun Microsystems, to provide a free alternative to Microsoft Office. OpenOffice is an integrated software suite which includes comparable functionality to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc. It can read and write Microsoft Office documents with excellent compatibility, it has reasonably good performance, and it is absolutely free.
	NeoOffice (Open Source Community) http://www.neooffice.org/ (NOTE: If you have an Intel-based Mac, see OpenOffice above.) NeoOffice is a Macintosh-specific version of OpenOffice and incldues all the functionality of OpenOffice. Although both OpenOffice and NeoOffice have both Intel and PowerPC versions, I find that OpenOffice runs better on Intel machines and NeoOffice runs better on PowerPC machines. Otherwise, the feature set is very similar to OpenOffice.
	Adobe Reader (Adobe Systems Inc.) http://www.adobe.com/go/EN_US-H-GET-READER While Apple’s “Preview” application can read PDF files, it isn’t 100% accurate – especially when dealing with online forms and interactive documents. Adobe Reader is a much better choice for reading PDF files.

MEDIA UTILITIES
The Mac is the ultimate media computer, but even the ultimate media computer doesn't have everything right out of the box. Adding these programs will expand your Mac's capabilities in the media department.

	HandBrake (Open Source Community) http://handbrake.fr/ HandBrake is an all-purpose video conversion utility, allowing you to (among other things) convert all kinds of video to alternate formats. For example, if you create a video in iMovie you can process it in HandBrake to put onto your iPod, your Apple TV, or other devices. If you also have VLC Media Player installed (see below), HandBrake also has the ability to convert most commercial DVDs for playback on your computer, iPod, or other media player.
	MacTheRipper (Open Source Community) http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/14414 This is a one-trick pony: It copies commercial DVDs to your computer, removing most forms of copy protection and/or reassigning the DVD to a different region code so that you can play your legally-purchased movies on your computer. It can also be used to remove the copy protection from commercial DVDs that HandBrake (see above) may not be able to handle, so you can convert your DVD after removing the copy protection.
	VLC Media Player (VideoLAN) http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ This is an open source media player that can successfully play virtually all types of media. If QuickTime can’t play it (even with Perian and Flip4Mac installed, see above), odds are the VLC Media Player can. In addition, if you have VLC Media Player installed then HandBrake (see above) will use VLC Media Player to remove the copy protection from commercial DVDs.

SYSTEM ESSENTIALS
There's a few applications which virtually everyone should have on their Macs in order to keep them running smoothly, or expand their functions dramatically. And like all the rest, these are all free!

	OnyX (Titanium Software) http://www.titanium.free.fr/pgs/english.html OnyX is a general-purpose housekeeping utility for OS X. It can help keep your system clean and in good working order by cleaning cache files, repairing permissions, checking hard drive integrity, and more.
	VirtualBox (Sun Microsystems) http://www.virtualbox.org/ Virtual machines are a very popular means of running multiple operating systems on the same computer at the same time. On the Macintosh, the two most popular commercial applications are Parallels Workstation and VMWare Fusion. VirtualBox is a free, open source version of these applications. It works very well for people who need to run Windows (or other operating systems) on their Intel-based Macintosh.
	ClamXav (Open Source Community) http://www.clamxav.com/ The argument can be made that the Mac doesn’t need anti-virus software, and the argument can be made that it does. For those who wish to run a basic but effective anti-virus package, ClamXav is a very good free, open souce application that runs nicely under OS X.
	Stuffit Expander (Smith Micro) http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/stuffit/expander.html As the ZIP format is popular on Windows PCs and the RAR format is popular on Unix/Linux systems, Stuffit was the de facto compression software for Mac OS for decades. Starting with Mac OS X 10.4, Apple included a built-in ZIP engine to allow people to create ZIP archives with one click from the desktop. Stuffit files are significantly less common these days but they do still appear from time to time, so having Stuffit Expander — the decompression-only version — is occasionally convenient.
	SuperDuper! (Shirt Pocket) http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html Apple’s Time Machine (part of OS X 10.5 and higher) provides an excellent means of backing up your data. SuperDuper does a similar job but in a different way. Rather than back up your data incrementally, SuperDuper simply duplicates (or “clones”) your hard drive onto another hard drive. As a tool this has two strong benefits. First, if your internal hard drive ever crashes, you have almost zero down time; you simply restart your computer from your SuperDuper backup and you’re up and running again. (Time Machine cannot do this.) And, if you want to upgrade your internal hard drive to a larger one, you can clone your old drive to the new one so as to move all of your files, music, preferences, applications and other data in one shot, so when the new drive is installed your computer will look and work exactly as it did on the old drive. (Except for having more free space owing to the new larger drive, of course.)