MW Mac Consulting Frequently Asked Questions

MW Mac Consulting, your North Shore Macintosh computer consultants, provide Mac service and troubleshooting for Apple products in West Vancouver and North Vancouver, BC. Below, you'll find answers to the most frequently asked questions we receive.

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• Are you affiliated with Apple?
  We were an Apple Authorized Reseller, Service Provider and Apple Specialist between the years of 1992 and 2006. In 2006, we became an independent consulting firm and ended our affiliation with Apple on good terms
• Do you service iPods, iPhones or iPads and offer battery replacement solutions?
  We can assist you with the setup, configuration, connection and synchronization of your iPod, iPhone, iPad and iTunes software but we do not offer hardware repair service or battery replacements for these devices. Please visit Apple Canada for general information on in-warranty and out-of-warranty hardware service for handheld products or visit the following links for specific options and pricing (note that you may be able to resolve certain problems on your own by simply resetting your device):
  
            • Service for iPod
            • Service for iPhone
            • Service for iPad
  
  
• I need a new battery for my Mac Notebook. Can you help?
  If your laptop is still under warranty, visit Apple Canada for information on how to obtain a replacement battery. Out of warranty replacement batteries are available from the Apple Store for Canada for many MacBook, MacBook Pro and recent PowerBook G4 models (note that the MacBook Air and other Mac laptops with built-in batteries require replacement by Apple)
• Do you offer Data Recovery Services?
  We do not specialize in data recovery although, in certain circumstances, we may be able to rescue a hard drive if it is not seriously corrupted or undelete a file if the file hasn't yet been overwritten. Before contacting us, be sure to read page 5 of our Disaster Prevention And Recovery Guide if you've experienced any type of data loss. If we can't recover data from a drive, we refer our clients to Drive Savers which provides very satisfactory results
• Which types of clients do you work with?
  We offer Macintosh computer services to clients who have purchased their computers for personal use, for use in home-based businesses or for use in small to medium-sized business environments
• Do you offer free support over the phone or by e-mail?
  We'll be pleased to visit you on-site in order to assist you with your computer problems but we do not offer free technical support. Of course, we'll be happy to speak with you in order to discuss your initial needs and set up an appointment but all of our services are fee-based. If you're looking for free help or if you have a quick question, please submit your questions to Apple Support Communities or contact Apple Canada at 1-800-263-3394
• Do you offer paid support by phone and by e-mail?
  Yes, we do. We have a minimum one-hour billing for all support by telephone, videoconferencing and e-mail. Please contact us for more details
• Do you look after the Educational Channel?
  If you are an educational customer, please visit Apple In Education for educational sales, service and support information
• Can I drop my computer off at MW Mac Consulting for service?
  At present, we offer on-site Mac repair services only. One of the main reasons we prefer to work on your computer on-site is because all of your peripheral devices will be connected to it (some of which may be contributing to a specific problem). In certain circumstances, we may take your computer back to our facility for repair, keep it overnight and return it to you the next day
• I have an older Power Mac running Mac OS 9 which needs repair. Can you help?
  Yes. Not only do we fix Macs which run on Intel processors but we also work on Power Mac G3, G4 and G5 systems running Classic (we still use Classic ourselves on one of our PowerPC-based portables)
• Do you service other areas of the Lower Mainland?
  Being based on the North Shore, priority is given to Mac computer service, support and consulting clients located in North Vancouver and West Vancouver. We accomodate clients located in downtown Vancouver and Burnaby as our schedule permits. Please feel free to contact us for more information if you are located in one of these areas
• Do you provide Apple Warranty Service?
  We are not an Authorized Apple Service Provider and offer non-warranty service only. Note that software troubleshooting, hard drive reformatting and system software reinstallations are not covered under AppleCare warranties. We can certainly assist you with these types of problems (as a convenience to our clients, we can also facilitate warranted computer repairs through various partners). For more information, download our Warranty And Non-Warranty Fact Sheet
• What is your hourly rate?
  $75.00 per hour which includes travel time to your home or office (minimum billing of $75.00). If we need to leave your home or place of business in order to travel to a supplier to pick up a product or part, this is considered billable time
• Do you sell Apple products and Mac software?
  We discontinued sales of Apple hardware and software in 2006, however, we do carry third-party software for the Mac platform including the complete Adobe Creative Suite family of products, QuarkXPress and FileMaker Pro database management software
• Which hardware products do you sell?
  We sell a variety of internal hard drives and supply LaCie External Hard Drives as well as Kingston Memory Upgrades. We also carry peripheral devices such as Canon and Epson scanners, standard and wide-format printers, many different makes and models of routers, USB hubs, USB and FireWire cables — almost every kind of product needed for your particular Mac setup. Note that we only sell products to clients who we will be installing the products for during a service call. If you're searching for the best possible price and intend on installing products on your own, you may wish to visit the Apple Store for Canada
• Why should I use Kingston memory?
  Kingston memory is second to none. It is the highest quality memory on the market. For over twenty years, we have used Kingston products with only one failure in all this time. Download this pdf file for more information
• Do you sell used Macs, buy Macs or take Macs on trade for services?
  Not at this time
• Can you supply me with Apple Service and Replacement parts?
  If you require a genuine Apple-branded replacement part such as a logic board or an internal CD/DVD drive, you'll need to search for an Authorized Apple Service Provider in your area. Note that we can, however, source and supply non-Apple replacement parts depending upon your exact computer model. Feel free to contact us if your computer is out of warranty and you require a specific component which we will supply and install for you
• Do you offer training and tutoring?
  These services were discontinued in 2006. We can, however, make some recommendations if you're looking for help with learning how to use specific software applications
• Why should I hire MW Mac Consulting for my Apple computer service and support needs?
  Our commitment to customer service hasn't changed a bit in the last twenty years — we still Think Different. We take Macs very seriously and our references will be happy to tell you that we're knowledgeable, friendly, easy to get along with and always on time. As former resellers and service providers, we've continued to work hard in order to maintain a respectable reputation. By continually educating ourselves as technology rapidly changes and evolves, we know we can be of assistance to almost anyone who uses a Mac — in the event of an emergency, for consulting and advice or for computer maintenance and repair
• I'm looking for employment. Are you hiring?
  Not at this time but we'll certainly let you know when we require your skills
• Do you work with PC's?
  Sorry. We don't do WIndows but we'll be pleased to refer you to a trustworthy technician who is very knowledgeable with PC's

If you have a question which wasn't answered above, please do not hesitate to call us or send us an e-mail message. We're always happy to speak with you.

Apple Facts

•   1   Founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple Computer was established on April 1st, 1976 and incorporated on January 3rd, 1977
•   2   The first Macintosh computer named the 128K was introduced on January 24th, 1984
•   3   Steve Jobs resigned from Apple Computer in October of 1985 and founded his own company called NeXT Computer
•   4   Poor sales and low market share plagued Apple Computer in the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's
•   5   Steve Jobs returned as an advisor to the company in 1996 after it had purchased NeXT and eventually became CEO
•   6   In November of 1997, the company's stocks hit one of their lowest points in history when they were trading at $4.67 per share
•   7   Apple Computer returned to profitability thanks to Steve Jobs with the introduction of the iMac, iBook and Power Mac G4 between 1998 and 2001
•   8   Apple Computer became known simply as "Apple" on January 9th, 2007
•   9   In 2011, Apple became the largest technology firm in the world with annual revenues of over $60 billion dollars
•  10  The overwhelming success of the many products which Steve Jobs introduced propelled Apple to become the world's most valuable publicly traded company in 2011

•  11  Steve Jobs sadly passed away on October 25th, 2011 but his genius lives on to this day
•  12  For the fifth year in a row, Apple was named the World’s Most Admired Company by Fortune Magazine in 2012
•  13  Apple reported its highest Quarterly Revenue and Earnings in history on January 24th, 2012
•  14  Apple became one of the five most valuable companies at any point in history during the last week of February of 2012
•  15  In March of 2012, Apple's stock market value reached an all-time high when it exceeded the $600 billion dollar mark. On March 21st, 2012, Apple stocks were trading at $602.50 per share
•  16  Millions and millions of people around the world now use Apple products more than ever before. Market share estimates are as high as 15 percent compared to only 4 percent fifteen years ago