Well, I don’t know. Is it chic yet?

A major turning point was in 1985, when my brother Michael, who was working at a computer store while attending college, received a christmas bonus for his sales that year. With it, he bought (and brought home to the family) our first Macintosh.

He had already purchased his own shortly after its release in 1984, so he left this one with us. That was my senior year in high school, and I used this computer to write my class papers, something that pleased all the teachers who had struggled to read my “doctor’s” handwriting, or suffered through typewritten pages covered in “Wite-Out”. We found some odd little games to play on it. Did some black and white artwork on it. I loved it.

Since then, I’ve had only Macs. LCII, Quadra, PowerPC — I haven’t committed to memory all of the models I’ve used. That’s something I believe a lot of people do simply to impress others and not because they actually really owned those computers. I could pick mine out of a line up, and that’s all I care about. Given Apple’s market share in those days (late ’80s, early ’90s), I find it amusing how many people now seem to say they were early Apple fans.

We had a Miles Davis “Think Different” poster on our office wall, sure, but even before Steve came back, all through Apple’s “dark ages”, we were using and collecting all things Mac: Stickers. Pins. Our contract and non-disclosure agreement for beta testing QuickTime 1.6 in 1993, when we were a multimedia CD-ROM production company. The “25,000,000″ pin from MacWorld in 1996. Here’s one of my favorites:

Yes, we love Apple long time.

I don’t know what year that T-shirt is from because I can’t even find another one when I Google it.

I’m rambling. I guess you can do that with a blog, right? Especially when you only make an entry every month or so?

My point is: Sure, it’s cool that our company has Apple certifications in OS X client, OS X Server and iOS devices such as iPhone and iPad. Yes, we know about iCloud and every version of the OS from System 7 (remember the Chooser?) through Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion. It’s great that our three technicians have been “sanctioned” by Apple because we’ve studied hard, taken official Apple training courses and passed our tests. But to me, what makes Technology Pros truly special is that we’ve lived and breathed Apple pretty much since the beginning.

So here I sit near the end of 2011, and I reflect on the years of Macintosh desktops, laptops, servers, towers, Apple color printers, Airports (both Extreme and Express), iPhones, iPads, iMacs and more.

And I wonder what’s next? What will be in my stocking in 2012? 2015? 2020?

Whatever it is, rest assured we will learn all about it so that we can help you with it, too.

Original Apple Logo Pin

What does this mean? If anyone reading this is considering the deployment of a large number of iPads, iPhones and/or iPod Touches, My Technology Pros can help you make decisions before, during and after that deployment. We can help you decide if you need to join Apple’s iOS Enterprise Developer Program, run a mobile device manager (MDM), or set up provisioning certificates. We can make sure your devices are secured in ways that would surprise you, such as limiting user activities like watching YouTube or using the camera. We can require difficult passwords and help your employees reset them remotely if forgotten, saving them the hassle of bringing the device back to the office. We can also put systems into place that will allow us to remote wipe devices that have been lost or stolen, ensuring the safety of your corporate data.

We can make all of this happen within your own network as well as securely (via VPN, for instance) from public networks so that sales people can safely check their calendar, mail, address books and internal services from their Apple mobile devices while on the road, minimizing risks to corporate intellectual property.

This just scratches the surface of what’s now possible, and we’re proud to be on the cutting edge of these new services.

As of this writing, September 13, 2011, I am one of fewer than 100 people in the country — and the only person in the state of Florida — with the MTC designation. So take advantage of this new knowledge and let me put it to work for you.

After all, you’re the reason we keep learning!

Recently My Technology Pros did a WiFi install at a 10,000 square foot home on a private island (living in Florida is really awful; you shouldn’t come here). And even with four access points, there were some parts of the home that simply were impenetrable. The client asked us why this was so. Here, with slight modifications to protect the innocent, was our response:

First of all, we need to discuss in simple terms what wireless internet actually is. All we’re doing is taking the wired internet connection from your cable or DSL modem and instead of plugging it directly into your computer, we’re plugging it into a box called a wireless router. Examples are Apple’s Airport Extreme, Time Capsule or Airport Express. The wireless router converts that signal to radio waves. Wireless devices like your Macbook Pro, iPhone and iPad can send and receive those signals to communicate with the router (and therefore the internet) so that you are not tethered by a cable to a wired router.

So where’s the problem?

In simple terms: radio waves, like all waves, can get blocked or refracted. Several factors affect these waves. We’ll discuss each one below.

First, HVAC equipment — elevators, ovens, stoves, refrigerators — create interference on several levels. These big devices have big electromagnetic fields around them which (obviously) can block, reshape or otherwise interfere with a radio frequency. Since several of those devices (fridge, stove, freezer) are generally found in or near a kitchen, the interference is almost always greatest in that room of the house. Additionally, they are generally thick, have motors or are made of metal; all things that can interfere with waves. You might have noticed that the internet signal drops almost the second you cross the threshold into the kitchen. That’s why! We worked in an office once which was dropping WiFi around Noon every day for a while. We ultimately realized that people were using the microwave at that time, and that killed the signal. (There’s a great video I might be able to dig up that shows on an oscilloscope what happens to WiFi when a microwave is nearby).* Anyway, Channels 1 and 6 tend to avoid microwave interference, so we ended up on one of those channels for the office. That helps with microwave interference, but not with all interference. But I digress.

Secondly, physical barriers like walls present an issue in any building. Just as a wall blocks sound waves, so can it block radio waves like those transmitted from a wireless router. Every wall you put between the transmitter and the receiver reduces the signal. The material used and the solidness of the wall determine how much of the signal is blocked. Foil-backed insulation, metal studs and grates like air returns and vents are the worst; they can create what’s called a Faraday effect. Glass is also bad — especially the thick glass windows you have to protect that house from damaging hurricane winds. This is why almost no signal gets outside of that house; it’s too well built!

Finally, there are low level types of interference like low voltage lighting or lights with dimmer switches, wireless phones, fans or anything with a motor. Each one of these devices in the WiFi signal’s path can effect its strength and reliability.

As for the signal outside of the home, there is also ample evidence to suggest weather conditions play a role. Lightning (obviously) can cause problems, but even fog can block a signal as the droplets of water refract the signal repeatedly. Trees, rain and bad weather in general have been the bane of many satellite customers.

In summary, that house has pretty much ALL of the factors that make WiFi difficult, though we can certainly try some additional tricks if a signal in the kitchen is important to you. Just give us a call.

Hope this explains it!

*I found the video here. It’s probably boring to non-geeks, but it’s fairly short and worth a look if you’re interested in how people are investigating wave interference.

Okay. It’s 10:30 pm and I’m staring at a screen again. Not my screen, though. This one belongs to a client who dropped off their MacBook Pro at the office earlier. I prefer working on hardware at home, though, so I brought it back with me.

So I’m doing a data transfer from an old hard drive to a new, larger one that I had installed in the laptop earlier. Suddenly, the usual night time munchies hit me. Having also been a professional musician most of my adult life, I’m used to late night snacking. A bowl of soup. Some crescent rolls. Maybe a whole TV dinner if I’m hungry enough. And after having a little meal like that, of course one must also have some dessert.

I’ve been an ice cream fan for as long as I can remember. From Baskin Robbins Pink Bubblegum at age 4 to Ben and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk at 40, I’m a pro. I have conquered ice cream in its many forms in 23 states and on four continents.

But it seems I’ve met my match. Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream should be a controlled substance.

I literally can eat an entire 14 oz container of this stuff before I’ve finished upgrading a hard drive in an Apple Computer — and I’m fast at upgrading hard drives. Not that I would eat ice cream over an open machine, of course, but if the addiction grabs me hard enough, I might not be able to control myself. And then what?

Mark my word: Soon you will see Häagen-Dazs executives in front of Congress defending internal emails that discussed the secret ingredient(s) that makes it impossible to stop eating their Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream.

And shamelessly, I will be there to defend them. For if they were to stop making it, I would no longer be able to provide computer services. I would become an empty, chocolate-less shell of my former self.

So remember: while tomato plants turn dirt, water and sunlight into tomatoes, I turn Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream into fixed computers and fast networks.

Tomorrow morning I have a cholesterol test. It’s on you, Häagen-Dazs. It’s all on you.

It seems that every year more people learn that Apple makes great products and makes them very well.

To be clear, all computers are made of similar components: a processor, memory chips, a graphics card, a hard drive, etc. And those components can and do fail. They just fail less often in an Apple product because Apple uses high quality components, a factor often overlooked by people who think Apple products are expensive.

As certified Apple consultants and technicians, My Technology Pros has decades of experience helping people set up and configure their Apple products: MacBook, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, MacPro, iMac, iPad and iPhone. But we also have experience in replacing the occasional part that needs replacing. It’s been more than 10 years since I’ve had to replace a broken hard drive in a Macintosh, but I’m currently upgrading two laptop hard drives (digital media fills drives up fast these days, but that’s another blog post…). The data transfer is humming along in the other room as I type this.

PC World’s survey shows that you’re very unlikely to have component failure in an Apple product. But if you do, and you’re out of warranty — or even if you just want to upgrade your hardware — call  in the Pros!

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Source: PC World

The new Sony Google TV is a great first step toward true convergence, but I’m not sure I really want to watch low-quality Internet video on an HD screen. I prefer the Apple TV paradigm of streaming HDTV, but until all the content providers are on board, both solutions are limited in scope and appeal.

My advice is to wait another year before you start jumping on the Internet HDTV bandwagon.

An update is just what it sounds like: something on your computer is out of date; a better, newer, more secure version exists.  Software updates are the most common. Apple’s OS 10.6 (“Snow Leopard”) will automatically look for Apple-based software updates. These often include updates to newer versions of their iWork or iLife suites (the packages that include iPhoto, iMovie, iTunes, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, etc.) or security patches to the operating system. For the average home user, it is advisable to download and install these updates from Apple as they become available.

Updates for other pieces of software from third parties will usually require a little effort on your part. If you find that, for instance, a particular printer isn’t working after you’ve run an update to something else on your computer, you should go to the printer manufacturer’s website to look for an updated driver. Similarly, if other software you use — even games — begin to act strangely or crash, go to the developer’s website and see if there is a newer version that you can download and install.  Software updates of this kind are almost always free. As a general rule, updates only require payment when major new features have been added, something which is usually reflected in the version number. For instance, an update from version 1.1 of a piece of software to version 1.2 would almost assuredly be free and recommended for reasons of functionality, compatibility or security. An update from version 1.1 to version 2.0, however, would likely be a major update that would offer new features and require a payment of some sort.

An upgrade generally applies to hardware. When your hard drive is proving to be too small to handle all those movies, photos and songs you’re storing, a hard drive upgrade is what you’ll need. If your monitor is not displaying at HD resolution for that new DVD you bought, you’ll want to upgrade your monitor. In extreme cases, you may be advised to upgrade your entire computer by simply buying a new one.

In summary, if you think of updates as software and upgrades as hardware, you should always be able to keep these terms straight.

Of course, if you need someone to help you with either updates or upgrades, please call My Technology Pros!

As much as software developers have tried to make it all seem like rocket science, it’s really not. Checking guests in and checking guests out at a hotel or resort is little-changed over the last 30 years. The billing needs of guests are also relatively the same. Splitting bills so that some charges go here, while others go there, has been around since way before adult-only movies in hotel rooms were introduced. All of these needs were addressed in the very first wave of hotel and restaurant computer installations. Know that every time you hear a desk clerk in a hotel or resort, or server in a restaurant say, “our system can’t do that”, somewhere a team of software engineers just rolled their eyes and sadly shook their heads. So before falling victim to the “this system is @%#&%” syndrome, perhaps focus instead on making sure that your application is being used as it was designed to be used to accomplish the specific business objectives of your hotel, resort or restaurant.

Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind when attempting technology training.

1)      First and foremost, don’t attempt to accomplish too much in a single session. Layout a schedule over many weeks and months, but remember to stick to it. Adjust as necessary, but keep it ongoing.

2)      Your staff member’s ability to comprehend specific functions will vary, so be prepared to adjust to their individual rates of retention.

3)      Be prepared to be flexible. Just as you are about to begin is invariably when “the bus pulls up”.

4)      Involve others in the teaching. Believe it or not, there may actually be a supervisor or staff member on-board that is more knowledgeable about a specific function or procedure, so give them the floor.

5)      Keep it fun. Break it up into smaller more manageable bites. Reduce the stress.

6)      Have a review procedure in place throughout the week. Set-up practice situations. Positive repetition is a great teacher.

If you have further questions about getting started, please feel free to consult with the experts at My Technology Pros for a little help or additional thoughts on making any technology easy.

I came across a Windows-only application that I was interested in. I had heard about the application called Parallels, which allows you to run Windows on your Macintosh computer without rebooting the machine. So I bought a copy and dug out my old Win XP installer CD. When I started the Parallels installation, I was a little confused by some of the options, and decided I didn’t want to take it on by myself. The kid next door to me has a Mac, so I asked him for help. (I used to get asked to mow the lawn; how times have changed!)

Well, the main difference between him and me was that I could admit that I didn’t have the necessary knowledge and experience to do the job.  As he went through my computer, he decided that my dock settings needed to be changed, that my network preferences were wrong, that I needed a password on the wireless router (okay, that was a good call, but still, it’s not what I needed). He also increased my screen resolution, making it harder for me to read, and enabled things I didn’t know how to use. When he finally got around to the Parallels installation, he clearly didn’t know much more than I did about it. I was risking my data on his learning curve. I wish I’d have called you guys first.

The “kid next door” story, also sometimes told as the “guy in the office who knows computers” story, has been told to us many times.

One of the great things about Apple products is their extraordinary ease of use. Most people can take a Macintosh, an iPhone or an iPad out of the box and be using it within minutes.  Apple’s engineers have made “plug-n-play” a reality – and fun – for many years.

However, there are times when you encounter a problem that you just can’t troubleshoot on your own. After all, the modern Macintosh operating system, for all of its ease and beauty, is built on Unix, which is a very complex operating system. The graphical user interface (GUI) Apple created simply covers up all the things that are happening “behind the curtains” when you click on a button.

So it’s highly likely that at some point, you will run across a problem with your Mac computer that you can’t quite figure out on your own.

Whom do you call for help?

Naturally, Apple’s retail stores are an excellent resource. But it’s not always practical to bring your computer – or your entire network – to a store.  So Apple created the Apple Consultants Network (ACN). In order to become a member of this network, an individual must pass at least one certification exam proctored at an Apple Authorized testing center, via Prometric.  When that individual works at a company, the company can also use the ACN logo in its promotional materials. My Technology Pros is a proud member of the Apple Consultants Network with three Apple-certified consultants: Patrick Junkroski was the first person to hold Apple certification in Southwest Florida with an ACHDS certification for OS 10.4, after completing Apple Authorized training in Houston in 2006.  He now holds 10.4 server certification (ACTC), 10.6 desktop and server certification (ACSP and ACTC) and desktop technician certification (formerly ACDT). Michael Junkroski, who has been a Macintosh user since its introduction in 1984, and Paul Novak also hold Apple desktop certifications. We work with Apple products all day, every day.

Our company works closely with the area’s Apple Stores to provide a seamless experience for customers. Your purchases are done at the Apple Store; your support can be done on-site by My Technology Pros.

Using certified consultants means you are getting people who truly know your products. Just as you would hire an attorney who has passed your state’s bar exam or only go to a doctor who has graduated medical school, so should you be equally prudent in hiring a technology consultant. Technology is not a sideline for us. It’s a way of life.

So while we do encourage people not to be afraid of doing some of their own troubleshooting on a Macintosh computer, we also remind them to recognize that “the kid next door” isn’t really a viable alternative when you get in a pinch. Call in the Pros.

Check it out: The U.S. has less kilobits per person available than most other regions on the globe. In industrialized nations, the U.S. is at the bottom of the rankings.

Per Capita, the U.S. has among the lowest bits available per person of any country.

This is bad news in and of itself. But associated with other factors such as our near-capacity pipes and our high cost-per-bit ratio, well, we’re screwed. All the consumer is left with is expensive, slow, spotty service with zero customer support.

Cost-Per-Bit is killing us

In other countries, the cost for using the Internet is absorbed jointly by consumers, bandwidth providers, and government (sometimes these are local, civil projects as well as state funded mandates). In the U.S., we don’t have a centralized authority to fund the Internet. We rely on Congress, and Congress relies on the “free market” to sort things out. Well, this didn’t work with electricity and it won’t work with Internet access.

Would you like your meter in pink or blue?

I think the only logical solution to this mess is going to be turning Internet access into a utility like gas or water or electricity. Your useage will be metered and you will pay for what you use. So if you have a house with a wireless router, an Internet TV, a couple iPads, a computer or two, but are only checking eMail, your costs will be low. If you start using IP telephones and streaming all your television and movies, then of course your data rate increases and you pay more. There are effects caused by this much too complex for this blog post.

But if you want better, more reliable service–like you get from your utility companies (when’s the last time your electricity went out for no reason whatsoever?), then get ready for metering. Or Internet service so expensive and crappy it will make you want to move to Asia.