Assorted resources that I regularly use. You might find them useful too.
Do you see technology as a strategic asset or a necessary evil?
Download Micromat’s MachineProfile.
Apple’s System Status Page
Addigy Monitoring Client and serializer
Mac OS X
- OS X Application Compatibility Info (OSX 10.7-10.9)
- Snow Leopard Application Compatibility Info and here also (Mac OS X 10.6)
- Printer and Scanner Compatibility
- iCloud Status
- Apple still sells Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) and Lion (OS X 10.7) for $19.99 each. Buy Snow Leopard from Apple’s web site. To purchase Lion call AppleCare at 1-800-275-2273. They’ll reportedly issue you a code that can be redeemed at the Mac App Store.
- Apple’s Mail Server Settings Lookup
- Buy Mac OS X Snow Leopard install DVD for $20 from Apple
Technical Details about Macs and other Apple Products
- MacTracker, EveryMac and Low End Mac
- Identify your iPhone model and your iPad model
- Lookup your Mac’s Serial at AppleSerialNumber or PowerBook Medic or Chipmunk.
- EveryMac’s LookUp and Comparisons
- Geekbench benchmarks also EveryMac’s benchmarks
- Apple Developer Documentation
- How To Geek Mac Processes
Repairing Macs and other Apple Products
- Apple Exchange and Repair Extension Programs
- Apple Vintage and Obsolete Products-Apple will repair products for 5 years from the date the product was discontinued.
- Search Apple’s Knowledge-base
- Macintosh Take-A-Part Guides – iFixIt and PowerBook Medic
- Mac Parts – caveat emptor, read the detail and check the return policy: UsedMac, MacPartsOnline, WegenerMedia and MacPalace
- Repairing iPhones, iPads and iPod Touchs
- iOS Data Recovery – Dr. Fone and iPhone Backup Extractor
Buying and Selling Macs, iPhones and iPads
- New – Mac Prices and Mac Rumors Buyer’s Guide
- Compare current Macs or iPads
- Used or Refurbished – LowEndMac Best Deals, PowerMax or UsedMac and RSS Feed for Apple refurbished Macs or accessories
- Pricing Your Used Mac – LowEndMac Deals and Seattle CraigsList or Phobio
- Selling iPhones and Other Electronic Gadgets
- Buying refurbished iPhones or iPads from Gazelle
- iPhone availability from iStockNow
Hardware and Peripherals
- Finding Best Prices – Google Shopping
- Frequent Vendors – Provantage, Other World Computing and StarTech
- Cable, Adapters, Face Plates and More – Monoprice, Vetco Electronics, DeepSurplus, Geeks.com and CableJive
- Cable Management, Organizing and Labeling
- Hardware Reviews: Tom’s Hardware, The Wire Cutter and TrustedReviews
- Smaller Review Sections: Cult fit Mac and Ars Technica
- Scanners
- Custom Cables – DataPro in Ballard or Redmond Cable
- Hardware Stores – Aubuchon and Home Fix It Parts
- Ergnomic Resources – The Human Solution
- Synology Diskstations – DSM Support
- Pictures of the myriad of USB connectors
Networking
- SourceForge Speed Test or SpeedOf.Me
- Your IP Number
- UptimeRobot – free server monitor
- Check to see if ports are open or Measurement Labs
- WhoIs or DNS Toolkit, IntoDNS or aBongo or UltraTools Lookups
- Who’s DNS servers are these?
- Global DNS Propagation check at WhatsMyDNS
- Netcraft Site Report including SPF, DKIM and DMARC
- Kiterman SPF Test or SPFSyntax, ORF Tools, Dig Web Interface
- Web Site SSL Tester
- Specs for CAT5 – CAT7 cabling
- IP Calculator IP converter
- Check to see if an IP number is blacklisted at MXToolbox or SenderScore
- Router Emulators
- PFSense – Open Source Firewall
- Configure wireless router as an access point
- Extending Airport Networks
- DNS Servers and who operates them
Training, Learning and Education Resources
- Lynda.com – hundreds of topics. Some freebies. Subscribe for about $25/month.
- NoteBook Productions – General Mac Training
- Apple’s YouTube video channel
- PC Classes Online – free online video training
- The Mac U – buy their Mac-related training apps for $2-$10 at the App Store
- ScreenCasts Online – membership-based online training
- CommonCraft – -blog, twitter, hardware, software, web browsers, QR codes and others
- Adobe Creative Suite Training Luminous Works, School of Visual Concepts, and American Graphics Institute
- SimonSezIT – Adobe, Microsoft, QuickBooks, Web Development, macOS training
- INE in Seattle – Bootcamps, classroom and online training. CompTIA, Linux, AWS, Google, Java, VMware, WireShark, SolarWinds, etc
Software
- Software Discounts – Academic Superstore
- TechSoup – Technology and Software for Non-Profits
- Microsoft Office – Office for Mac Help and Cortig. Also: Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- Download Office Updates
- Office365 Home and Personal or Business Subscriptions.
- Excel Semi-Pro, Office 2011 for Dummies, Daily Dose of Excel
- Remove Office 2016 licensing
- Remove Office 2016 completely
- Office End of Support, End of Life info
- Old Java for Creative Suite
- Time Machine
- UNIX
- Mac OS X Server – AFP548
- Recommended Secure Email Companies, ProtonMail and Hushmail.
iOS Tools
iOS Apps
- AppShopper – provides price history
- AppStorm
Adobe Creative Suite
- Adobe CS 6 Macintosh System Requirements and here also
- Adobe CS 6 Product Matrix
- Adobe CS 5 Macintosh System Requirements and here also
- Troubleshot Adobe Creative Cloud installation issues
- Download Adobe CC Cleaner Tool – The tool removes installation records for prerelease installations of Creative Cloud or Creative Suite applications
- Download installers for Adobe Creative Suite, Acrobat & Photoshop Elements.
- Download installers for older Adobe Creative Suite and other products
- Download trial versions of Creative Suite
- Download Adobe updates for various products
- Adobe web site and FTP site for Acrobat Updates. Blog about Acrobat update
- Lion – known issues with Adobe products
- Mountain Lion compatibility with Adobe Creative Suite
- Creative Suite compatibility with OS X Mavericks (10.9)
- Extensis Suitcase Fusion compatibility info
Color Calibration
- Apple’s default Gamma setting explained
- Using Apple’s Color Calibration Assistant
- Monitor calibration explained
- Choosing Adobe Color Workspace Settings
Keyboard Shortcuts
- All keyboard shortcuts available during startup
- Apple’s list of keyboard shortcuts
- Common keyboard shortcuts presented in a user-friendly way
- Another list of shortcuts
- Some obscure keyboard shortcuts
- How to create keyboard shortcuts
- How to manage keyboard shortcuts
- iOS 7 keyboard shortcuts
Other
“I knew Tim would be a skilled, competent IT guy based on his years of experience and the comments about his communication skills from other clients encouraged me to think he was just the person for me. He was. Not only could Tim do everything I needed (which I never doubted) but I understood what he was telling me—and the only people less techie than I am don’t use a computer! As other clients have said, Sound Support service is prompt and efficient so my time and money were well spent.”
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