Looks like it’s Mac week here at It’s Geek To Me!  As I’ve previously said, I’m not much of a Mac expert.  If anybody out there, perhaps from a local Mac User’s Group, would like to step-up as a subject matter expert, I’d love to be able to use you as a resource when Mac-specific questions come up.  If you’re interested, you can contact me via my website, or e-mail me at Geek@ItsGeekToMe.co.

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 Q: I just got a Mac Book Pro and need someone to teach me how to use it.  Do you train people?  If not, could you please recommend someone who is reputable, patient and reasonably priced?

– Laura F.
Destin, Florida

 A: I, personally, do not train people individually.  I occasionally do lectures or other presentations for groups or the general public, but those are generally in the evenings, and on weekends.  Many of my readers don’t realize that this column is not my profession, but rather a sideline activity that is currently floating halfway between a hobby and a small business.  In addition to writing It’s Geek To Me, I have a full-time software engineering job, plus Spouse Peripheral, and our kids and grandkids to keep me busy.  I have commitments at church, and like everyone who owns a home, I have yard work, and a list of “honey-do” projects a mile long.  I also run a small property management business, and although fans enjoy the Geek Lights on the Corner only during the Christmas season, the show keeps me busy pretty-much year-round.  Suffice it to say that I simply do not have the time for one-on-one sessions, nor do I particularly have the desire to focus my attentions on a single person, when I have a means through this column to reach tens of thousands simultaneously.  However, as always, I want to help!  Hopefully, publishing your letter will bring-out someone who does this kind of work, and if this person will contact me, I will be more than happy to put them in touch with you.  Barring that, I did perform a Google search, and I got a positive hit on a company that provides training in your area.  The “patient and reasonably priced” part will be between you and them. 

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 Q: I have used IE computers for years. It seems like every 2 or 3 years I have to replace the computer for various reasons (one actually smoked). I am switching to Apple computers, with the hope that they will be more reliable. I have files that I need to transfer from the old system to the new system. Can this be done & if so how? Thank you for any help that you can provide.

– Joe H.
Crestview, Florida

 A:  I wish you had told me a little more about the files that you need to transfer, Joe.  It’s pretty easy to physically move the files, but the question is whether they will be useful once you get them onto the new computer.  For example, if you’re moving a bunch of pictures and music, there shouldn’t be a problem, since these file formats are not platform-specific, and there should be software on both platforms capable of opening and using the file.  But if you want to move documents with Microsoft-specific, or PC-specific formats, such as Microsoft Office documents (Word, Powerpoint, etc.), you’ll need compatible software on the new computer to make use of the files.  With that in mind, let’s get your files moved first.  One of the best, step-by-step explanations that I’ve seen is on the website wikiHow.  You can view it by visiting tinyurl.com/n9b7kfy.

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 Next week’s edition of It’s Geek To Me is issue #400!  Yes, I know it’s just a number, but it has lots of zeroes in it, and that makes me look at it extra hard.  The column’s 8^th birthday is also coming up in July.  Have we achieved legitimacy yet?

 

The Geek’s Website of the Week!

Name: Crossword Nexus

Nominated By: Reader Sandra O., Fort Walton Beack, Florida

URL: http://crosswordnexus.com/

Description: One of my few hold-overs from olden times is my newspaper. Yes, I still read an actual paper-edition of the news, made from actual trees. During the week, I enjoy my paper over lunch, and on the weekends, over breakfast. The last thing I do with the paper every weekday is the crossword puzzle.  I find them a nice diversion, and a way to help clear my mind so I can get back to work.  Usually.  Over time, I’ve come to the conclusion that some of the people who create these things must be utterly mad, based on the clues they use.  Some are so obscure that even I, the great and powerful Geek (pay no attention to the man behind the Google search) cannot divine with the correct answer.

Until now.  Thanks to today’s Website of the Week (which, by the way, is the very first WSOTW to be nominated by someone other than me, thank-you Sandra!) this is soon to become a problem of the past.  Crossword Nexus is a simple-to-use, yet quite powerful site that indexes crossword clues and answers.  It even lets you put in a pattern of letters that are already filled-in to help narrow down the results.

The site is ad-supported, so there’s no charge for getting that elusive answer that’s keeping you from completing a puzzle.  Crossword Nexus is also available as a smartphone app.  Installing it is as easy as scanning the QR code on their website (which is a totally cool use of technology, and I love it!).  And if you just can’t get enough crosswords, there is even an online store where they sell — you guessed it — crossword puzzles.