June 27, 2012
Location

TBD
Washington, DC


Don't wait. Space is limited. Register today.

Paul Suh, ps Enable, Inc

Paul Suh has been a Macintosh developer, systems administrator, and trainer since 1985, specializing in Mac OS X security and development of complex, dymanic web sites using WebObjects. He started ps Enable, Inc. in 2006, after working for seven years at Apple Computer in various positions. Prior to that, he worked as an economist at LECG and at Deloitte & Touche, analyzing markets and businesses.

Will O’Neal, Mid-Atlantic Computer Solutions

I've been around small business IT for my 23 years in the "real world" career. I've been dealing with Macs for more than 20 years, and I worked for a couple of other small Mac shops before starting Mid-Atlantic Computer Solutions in late 2002. Many of my customers date back to the late 90's as they have followed me from place to place.

Neil Ticktin, MacTech Magazine

Neil not only emcees the event, but oversees the session chairs and content for each MacTech event. Neil has been the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of MacTech Magazine since 1992. With both a technical and business background, Neil has authored hundreds of articles including most of MacTech's well known benchmarking articles on productivity applications, virtualization, and performance products.

MacTech and the event's session chairs have some great featured speakers lined up for you, including:

Tim Hassett, Appogee

With over 12 years of Apple Enterprise experience, Tim Co-Founded Appogee along with Kristie Esposito. Appogee sells Apple products, services, and solutions at great prices with amazing personal attention and service.

Chad Swarthout, Alectrona, LLC

Chad Swarthout is the CEO of Alectrona, LLC, Director of Sales at Digital Industry, and a Board member at Alumni for Liberty. He realizes solutions for IT support providers and their clients.

Kim Whittington

Kim Whittington’s first computer was a Mac SE/30 running 6.5 with beta versions of Photoshop, Aldus FreeHand, Quark Xpress. Her technical background is 20 years of free-range experience with a hefty slice of formal training from Apple. When the Client devolves into panic mode, Job #1 is to fix the problem, preferably yesterday if not sooner. Melting modems, imploding firewalls, kernel panics, disappearing e-mail Inboxes -- the distance between two points is a straight line. Join us for straight-line solutions Wednesday, June 27th at 8:00 pm for a lively and informative discussion of Wild West Troubleshooting.

Erik Havens, Byte Builder

Erik Havens is President of Byte Builder Technology Group where he provides computer support, network support, website design, website hosting, and IT solutions for small to medium size businesses.

Juliet Glauber, MacGirl DC

Macintosh systems specialist. Highly effective troubleshooter with a proven ability to resolve crises and simply explain complex systems and processes.

Building Your Brand: Marketing and Business Concerns

You are new in business, or you've been doing this for years; in either case you can't apply your skills as a technology consultant until you have customers to apply them to! Marketing is one of the most important, but most overlooked skills in our business. We will teach you how to market yourself using your social skills, and contacts, as well as people and organizations you may not have considered. You will learn to market your skills to specific communities where word of mouth can catch fire to set your business above the rest.

Best practices: Hardware, Software and Network Deployment

What are best practices for installing new computers? What about Windows partitions, how to install an OS, software updates, and more? What do you need to know about password strength, printer setup, and more? How do you handle serial numbers? What are the basic choices your clients need to know for wired and wireless networks, and VPNs? What are the benefits of master images and deployment methods? We’ll discuss these and other items.

The New World of Apple IDs, iTunes, and Mac App Store

Apple has changed the rules for Apple IDs, iTunes accounts, and more. Learn the new rules, how devices are treated, migrating to new hardware, dealing with multiple IDs, and iCloud. Find out how iTunes Match works, how Mac App Store differs from iTunes, and the right way for doing deployment and imaging. Learn the restrictions for merging Apple IDs and how to combine them.

Troubleshooting Methodologies: Hardware, Software and Network Problems

You've worked your magic on the problems you've encountered and nothing is working. It must be hardware, but how can you be sure? What are the tests and tricks you should try, and in what order? How do you know when a problem is software based or hardware based, and how will that determination change your plan of action to get the problem solved for your customer?We walk you through the best tests and utilities, along with a best practice methodology for troubleshooting, and what to do when you are sure hardware is the problem.

Business Technologies:Mobility, Virtualization and Windows

Businesses of all sizes need business technology. Find out your options for integrating mobility, virtualization and Windows into your clients’ networks.Mobility is a big part of today's world, and it's getting bigger. Who are the main mobility players? What are your Mobile Device Management Options? How do you deal with iOS integration to the Mac/PC?With everything you've done for your customer so far, they think the world of you. It would be horrible to lose that trust just because they ask you to put Windows on their Mac. You may not be a Windows person, but you can absolutely handle Windows on your customers Mac, and we're going to show you how. We will give you the pros and cons of virtualization and non-virtualization options. We'll help you understand some of Windows' main technologies, security and best practices.

An Experts Guide to Working with Clients

So your marketing paid off! You have clients. Now, can you talk to them? Can you translate those often misspoken needs and wants into tangible technical deliverables? Can you help your hard won customers to understand your ongoing value and keep coming back for more? We’ll guide you through some of the most important steps to help you lead your customers; guide them to the right solutions, and convert their unfocused dreams into fully understood needs.Learn how to best protect yourself from scope creep, incorrect needs assessment, miscommunicated rate structures and other communications faux pas' that can lead to unpaid invoices, or worse. Your customer now knows what they want, and what you can deliver and you have agreed to do it for a mutually understood price. You are well on your way to a positive customer experience, and repeat business.Now, how are you going to document all of this? In fact, once you get started, how will you document your work, the customers serial numbers, inventory, and other important data they surely assume you will gather, keep and protect on their behalf? We will show you how to safely and securely document information for your customers, and we will expose you to some of the pitfalls of failing to do so properly.

Storage and Protecting Oneself: Backing up, Archiving and Restoring Data

Well, you've learned your lesson, the hard way. Before making a major change to a system, get a clean backup. But what about backups? There are so many options, some free, some very expensive, and some require you to roll your own. We expose you to the software available to perform backups, and we give you best practices for backup strategies related to backup rotation, media types, online, offline and nearline storage solutions, as well as over-the-net solutions. We talk about the pro's and con's so you can make an informed decision that is right for your specific customers needs. There is no "one size fits all" solution, so we prepare you to make an informed decision.One of the things that is the most fun about computers is making them do things for you automatically, so you can focus your time and effort on more important things in your life. We will talk about how to use tools like Automator, and AppleScript, and even shell scripting to help you to make your computer or your customers computers, do the types of things people expect computers to do.

How to Make Remote Consulting Work for You

You have setup the perfect small office for your customer. Every best practice followed, no expense spared, everything is right. Still, customers love to call with questions, and when they do, you need to deal with their needs in a way that meets their expectations, is fair to you and the loved ones who have to deal with you answering your phone at all hours of the day and night. We will give you solid guidance on how to handle support calls from your customers so you can keep them happy, and keep your sanity all at the same time.If you can't fix it over the phone, you'll probably have to actually work on the customers’ computers to fix the problem. But how wonderful would it be to do so without driving across town? If you plan ahead, and setup the proper systems like ARD, VNC, VPN and a host of other possible technologies, you can solve many support problems for your customers remotely. We show you the currently available options, talk about proper configuration, and costs to you and the customer, and ways you can track your remote support to be sure you make money for your efforts.

You Can't Know Everything: Getting the Support You Need

Your job is off to a fantastic start. You are fantastically prepared, yet as so frequently happens, you run into a snag right in the middle of the job. Something you've never seen before and have no idea how to solve. You feel that knot in your throat that sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach. Where do you turn for help? Where can you find answers to those last minute, on site, make or break questions that can be the difference between success or failure? We show you our favorite places to find those answers, and how to express your searches in the most search engine efficient language.