She's a Tech Chick

Those of you who have had their white/black macbook keyboards replaced - here's what we (and others) do with them ... Missouri teen Taylor Burghard designs jewelry from recycled computer parts for her business, TekChick Designs. Check it out, a way cool recycling effort.

Hard Drive Prices

The flooding condition in Thailand have put a huge crimp on the availability of hard drives. More than 50% of the world's supply of drives comes from Thailand and the recent floods have put some factories totally underwater. In addition the supplier of nearly 100% of drive motors has lost multiple facilities.

What this means to you (and us) is drives are getting scarce and prices, to date, have doubled, from just a couple of weeks ago. Supplies and pricing are not expected to return to "normal" levels for many months yet.

If you have a computer here for a hard drive issue please be patient as it may take longer that our normal, 2-3 business day, turnaround time.

MagSafe Adapter Reimbursement

A recent class-action settlement covers Apple 60W and 85W MagSafe "T" Power Adapters that were obtained in the United States and show signs of strain relief damage. These adapters are used with MacBook and MacBook Pro computers made between May 2006 and April 2010.

If your adapter shows signs of strain relief damage, bring it in so we can determine whether Apple will replace the adapter as per their guidelines.
If customers inquire about the settlement or wish to file a reimbursement claim, refer them to the information they should have received from the Settlement Administration, or refer them to the Settlement Administration resources website.

Drivesavers

Learn more about Data Recovery services from the Industry Leader. Need recovery service? We can facilitate it for you or reference code DS25533 when talking direct to DriveSavers.

Learn more about Data Recovery
services from the Industry Leader

Lion, OS 10.7

Apple's next operating system, Lion, OS 10.7, is now available! While this is great news and will be a very nice product with many cool features, you may not be ready for it. All new computers will be shipped pre-loaded with Lion and Apple has already stopped producing Snow Leopard. This means that you will not be able to get a computer or disk with Snow Leopard. Why does this matter? First there are known concerns. Rosetta will not be supported. That means that anyone who uses Office 2008 or earlier, Quicken or any other application that relies on Rosetta 'translation' will not work with Lion.
Second, there are unknown concerns: Which drivers for printers and other devices are not yet ready? What other applications are not supported? What compatibility quirks will there be initially?

We've been playing with Lion and exploring what we can, until the final release in real working environments is tested, there are many questions that remain. It usually takes several updates and 3-6 months to feel comfortable moving to a complete OS overhaul. There is a free download of Lion for new machines purchased with Snow Leopard, so you can get it for free and simply upgrade later, when you are ready instead of when Apple is ready.

Please call us or email if you have questions.

Beware Fake MACDefender Antivirus Software

(This MACDefender isn't in any way associated with the German company called MacDefender that runs the MacDefender.org Web site and writes geocaching and other GPS-related software.)

A specific combination of actions needs to occur for MACDefender to be downloaded and installed, including visiting a poisoned Web site, and then entering an admin password in the installer. If this happens, MACDefender adds itself to the login items, displays a menu bar icon, and looks like a real antivirus program. See the Intego security memo for screenshots of what it looks like.

MACDefender's goal appears to be to scam users into paying for the program, and to that end, it claims to find viruses and also opens porn sites in the user's browser every few minutes in an attempt to make the user think they're infected. After paying, the
warnings disappear. Of course, it's entirely likely that the purchase process is designed as much to steal credit card numbers as to make money from purchases, given that the charges can be reversed if the user discovers the scam.

MacDefender is an example of “scareware,” an increasingly popular type of malware that attempts to trick users into thinking they are infected with viruses in order to extort money (and credit card numbers).

For the Switchers (or new to a Mac)

Moving from Windows to OS X means rewiring your muscle memory and learning to do old things in new ways. The basic stuff you do dozens of times a day”” opening and closing programs and files, managing windows””are all done differently on a Mac. Switching can feel like you've been transported to a country where the language sounds vaguely familiar, but is definitely not your native tongue. The "Switching to Mac Super guide" will give you a quick orientation. To get your copy drop Dave an email: dcore@capmac.net.

A BIG Pat on our Back

Again, for the 13th time in a row, Capitol Macintosh has been honored with Apple's Commitment to Excellence award!

The Commitment To Excellence Program recognizes the top AASPs (Apple Authorized Serivce Providers) who have implemented and utilize best practices to maximize their AppleCare Service Excellence (ACSE) scores in the four key metrics: repair turnaround time, turnaround time, first-time fix and parts per repair.

Our continued success, thanks to you our customers, puts Cap Mac in the top 2 % of all Apple service providers in North America

Recharge AND Recycle

Now there's a better, more environmentally friendly way to power your wireless keyboard, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, or just about anything that requires AA batteries. The Apple Battery Charger kit comes with a sleek, compact charger and six high-performance AA NiMH batteries that are ready to use right out of the box. The reusable batteries are exceptional at holding a charge and last for up to 10 years. Which means you can finally break the cycle of buying and disposing of those single-use alkaline batteries.

Battery Recycling

The Christmas holiday has come and gone. Companies have introduced hot items.Retailers hosted major sales events.Holiday revelers across the country planned parties and held gift exchange parties.While everyone was enjoying the spirit of the season, there is one thing that puts a small damper on holiday cheer: waste.

At Capitol Mac, we're doing our small part by taking in batteries for recycling. Cellphones, computers, power tools: Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd ), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-Ion), Nickel Zinc (Ni-Zn) and Small Sealed Lead (SSLA/Pb).

Please don't trash your batteries - bring them in so we can recycle them. For more information contact Call2REcycle.