People are always asking me: “You have clients? What do you do for them? Oh, you’re an I.T. consultant? What kind of I.T.? What can you do?”

The main thing to take away is that a consultant is someone who has answers in a specific field. People are always trying to narrow down exactly what it is I do and it’s sometimes a challenge for me to sum it up.

Right now, I have a little over two dozen clients that pay me for my knowledge and services. They value my expertise, my resourcefulness, and my advice and they count on me to steer them in the right direction. They pay me because I have answers to questions, and I facilitate what they would otherwise not be able to, or don’t want to put the time into. They pay me also because sometimes it’s more cost efficient, and I’m able to provide solutions at a much cheaper rate than the general consumer would expect from department stores or big business.

I strive to provide a service that’s superior in three main regards:

• Cost: In the long run, I’m going to save you money. You’re not going to spend anything on the unnecessary, and you’re going to put money in the right place so you get the most value out of what you buy, and how you use it.
• Efficiency: Every client of mine gets personalized treatment. I cater to your specific needs and put the extra time (without extra billing) to make sure the job is 100% complete. Examples being data transfers and personal setups are done to your satisfaction. GeekSquad, Futureshop, or the Apple Store won’t do it as well as I do. I’ve seen it done, I’ve seen them leave huge gaps in transfers leaving a customer completely unsatisfied. I guarantee you’ll be happy with my service, or you don’t have to pay me.
• Knowledge Base: The reason I hold myself at a much higher esteem is that I’m well versed in numerous different subjects. Your Futureshop employee won’t have the greatest advise for you Mac purchases, your Apple store genius won’t have the answers to your home networking issues, and your GeekSquad will give you scripted answers that you would expect from a company, not a person. I’m the only resource you’ll need to handle your wide array of issues, and best of all, I’m honest, up-front, and direct. No run around, and no B.S. responses for me.

Having said that, I’d like to share with you a list of the recent work I’ve done for my clients, to give you a better understanding of how simple (or complicated) the service I provide can be.

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**UPDATE April 14th: Apple has announced a delay due to a large number of sales in the United States. Whereever the bottleneck, Apple is unable to keep up and is delaying the Canadian (and international) release of the iPad by about a month. It’s been also announced that details of the availability will be made clear on May 10th, so stay tuned for more specifics as they develop.

“A magical and revolutionary product starting at an unbelievable price.” This is how Apple has chosen to market it’s latest invention, the iPad (www.apple.com/ipad). Will it live up to the hype? Nobody can say for certain… but we sure can speculate!

It’s been a buzz for a while, and everyone has been waiting patiently. Unfortunately however, everyone outside the United States has had to wait a little while longer before getting their hands on the device.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in January, he noted that the first wave of devices (WiFi-only) would be available late March. This was eventually pushed back to early April and then set in stone for April 3rd, 2010. The catch was that the WiFi + 3G version of the iPad would be available sometime after the WiFi-only device, estimating about 30 days. At this point, we still had no idea when the device (either version) would become available to the rest of the world, and no intelligence to suggest that a Canadian launch was imminent.

A press release by Apple on March 5th, indicated that the iPad would be available outside the United States near the end of April. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK are the countries that made the cut for the “outside of the U.S.” list.
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It’s a documented fact that (and excuse the lack of references, you’ll have to take my word for it) Apple has been on the rise as of late. There are more Macs than there have ever been, and with exciting new announcements about Apple’s iPad, and other looming upgrades to other devices (iPhone, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro), it’s a good time to be an Apple groupie.

I’d like to shine the light on a release that was made more than 6 months ago, because I’ve recently encountered a few people who were very much of the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” opinion. While in theory, this mentality typically does hold true, in practice it sometimes seems… a little less than practical (har har).

Snow Leopard is/was Apple’s most recent release of their Mac OS X operating system (10.6) that was available to the public as of August 28th, 2009. For those of you who are less familiar with Apple and Macintosh computers, think of Snow Leopard in congruence with Microsoft’s latest release of Windows, 7.

A new operating system’s (OS) release usually commands a lot of attention; it’s a new and exciting time to marvel at the cool new features, fancy aesthetic renovations, and hopefully added functionality.

Normally, with a new OS comes the need for faster, stronger and better hardware. The new operating system takes up more room, needs more memory, and a faster processor or it doesn’t run properly. This is sometimes a cause for concern. “You’re telling me I need to pay a couple hundred dollars for this new version of Windows that is going to make me want to buy a new computer because my two year old machine all of a sudden doesn’t match up?”

A new OS is supposed to be an upgrade right? Normally an upgrade doesn’t turn into a burden, it’s supposed to make things easier. For some of us, upgrading ram or clearing hard-drive space is an arduous and costly task. If only someone out there would try to break the trend…

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It seems that with all the new people I meet that I happen to have an extended conversation with, they ask me “So… Marc, what is it you do?” and sometimes it’s less than easy to tell them everything it is that I spend my time on. I’ve always thought of myself as a really well rounded individual – I retain talents in many different fields, and as such, I’m currently exploring many different paths to many different goals, all to one end: early retirement with financial security beyond any doubt.

Some might say, that it’s less than efficient to spread your efforts so thin; I’ve come to realize this myself, however, I still pursue many different endeavours simply because I still maintain a genuine interest and have yet to make a final decision as to what it is I want to do with the future.

If you look at the following picture, you’ll see a visual representation of almost everything I’ve been a part of in a professional (or pseudo professional) capacity within the past 12 months, and for a select few, a little longer than that.

Marc Cizravi's involvement in the past 12 months...

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Facebook – FREE
This one goes without saying. You’re probably using facebook, and if you have an iPhone you may as well have the Facebook app so you can respond to messages or view them quickly in a pleasant interface. While viewing www.facebook.com is pretty seamless through their ‘mobile’ version, or even the full site through Safari, the Facebook app sometimes makes it faster and easier to do what you want to do!

Shazam – FREE; Shazam Encore/RED – $4.99
Shazam is an application that will listen to music that is playing (for about 15 seconds), creating a ‘tag’, and then scour it’s database, and give you an artist, album, and title (if it can find one. So, you’re in a bar, club, or in your car listening to the radio, a song comes on that you wish you knew the title to. Instead of trying to remember lyrics, asking friends, or searching the internet later, just pull your iPhone out, click Shazam, click Tag, and let it do the work for you.

I have a 95% success rate with this, and very rarely is Shazam unable to tag the music that’s playing. This app used to be ‘unlimited’, but recently the free version became a limit of 5 tags per month. Those who ‘purchased’ the app when it was unlimited, still have the benefit of that feature even with updates, but new users have to pay $4.99 for the ‘Encore’ version. They also have a RED version, in case you would like to donate money to help fight AIDS; a worthy cause.

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I’m going to apologize in advance for the lack of visual stimulus, I don’t have any repair invoices to scan, or any helpful aids to break from all the words. I unfortunately have to fit all my experience on the matter in one post, which is unfortunately going to come close to 2000 words.

If you’re reading this, I will hope that you’re fairly familiar with Apple as a company, and AppleCare as a service. Having spent a couple hundred hours in an Apple store, I can tell you that I’ve had lengthy discussions on the matter, and I’d like to clear the air. I hope that my words can now come as an impartial as I have been both an employee and customer of Apple in the past. I can also let you know that I currently hold no shares of Apple’s stock (AAPL), so there is no hidden agenda… I promise!

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I recently purchased a new 16GB iPhone 3GS, to replace the old 8GB iPhone 3G that I had been using since it’s release in July of 2008. I had long been coveting the upgrade, and was a little reluctant because I expect a new iPhone to be launched this June 2010, only 5 months away. I can’t say for certain, but I know that for the past three summers, 2007, 2008, and 2009, there has been a new iPhone released to the public; we can only assume that in the fast-changing environment of the ’smartphone’, Apple isn’t going to ease up on the race to majority marketshare.

Let’s have a closer look at all the differences between the 3GS and the 3G:

one: Speed.

The most considerable difference between the two devices is the “S”, which stands for speed. There is a substancial difference between the two devices in network transfer. I unfortunately don’t have a screenshot of the speed test I ran with my old Rogers 3G iPhone, but if you have a look at my Bell 3GS iPhone speed test, shown on the right, you’ll see that I’m getting close to 7Mbps, whereas with my Rogers phone I remember getting speeds closer to 3.2Mbps. This isn’t to say that Bell’s network is faster (I can’t speak to whether that’s true or not), because two different devices are being used. I imagine you would get the same speeds with a 3GS phone on the Rogers network. Regardless, the jump between devices is more than doubled in bandwidth; this makes a big difference for me, someone who uses his laptop on the road a lot and needs internet access on demand, through the iPhone’s tethering feature.

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During my brief time at Apple, it was this question that I probably answered more than any other. Sometimes they’d be referring to the iMac (the all-in-one desktop unit), the Macbook, Macbook Pro, or Macbook Air (the laptop selection), or perhaps the iPhone/iPod (portable phone and music players); nevertheless, some answers applied to all three, and some were a little more specific. Let me explore some of the answers I threw out, to customers who were looking at any of the products I’ve listed above.

one: The Store.

Regardless of what Apple product you purchase in the store, this place becomes a resource for you. Even if you buy your Apple gear at Futureshop or BestBuy, as soon as you’re an owner this place becomes a place for you. Everyone who works here is super friendly, and wants nothing more than to please you. When we see someone walk in with a laptop or desktop computer, (working or not) we pay double attention because we want those folks to know that the relationship doesn’t end with a purchase, it only begins.

If you’re ever have issues, questions, or just want to brainstorm something Apple you were thinking about this morning, we’re all here for you. Half of our Specialists are knowledgeable enough to fix random issues you’re having, so you can walk off the street without an appointment and pull one of us for 5 minutes. I’ll be honest with you when I say that I spent more than half my time at Apple, answering technical questions or applying quick fixes for people who were in a rush or without an appointment. We’re all here to help, and we’re happy to do it. If you ever are having legitimate repair-worthy issues (rare) that are beyond us, the Genius Bar takes appointments… right here in the store. Repairs are all done here, and your computer never leaves these doors unless it’s in your hands. All of our Genius’ (technicians) have had hands on training in Cupertino, where it all began.

note: It’s worth mentioning that we also have world-class phone support which you can access from the comfort of your home. More importantly, our phone support is located in NORTH AMERICA. You’re not calling India, Pakistan, or any other random outsourced region.

I’ve since realized that the benefits of the store really deserves it’s own article, so I’ll be putting one together. For now, I’ll be focussing on the question at hand.

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post temporarily removed until I consult a lawyer, RoFL at me, stay tuned

update January 25th 11:33am: I’ve got two people currently looking into this, an estimated week before this post gets a modified version restored, my voice will be [...]

You may want to reference this previous article that I wrote about computer virus’, before reading on; it would be beneficial to have a little background info before reading on.

1. Computer virus’ aren’t even a threat anymore; it’s a thing of the past. Your Mac doesn’t need AV software, nor has it ever, and your PC’s operating system (if it’s up to date) can protect itself. Unless you go looking, and finding, and executing a virus, you’re safe.
2. You can’t buy anti-virus software; you have to make on-going payments. It’s typically subscription based and you have to make payments once a year so that it’ll keep updating itself. On top of updating your operating system a couple times a month, you have to either remember to, or deal with updating your “anti-virus definitions” so that it can keep up. Can I ask why? Why are you updating two independant pieces of software to perform the same task? Does that not seem incredibly stupid?
3. If you’ve ever used AV software before you know that it has to be running at all times to perform. It’s “silently” running in the background, eating away at your processes; scanning and checking everything single little thing that you do. Believe me when I tell you that it isn’t a small piece of your computers strength; it’s very significant, and I can tell right away when I’m sitting at a computer with Norton “Protection Center” (as I hold my laughter back), or AVG, or some other garbage installed. It’s ridiculously slow.
   note: something tells me the two people in that image on Norton’s website are reading a big sign that reads “smile, if you’re a sucker”.

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There are many misconceptions out there regarding computer virus’. I’d like to clear some things up, and set the record straight for those of you who are less than fully informed.

What?

A virus is a piece of software that attaches itself to your computers operating system, and runs (usually) silently in the background. The nature of the virus can be:

• Annoy & Scam: Your computer will receive random internet pop ups; some will be for services or products being sold (sometimes legitimate, sometimes not), and the end goal is to produce profit. A small percentage of people will follow these pop ups, and either generate revenue by clicking the ad, or paying for a service/product that’s being offered. It’s often that you’re paying for something that doesn’t even exist; you run your credit card for a small (or sometimes large) amount, and receive nothing. gotcha!
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I use the internet a lot – every day. Anytime I need to look something up, or I need an answer; It’s no secret that it’s a tremendously useful resource, but I’m certain there are people out there who don’t use it to it’s full potential. It’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be half the guru I am today without access to the internet. Let’s talk about a few sites that have made my development possible.

6 Craigslist.org

If you’ve ever needed to sell something quickly, or buy something for cheap, you probably would have succeeded (or done so much faster) had you had Craigslist at your disposal. Craigslist is a free classifieds website where you can go to find, or to post, anything from sales of random household objects, to full job listings.

To use Craigslist efficiently, you have to be an educated consumer with enough patience to not let the scammers and fakes get to you. Unfortunately, since craigslist is free, online, and has little to no moderation, there are many people who post or try to buy with the intention of defrauding someone. The site does have a section on how to avoid/spot the scammers, which is worth a read if you’re a newbie. Not to worry though, a little common sense goes far; you’re likely to be able to weed them out yourself. I’ve personally gone through dozens of craigslist transactions, worry-free, with the occasional haggler who gets on my nerves, but can happily report that it’s been something that has helped me, tremendously.

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MobileMe is a nifty little feature that’s taken advantage of predominantly by (but not limited to) iPhone 3G & 3GS users. It offers a nifty little way of keeping everything in your life synced up, while adding some cool innovative (and oh so Apple worthy unique) features.

We’ll get to those, but first let’s take a look at how it works:

MobileMe uses ‘push’ technology, which means that it forces new data to your phone when it becomes available. This means that e-mail, contacts, calendar events, and more are all being sent to your phone in real time. No need to worry about connecting your phone with cables, or waiting for annoying sync times to process to add a simple phone number, or calendar event.

On top of this, you’re also granted an email account (a.name.of.your.choice@me.com), and 20GB of personal hard-drive space for your ‘cloud’. This cloud is what keeps all your information up to date and current. It means that no matter what happens to your personal computer or iPhone/iPod, your data is being stored somewhere ready to be downloaded should you lose/damage/get robbed/accidentally delete it. Oh, and I did say ‘personal computer’, it’s PC and Mac compatible.

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Recently my girlfriend had run into a little trouble with her cellphone service provider; having moved recently (with a less than functional phone), she had to get a new phone and a new plan. Long story short, she racked up a $600 phone bill due to a small error in setting her plan up. She wasn’t the only one to blame, but had been stuck with the final due, and after speaking with three different customer service representatives, each being increasingly ‘ranked’ with the company, I came to nothing short of a resolution.

Furious with the last person I spoke with on the phone (also known as ‘Warren’, floor manager’), I asked to speak to someone he was accountable to; not only because I wasn’t getting what I wanted, but because I was being treated poorly. He sent me to Koodo’s website informing me that “If you want to complain about me, you can email us through our website.” That I did, Warren:

some names, numbers and locations have been changed to protect privacy

The following was e-mailed to customerservice@koodomobile.com.

This is a serious & urgent matter that I expect to be addressed by the office of the president of customer service for Koodo mobile.

This matter is in regard to the customer service call that was made by me on behalf of account holder ‘Regina Lasko’ for Stephanie Birkitt (her daughter) who manages the account. Phone number is currently 123.456.7899. I’m speaking on both of their behalves in this matter, they’re being CC’ed and are aware of the situation, and are as infuriated as I am.

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