| Macintosh
Separation Anxiety (MSA). While nCity is not a retail business, we happily obtain parts and equipment on behalf of our clients as necessary to complete repairs, perform upgrades, and enhance capabilities. |
 nCity is strictly service oriented. We operate on a time-and-materials
basis. Replacement parts
are treated as incidental to repair, and
presented for reimbursement at
cost. We may obtain hardware or software on
behalf of our client, or
assist the client's own procurement, but we
only charge for services
rendered.
Many older Macs are still
powerful
machines, even if they have become
obsolete by internet standards. Some
are perfectly suited to dedicated use in
audio/video applications, home
automation and security, keeping database
records, or most any task you
might assign to a computer. Sometimes it's
just a matter of remembering
- and finding - a certain program version
from the old days, or maybe
it requires an adapter or gizmo of some
sort. We might be able to help
you get the most out of your second-string
Macs, too.
Need a replacement part or repair? nCity is not in the retail
business. We
have no product line to peddle, no
connection to any particular vendor,
no hidden agenda, and we're not here to
sell you anything. But, if
there's a part required to complete a
repair, we'll find it. Complete
systems - assemblies, boards, cards, odds
and ends, new or used - it's
all available from a surprising variety of
sources. We'll do our best
to find what you need, from the best
source, at the best price.
If you answered no, it's only a
matter of
time before you'll face that question for
real. Work representing days,
months, even years of effort can disappear
in a flash. It happens. We
might be able to recover your data,
depending on what went wrong, but
nothing beats a solid backup strategy.
While you consider your options,
take a look at the Backup Schemes page for
some suggestions.
Wish you could ______? Learn how. nCity offers compact courses and
one-on-one
tutoring for newbies and 'noids alike. We
can help you to understand
today's computer technology and expand
your horizons, tell you what you
need to know to make informed decisions,
and help you avoid trouble.
Take a look around this site (and our
Support Ops section) for
suggestions and resources.
|
 nCity has currently lists over 700 clients. While we prefer that you make an
appointment, we welcome
walk-ins as time permits, too. Sometimes a
quick check or minor change
is all that's needed and billing isn't
necessary if problem is solved
within a minute or two. But, paying jobs
will always take priority and
we must bill for our time if any diagnostics
are required. We cannot
diagnose a machine over the phone, nor are
we here to answer questions
all day long. (Sorry, but we get a lot of
"quick questions" which
seldom have quick answers.) We're happy to
help out as time allows, but
please understand that we're running a
business here and trying to make
a living.
We
work for private parties only.We expect payment in full upon completion and delivery of each job we do. We do not accept credit cards at this time - payment by cash or check only, please. We reserve the right to refuse service. Federal, State, County, City and
Special
Districts - including fire districts and
school districts - must
provide full payment of
estimated service costs in advance.
We are not here to fill out paperwork, we do
not operate as
subcontractors, and we cannot - will not -
wait 90 days or more to
receive payment.
Abandoned
equipment:We cannot accept work thru third party shops, consultants, or agents. There may be many decisions to make along the way which require the active participation of a responsible party, usually the machine's owner. We are happy to discuss solutions and options and provide an estimate, but trying to sort out details thru a third party seldom ends well. We have been approached by a few local computer "consultants" who would like nothing better than to double our repair/recovery bill back to their customers, too; we will not let that happen. Caveat emptor! Equipment left on premises 30 days
or more
after completion of services will be deemed
abandoned and disposed of
as appropriate. (We allow 90 days to resolve
insurance estimates, as
arranged when equipment arrives.) We make
every effort to complete jobs
in a timely fashion and contact responsible
parties upon completion,
but we must reclaim shop space and recoup
our expenses (if possible)
when equipment has been abandoned.
|
 Hardware upgrades. Is a new machine necessary, or
will an Operating System (OS)
update get the job done? Sometimes, OS and
processor upgrades go
hand-in-hand; an OS designed to run on
multi-core processors might seem
somewhat sluggish on a lesser machine that
can't take advantage of all
that power. On the other hand, suffering
with a long-outdated OS
installed on a machine with processing power
to spare is a waste of
potential. Matching OS to CPU is not as
clear-cut as it once was, but a
little investigation will sort things out
and present a variety of
options.
OS
updates - versus - OS upgrades:Use nCity's Link pages to shop around, gather as much info as you can using our list of Apple links and other resources, and we will be happy to discuss various options and possibilities with you. It's important to understand the
difference
between an Operating System update
- usually a free download - and an OS upgrade.
Apple currently designates OS versions thus:
OS Updates are free downloads released periodically and may include new or enhanced System features, bug fixes, and/or security patches for your specific OS version. All Operating Systems should be kept reasonably current by downloading and installing OS updates as they become available. Run Software Update periodically (found in the Apple menu) over your broadband connection to check for updates. Please note: We strongly recommend making a proper volume backup _before_ applying any major upgrade or updates. OS Upgrades are just now becoming available as a download from Apple, beginning with OS 10.7 (Lion), but as with all upgrades, Lion is not free. Older Systems (up to 10.6 Snow Leopard) can only be installed or upgraded from a commercial DVD. For example: To upgrade to - or install - OS 10.6.3 you must purchase OS 10.6.3 on DVD from Apple (requires Core 2 Duo or later Intel CPU, 2GB RAM and 7GB of hard drive space.). 10.6.3 updates may then be downloaded and installed for free, bringing the OS to 10.6.8. 10.7 (Lion) is available for purchase and download from the online Mac App Store for around $30, or it may be purchased for about $70 on a USB flash drive. Lion requires OS 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard), Core 2 Duo or later CPU, and 7GB of disk space. We always recommend having your OS on a DVD for troubleshooting purposes; in the case of Lion, we recommend making a recovery disk. (Confused yet? ;-) Looking for a new graphics
program, a
replacement for Office, web authoring
applications, point-of-sale (POS)
program, or a new database solution?
Wondering what others are using,
or if there's some defacto standard? By all
means, do your homework and
shop around! Does one company provide better
support than another? How
often do they release updates, and at what
cost? Does it have the
features you require, are there
compatibility issues, does it have a
future? All these questions come into play
when selecting software, and
making an informed decision can save a great
deal of time and trouble
in the long run.
Sadly, the #1 software program of
a given type isn't
necessarily #1 because it's the best product
and best choice. Selecting
software may mean a substantial investment
of both time and money,
between stupendous learning curves and
relentless, expensive updates.
(Adobe comes to mind for some reason.....) A
lot of work goes into creating good
software, but sometimes other
aspects can crowd out quality as the first
concern. Perhaps one
critical function will overshadow all other
considerations and become
the deciding factor. Shop around and
test-drive candidate applications
before buying; examine competing products,
and explore all avenues
_before_ spending those hard-earned dollars
and making a commitment to
a particular software product.
|
 Time to upgrade? It's relentless... If you need SATA, Optical Audio or
the brand-new [insert
acronym] ports, it's probably time for a new
Mac. If you do large file
transfers, audio/video editing, or have
massive storage and access
requirements, you want huge, fast and
Firewire. If your needs are more
modest, the expense of upgrading can be
quite modest, too. We can help
sort through all the technicalities and
options, discuss alternatives
and make suggestions, we can even suggest
ways to save money without
sacrificing quality or capability. How much
storage will be enough, and
for how long? How much memory? Which type of
media is best suited for
your purposes? Is speed a big factor or a
minor concern? The number of
choices can be overwhelming, as can the
endless list of technical
details. It's really not so much a mystery
as it is a matter of
balance; balancing need versus budget,
present versus future standards.
Storage solutions include adding
internal drives (to
available bays), replacing drives with
larger capacity models, and
adding external drives using Firewire, USB,
eSATA, ethernet or
wireless. (If you don't have a backup, now
might be a good time to
consider adding one, too.) Or, you might
want to add a PCI card, USB
hub, switches, routers, multiple monitors,
or some new output device.
All sorts of gadgets and goodies are
available for just about anything
you might imagine. If you find you are
collecting a large music, photo
and/or video library, perhaps it's time to
consider adding a dedicated
storage drive and (more) backup to your
system. There's no shortage of
equipment options available, and we can help
tailor a configuration to
suit your needs.
When it comes to designing a
backup system, the most
important aspects are reliability, ease-of-use (automation), and
security. If you primarily
deal with text files and internet, backup
options are the least exotic
and most cost-effective. Hardware
requirements for more complex and
sophisticated backup operations can increase
dramatically, as can
planning, security and execution costs,
especially when adding margins
for future expansion. If you can bring
yourself to apply a dollar
amount to your data and work, you'll have
some idea what a backup
system is worth to you. In any case, we'll
do whatever we can to help
you put a secure and dependable backup
system in place. (Also see
Backup Schemes, left, under Shop Services.)
Whether it's a wireless network,
audio/video recording and
editing, or some other specialized project
you have in mind, there are
always countless options available and a
whole lot of specs, details,
choices and considerations ahead. nCity can
help you navigate thru the
technical details and recommend products and
vendors while keeping your
budget in mind.
Is your machine slowing down,
producing error messages, or
just acting strange? We can track down the
problem, give your Mac a
tuneup, and correct the situation, as
needed. Disk fragmentation can
still happen (under certain circumstances),
files get corrupted, PRAM
or PMU might need to be reset, hard disks
fill up, ports get damaged,
unprotected modems get fried, and sometimes
components or sub
assemblies fail. More often than not, there
will be some kind of
warning before damage or data loss occurs,
if you're paying attention.
This might be a dialog box telling you your
startup disk is almost full
or some other problem needs to be addressed,
or it might be a strange,
new noise emanating from your computer. The
sooner we get to it, the
better.
Damage happens. 
Ever wonder what a smashed LCD
screen looks
like? Well, here ya go. This display took a hard
hit (nobody knows how) almost as though it
got shot. Even with a
demolished display, this Mac continued to
function perfectly. Connecting an external
display allowed complete
diagnostics, and a replacement display put
it back in service, good as
new. Most computer problems are a bit more
subtle than this one was,
but it's a good example of the Mac's
durability; see TechTales and
Disasters page (under Support Ops) for other
examples of Macs gone wild.
|
 Was a time when a briefcase held all the answers. Was a time when a 400K floppy held
both OS and apps with
enough room left over for a few docs, too.
There were no hard drives,
no internet, no ISPs, no broadband bills.
Those days are long gone -
sorry to say - but as spectacular in their
simplicity as they may have
been (relatively speaking), they've long
been surpassed by complex
capabilities which once seemed impossible.
The distant days of
DiskDoctor are done, and that briefcase full
of double-density Zip
discs sits abandoned on a shelf here at the
shop.
We met some fine folks here in Nevada County while making house calls in the old days, had an adventure or two, but times have changed. Personally, I don't miss all the driving, logistics and baggage. We can make much better use of time these days with all the assets and resources available here at the shop, but we made more than a few fast friends of clients near and far back in the ol' mobile days. |
