MacTech Boot Camp Phoenix 2012

Held in cities around the country, MacTech Boot Camp is a one day event for those that support the home user, and small business market. MacTech Boot Camp is a single-track, hotel based seminar that is specifically geared to serve the needs of consultants and techs wanting to serve their base better.

May 1, 2012
Location
Sheraton Crescent Hotel
2620 W. Dunlap Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85021

Registration at 8:15am (no earlier please).
Full day’s schedule.
Subscribe to iCal calendar.

Don’t wait. Space is limited. Register today by clicking here.


Sessions Chairs




Whit Johnson, JCN

Thirty years ago Whit hung around his local Northern Michigan computer store until they eventually made him the manager. He was one of the first 20 or so people in Michigan to see the new Macintosh computer a few weeks before it was introduced. He bought one. He is the founder of JCN and has written software for the Federal Aviation Administration that is still in use today. He is an Apple Certified Technical Coordinator for 10.6, a Certified Pro in Final Cut Server 1.5 and Final Cut Pro 7, and a member of the Apple Consultants Network.


Zack Williams, Artisan Computer

Zack Williams laptop is the one with the command prompt open on it. A computer scientist by training, he’s worked with Apple hardware since the 512k and has done Unix sysadmin work on a variety of platforms. He is currently the managing consultant at Artisan Computer which provides technical services of all kinds in the Tucson and Southern Arizona area.


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.



Speakers



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



Geof Bowie, Think Fixed Inc.

Geof operates at the intersection of his passion for business, technology, art and design. He is the founder of Think Fixed, Inc, one few nationwide Macintosh Managed Service Providers (MSP). Think Fixed partners with Macintosh businesses who use macs to proactively solve problems and increase productivity, efficiency and security and therefore profitability. Prior to Think Fixed, Geof was a full time artist and educator with degrees from Parsons School of Design and The University of the South – Sewanee. Currently a member of the Apple Consultants network, he continually strives to improve systems, communicate and improve businesses he works with.


Kathy Heasley, Heasley and Partners

Kathy Heasley is the founder and principal of HEASLEY&PARTNERS, Inc., a branding company that helps people and organizations grow and prosper. After years of working in just about every aspect of marketing and communications there is, for big companies, small companies, entrepreneurial companies, tech companies and more, her well rounded view of business led her to start her own firm in 1994. Through years of helping clients she arrived at what worked and what didn’t. From that she created Heart & Mind® Branding, a method that connects companies and people with their audiences to win hearts and minds—in that order. Kathy is the branding and creative force behind HEASLEY&PARTNERS and has dedicated her professional life to developing businesses that connect with the heart and open the mind. In the process, lives are transformed and companies become breakthrough brands. A twenty-plus year communications veteran, Kathy has worked with literally hundreds people and organizations helping them develop and grow their businesses through brand development and brand execution.


Christopher Holmes, The Orchard

Introduced to the world of Apple when he bought his first Mac (Core Duo Black MacBook) in 2006. Since then, this enthusiast turned expert has been on an incredible journey of technological discovery. In 2008 he started his I.T. professional journey by joining the Apple Consultants Network. Christopher now sits on this years ACN Advisory Council. Not long after, he was recruited as CTO by an exciting new startup called The Orchard. Working for an Apple Specialist & Authorized Service Provider has placed him at the center of innovation in the South. For the last two years, Chris has been empowering customers and helping shape the digital frontier for organizations.


Boyd Burkhardt, STAT Computer Services

I’ve been providing technical and consulting services for the Macintosh since it’s release in 1984. My consultancy has grown steadily since it was formed in 1999 through client recommendations and our reputation. My goal is to continue to expand our client base and to provide excellent service to our clients. We are always interested in evolving technologies and their potential impact on our clients’ needs.


CV Rao, MacAmerica

CV Rao is the president and lead consulting engineer for MacAmerica. MacAmerica has been providing professional i.t. services to businesses, corporations and education since 1991. In addition to providing professional i.t. services, MacAmerica is an Apple Authorized Service Provider and Apple Authorized Training Center. CV is an Apple Certified Systems Administrator and member of Apple Consultants Network. He was also an advisory council member of the ACN.


Nathan Toups, rojoroboto, llc

Nathan is a Mac geek with a background in collaborative design. He honed his professional IT skills after college and now owns and operates rojoroboto, llc., a small IT consulting firm based in Austin, TX. He has experience with a broad range of organizational practices and trends with in the realm of mobile device and cloud integration into the workplace, specifically with iOS. Nathan is an Apple Consultants Network member, holds a slew of Apple certifications, and is a Linux nut. He has published twice in MacTech Magazine and has been actively involved with Texas Linux Fest, MacTech BootCamp, MacTech InDepth, and MacTech Conference.


Lou Picinich, SystemXperts

Lou Picinich founded SystemXperts to develop business solutions for small and mid-sized businesses utilizing iOS devices. Prior to founding SystemXperts, Mr. Picinich provided independent consulting services (Software/System Architect) to Silicon Valley high-tech companies in the design, development, implementation, and operation of one-of-a-kind systems. Mr. Picinich is a member of the Apple Consultants Network with ACSP 10.5/10.6, ACTC 10.5/10.6, ACS 10.6 – Security & Mobility, and Mobility Technical Competency certifications, and a member of Apple’s iOS Developers Network. Mr. Picinich has a BSES from Long Island University and an MBA from San Jose State University.


Joseph Norton

Joe Norton saw a 512K Mac in 1985, and immediately bought it. He had a background in Human Services, which allowed him to see that Macintosh could empower users to do more with computers. Since then, he has been a user, consultant, and trainer on the Mac platform. The variety of activities which ensued, including involvement in a variety of businesses (funeral homes, to marketing companies and pretty much everything in between,) served to round out his consulting services. Joe holds an MA from the University of Illinois, and has been an Apple Consultants Network member since 2000.


Zack Williams, Artisan Computer

Zack Williams laptop is the one with the command prompt open on it. A computer scientist by training, he’s worked with Apple hardware since the 512k and has done Unix sysadmin work on a variety of platforms. He is currently the managing consultant at Artisan Computer which provides technical services of all kinds in the Tucson and Southern Arizona area.



Sessions



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.

 

Sponsors

MacTech selects key vendors to be a part of the event. Gold and Silver sponsors will be speaking and attending the event, and can talk to you about the solutions they offer. It’s a unique opportunity to make contacts within these companies and get your questions answered. Interested in sponsoring a MacTech event? See our sponsorship page.

 

Media Support

These great publications support MacTech Events in a variety of different ways.