A letter from Craig Hirai / Amy Wooden of macUpgrades:

Dear Former macUpgrades Customer,

We are pleased to let you know that MacMedics, in Lanham, Maryland, has purchased all the assets of macUpgrades. Dana Stibolt, President, and Kory Barrett, Vice President, have been a real pleasure to work with, as we have completed this rather complicated transaction. Their professionalism and competence have been most refreshing. We would encourage you, your friends and neighbors, and your business to work with MacMedics as you would have worked with macUpgrades.

Thank you, again, for all your support over the years. We hope you will give MacMedics the same loyal support.

Kindest regards,

Craig Hirai and Amy Wooden

–

You can jump to the newest information available as it is now posted on the MacMedics website by clicking here.

macUpgrades of Bethesda, Maryland, a long-time Apple Authorized Specialist lost their lease, and sadly they have closed their doors after supporting the Bethesda and Washington DC area’s Macintosh community for more than 20-years. In an effort to continue and preserve their long standing legacy of Apple service and repair and to provide outstanding support to their long-time clientele, we enthusiastically welcome former macUpgrades clients to MacMedics!

macUpgrades has endorsed MacMedics as their recommended Macintosh sales and service provider. We are proud to have earned their endorsement and pledge to do our very best to provide previous macUpgrades customers with the high level of support that MacMedics and macUpgrades are both famous for.

Like MacMedics, macUpgrades had been serving the area’s Macintosh community for more than 20-years. We hope to be able to continue their tradition of outstanding support to Apple customers no matter where they are located. MacMedics is both an Apple Authorized Service Provider, and an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, so MacMedics is a logical and natural fit for long-time Macintosh clients who have been serviced over the years by macUpgrades.

As was the case with macUpgrades, MacMedics is Apple Authorized to resell the entire Apple line of products. That means that MacMedics can supply Apple Macintosh computers, Apple iPads, Apple iPods, and the Apple TV. The only item not available from Apple Specialists or Apple Authorized Resellers is the Apple iPhone. That item must be purchased from Apple, AT&T, Verizon and a small handful of other retailers like Radio Shack and WalMart.

Click on the picture below to see pictures of the MacMedics Washington DC office:

We welcome former macUpgrades clients to contact the Washington DC office of MacMedics for Macintosh service, sales, and support.

We can be reached by telephone Monday – Friday 8:30 to 5:00 at:

1-888-4-DC-MACS (1-888-432-6227)

or anytime via e-mail at: DCservice@macmedics.com

Please stay tuned to http://www.macmedics.com/macupgrades for more information as it becomes available.

Thinking of stopping by one of The Apple Stores in Bethesda or Georgetown for a Mac Repair? We offer a number of compelling reasons to visit MacMedics instead. Our clients tell us that the number one reason that people come visit MacMedics for Mac service vs. The Apple Store is that no appointments are ever required to receive expert Mac repair. Also we offer 24-hour warranty repair (for most warranty repairs), Low cost rental computers (if needed), 1-year parts and labor warranty on all out-of-warranty repairs (The Apple Store only offers a 90-day warranty), Hard Drive upgrades (The Apple Store will only replace your drive with the same size), Advanced Macintosh Data Recovery, and we repair all Apple computers right here in our shop. We do not ship units out for “Depot Repair” as is the practice for many cases at The Apple Store. Plus, we offer a VIP repair program for Walk-In service that blows the doors off of Apple’s One-To-One, Joint Venture, or even AppleCare. Our VIP repair program can cover your future repairs for as little as $99 (Mac Pros and MacBook Pros are $149).
Also, we love to talk on the phone. You do not need to be a client to call and talk shop. Call us to discuss your Mac problem or purchase a new Mac today: 1-888-4-DC-MACS

Update 4/15/11: A list of winners from last night’s Addy Awards appear in the Baltimore Business Journal. Congratulations to MacMedics clients Pivec Advertising and Planit!

Update 4/13/11: Event is sold out with 320 of Baltimore’s Creative Community attending.

MacMedics Is A Sponsor Of The American Advertising Federation Of Baltimore ADDY 2011 Awards Show. This year’s theme is Mad Men, so we’ve cooked up a Mac Men themed ad in the spirt of the red and black Mad Men logo.

MacMedics is a sponsor of The American Advertising Federation of Baltimore ADDY Awards Show for more information see this link.

The 37th annual Addy Awards Show will be held on Thursday, April 14, 2011 at the Sheraton Baltimore North Hotel located at 903 Dulaney Valley Rd., Towson, MD 21204.

MacMedics is the ONLY Apple Authorized Service Provider and the only independent Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller In Prince George’s County, Maryland. MacMedics’ office in Lanham is also one of the closest Apple Authorized Service Providers to the Annapolis Apple Store. (The other being the MacMedics office in Millersville, MD.) So if you’ve got a tough Macintosh repair problem that the Apple Store could not solve, then we are one of the closest places to come get a second opinion.

(The only other Apple Reseller in PG county, other than MacMedics is Best Buy in College Park, MD.)

If you need Macintosh help, training, Apple Authorized Service, or Apple Authorized Sales assistance without the hassle of:

D. Trying to first get an appointment with an Apple Genius, and then not really getting enough time to really pick their brains for expert Macintosh advice.

It’s also important to know that the Apple Store does not perform data recovery. If you think your data is at risk, setting up your computer on the Genius Bar to copy your data, is not a good idea. As hard drives fail, they generate heat, and as the generate heat they fail more. We’ll remove the drive from your computer and put it right on our data recovery equipment to try and rescue your data. Our fee for this type of recovery is only $199. Read more here.

(Plus as an added bonus ALL Macintosh laptop repairs are performed locally right here in or shop. The Apple Store will often send your laptop away for Apple Depot Service)

Our expert Apple Certified employees stand ready to help at anytime. We are super proud to be an award-winning Apple Authorized Service Provider and Authorized Apple Reseller AND Certified Members of the Apple Consultants Network (and MacMedics is the ONLY ACN member located in Prince Georges County, Maryand. We’re a great alternative to either buying a new Mac or bringing a sick Mac computer to the Mall. MacMedics is also a multiple repeat winner of Apple’s “Commitment To Excellence Award”. In fact, we’re the only Apple Authorized Service Provider In Anne Arundel or Prince Georges counties to win this award according to Apple. This award recognizes us for several things, but most importantly for accuracy and speed of Macintosh repairs. There’s a reason that MacMedics is the most frequently referred service firm for tough Mac service cases, like LCD replacements, liquid damage, vintage or obsolete Mac equipment, and Macintosh data recovery. With well over 50,000 in-lab and on-site service cases and our staff’s combined Mac experience of over 200 years, MacMedics IS the place to bring your sick Mac!

We also perform Hard Drive Upgrades (under warranty or not) and expert Macintosh Data Recovery, two things you simply can’t get at ANY Apple Store. Plus, if you do need a new hard drive, we can upgrade the size, speed, and you get a 3-year warranty, compared to like-for-like hard drive swap at the Apple Store, plus there you only get a 90 day warranty.

Come visit either of our TWO fully-staffed and stocked Macintosh Service & Sales locations in Lanham, MD (1 Mile from I-495/I-95 just inside the Beltway of off Rt 50 and Martin Luther King Hwy.) or in Millersville, MD (near BWI Airport 1/10 of a mile from I-97).

For folks that live in Anne Arundel County or more specifically, Annapolis, Davidsonville, or Bowie and work in the Washington DC metro area, MacMedics in Lanham, Maryland IS the most convenient option for Apple sales and service. We stock all of the most common Apple, computers, iPads, iPods, and Apple accessories, like MacBook & MacBook Pro batteries, G4 and MagSafe power adapters, back up hard drives, and FireWire & USB cables. Also, in comparison to the Apple Store, our Apple Warranty and AppleCare service is the fastest. Most Apple warranty repairs are generally complete within 24 hours. With our Lanham office being 1 minute from RT 50, it’s super easy to get to us and drop off your repairs quickly. Pull up right at our office door and you can be inside in 10 steps.

Got a problem? Wanna’ talk about it? Just pick up the phone and call your nearest MacMedics office. It’s unlikely that you can get anyone at the Apple Store on the phone, and most other places just send you to voicemail. You will only get voicemail here if everysing phone line we have is tied up (and that does happen).

MacMedics has been in business and fixing Macs all over town since before the Apple Store or anyone else. We are very proud to have just celebrated our 21st anniversary servicing the Baltimore, Annapolis, and Washington DC areas.

One other great thing about coming to visit us, is the fact that parking is here is not an issue, and it’s free and 10 easy steps right into our office. So, avoid the time consuming search for parking when you’re trying to find someplace to park the Mall.

Be sure to read one of our most popular Blog posts about why coming to MacMedics makes so much sense at http://www.NOappointments.com.

I showed up at MacMedics with the worst case scenario – years of (yet to be published) dissertation data on my MacBook Pro, which I had not dutifully backed up recently enough, and my hard drive was swimming due to a spilled drink into the keyboard. Within 4 days, MacMedics saved my computer, all of my data, and replaced my hard drive. I have learned my lesson and am backing up my data as I type! MacMedics was amazing, keeping me informed on a daily, if not twice daily basis, and saved my data and MacBook. I would go NOWHERE else for any Apple services!

Kristi S.
Easton, Maryland

Setting up a new Macintosh can be overwhelming. There are often a number of new applications that need to be installed and unfamiliar tasks that need to be performed. When you combine all of these new things at once with the excitement of a new computer installation and a complex data transfer, often, crucial elements can be overlooked.

MacMedics offers One-On-One Macintosh training for our clients. We’ll consult with you at your home or office (or our office) to help you get everything you need working, without overlooking something important like your back up system.

We can help with:

• iCal Mobile Me Syncing
• iPhone, iPod, or iPad Syncing
• iPhoto photo importing and management
• Time Machine and Time Capsule set up
• Off-site back ups
• Basic Macintosh operation

Most MacMedics Technicians have more than 10-years of hands-on Macintosh experience. Our passion is the Macintosh platform, and for over 21 years, we’ve been helping new and experienced Macintosh users make their Macs perform the tasks that are crucial to their needs.

Set up your own One-On-One Macintosh training session today! Call us at 1-866-MAC-MEDICS

Our customers continue to be impressed with our level of dedication to the Apple Macintosh platform. This is a comment from one of our clients, who we helped recently:

I’ve been a customer of Mac Medics for 15 years. You will not find a more honest, helpful Mac repair shop. They have been there for every Mac emergency I’ve had, from the minor keyboard repair to major data recovery. They are proactive on every level, asking the right questions to make your data is safe and your computer is running at top speed. Trust me when I say take it to MacMedics instead of standing in line for a “genius”!

We’ve helped Dr. Brooks with a number of Mac service issues over the years. He was kind enough to send us this note last week. You can also read this over on the MacMedics Testimonials web page.

Thursday, 23 December 2010

International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
Dhaka, Bangladesh

One of our medical clients posted this review for Jeff, one of our Macintosh Engineers here in the Baltimore office:

Jeff is like Mac Batman! All I have to do is shine my “Apple symbol” in the sky and he flies in to save the day. Jeff is amazing, and for an all Mac, completely digital orthodontic office, Jeff has always been very patient and kind to all of our staff and nothing less than professional when he is in our office while our doctors are with patients. If you have any Mac needs no matter what the software program you are using, Mac Medics is the only choice for support. The staff at MacMedics work well together as a team and when Jeff is out saving the day for another client I am directed to another technician who is more than pleased to help me troubleshoot my Mac problem. I am so pleased with the service and care provided by MacMedics that I just had to take a moment out of a very hectic day to let you know. If you have a Mac, then MacMedics is where you need to be.

MacMedics is Washington, DC & Baltimore’s Original, Independent Mac Shop Since 1989 and we just expanded by buying one of our former competitors, Apple Specialist, macUpgrades of Bethesda, Maryland. Like MacMedics, macUpgrades was also founded in 1989. You can read more about this purchase on our website at http://www.macmedics.com/macupgrades.

Our purchase of macUpgrades now makes MacMedics the oldest Macintosh service and consulting firm in Maryland. MacMedics are Apple Authorized Value Added Resellers and Apple Authorized Service Providers, as well as Certified Members of The Apple Consultants Network. MacMedics has been in business and fixing Macs all over Maryland since way, way before the Apple Store or anyone else. In fact, our headquarters in Millersville AND our location in Lanham are larger than most Apple Stores, and our Mac Service Lab has over 100 feet of bench space.

MacMedics was founded in the Annapolis, Maryland area in 1989 by Dana Stibolt during a time when Apple Service was kind of a side business for Apple Dealers. MacMedics began offering an alternative to the stuffy Apple Dealer mentality of the “Service Department”.

Two things:

1. All Apple service was carry-in only, and generally pretty slow. Plus, it was a burden to our clients to be without a computer for a week, so MacMedics came to you and performed your Macintosh service both quickly and inexpensively.

2. The Apple service warranty then AND now is only 90 days. Nobody else offers a full one year warranty on out of warranty Apple repairs. When you choose MacMedics over the Apple store and other Apple Service locations for your broken Macintosh, you get a 1-year warranty parts and labor on whatever repair you had performed.

MacMedics is the only Mac shop that offers a low-cost extended warranty that includes ALL parts AND labor (for replacing bad parts). For MacBooks, Mac minis, and iMacs, pay just $99 for our Walk In Service Plan and your entire Mac is covered for a year (MacBook Pros and Mac Pros are $149). Also, with WISP, you get two free check ups per year and three phone or remote support incidents. Plus, if your Mac needs service down the road, your repair will be moved to the top of our repair queue for FREE priority Mac service.

With our army of Apple Certified Technicians and Consultants, MacMedics serves the entire Mid-Atlantic region with the area’s largest fleet of Apple loaner/rental hardware. MacMedics also stocks an amazing array of Apple Service parts, new and used Macintosh computers, hard drives, computer memory modules, software, and a TON of other accessories and Apple related items. Plus, with our purchase of macUpgrades we now also have all of their retail inventory at Millersville and Lanham, as well as their own massive collection of Apple Service parts which when combined with our collection, might be the Mid-Atlantic’s largest and most complete Apple Service part inventory. Also, with our combined inventories and stockpile of junked Macintosh computers of all types, we have an enormous collection of obsolete and vintage parts that can be harvested and used to repair a Mac that is too old for the Apple Store to even check in for service.

It’s also important to note that MacMedics is a Maryland based and locally owned company. When you’re working to support locally owned businesses in your community and keeping the dollars in the local economy, don’t forget about MacMedics. There are other Mac companies operating in Maryland that are not based in this state (for instance, the Apple Store is not a locally owned company). It’s also important to note, that MacMedics has had only one owner in it’s history (Dana Stibolt), so unlike some firms, our roots are deep in both the Macintosh community and in Maryland.

If you need Macintosh assistance, help, training, Apple Authorized Service, Apple Authorized Sales, iPhone, iPod, or iPad repairs without the hassle of:

D. Trying to first get an appointment with an Apple Genius, and then not really getting enough time to really pick their brains for expert Macintosh advice.

It’s also important to know that the Apple Store does not perform data recovery. If you think your data is at risk, setting up your computer on the Genius Bar to copy your data, is generally not a good idea. As hard drives fail, they generate heat, and as they generate heat they fail more. We’ll remove the drive from your computer and put it right on our data recovery equipment to try and rescue your data. Our fee for this type of recovery is only $199, for any size, single hard drive. Read more here.

(Plus, as an added bonus ALL Macintosh laptop repairs are performed locally right here at MacMedics. The Apple Store will often send your laptop away for Apple Depot Service where it’s out of your control and their’s)

Our expert Apple Certified employees stand ready to help at anytime. As a two time “Best of Baltimore” designated Mac Repair Shop, we are super proud to be an award-winning Apple Authorized Service Provider and Authorized Apple Value Added Reseller. We’re a great alternative to either buying a new Mac or bringing a sick Mac computer to the Mall. We’re famous for our “Computer Store on the corner” personal service.

MacMedics is also a multiple repeat winner of Apple’s “Commitment To Excellence Award”. In fact, we’re the only Apple Authorized Service Provider In Anne Arundel or Prince Georges counties to win this award according to Apple. MacMedics IS the ONLY Apple Authorized Service Provider and the only independent Apple Authorized Reseller in all of Prince George’s county in Maryland.

The Commitment To Excellence Award recognizes MacMedics for several things, but most importantly for accuracy and speed of Macintosh repairs. There’s a reason that MacMedics is the most frequently referred service firm for tough Mac service cases, like LCD replacements, liquid damage, vintage or obsolete Mac equipment, and Macintosh data recovery. With well over 60,000 in-lab and on-site service cases and our staff’s combined Mac experience of over 200 years, MacMedics IS the place to bring your sick Mac!

Speaking of speed of Apple repairs, nobody is FASTER than MacMedics. In 90% of Apple Warranty or AppleCare repairs that come in for service, we have the repair complete and back in the customer’s hands in less than 24 hours. Not fast enough for you? We have a number of rental computers of all Apple models, so if you’re having a Macintosh Emergency, we have a way to keep things running for you.

We also perform Hard Drive Upgrades (under warranty or not) and expert Macintosh Data Recovery, two things you simply can’t get at ANY Apple Store. Plus, if you do need a new hard drive, we can upgrade the size, speed, and you get a 3-year warranty, compared to like-for-like hard drive swap at the Apple Store, plus there you only get a 90 day warranty.

Come visit either of our TWO fully-staffed and stocked Macintosh Service & Sales locations in Millersville, MD (near BWI Airport 1/10 of a mile from I-97) or in Lanham, MD (1 Mile from I-495/I-95 just inside the Beltway of off Rt 50 and Martin Luther King Hwy.)

Got a problem? Wanna’ talk about it? Just pick up the phone and call your nearest MacMedics office. It’s unlikely that you can get anyone at the Apple Store on the phone, and most other places just send you to voicemail. You will only get voicemail here if everysing phone line we have is tied up (and that does happen).

One other great thing about coming to visit us, is the fact that parking is here is not an issue, and it’s free and 10 easy steps right into our office. So, avoid the soul-sapping search for parking when you’re trying to find someplace to park in Bethesda, Hampden, Fells Point, or at the Mall.

Apple has released Snow Leopard 10.6.5. This is a MAJOR software update and it should installed ONLY if you have a TESTED and WORKING back up system, and that you’re not in the middle of a production deadline.

Our advice for MacMedics clients regarding this update, is NOT to install it right away. We recommend waiting at least a few days before installing it. Also, if you have multiple Macintosh computers that need this update, just install it on one computer to start. If you’re a MacMedics client that we see on a regular basis, we will install this update for you when it has been fully vetted.

URGENT: Every time Apple releases a software update, we see several dead hard drives the next day. Please read our UPDATE WARNINGs page which can be found here, before you install this software update.

The 10.6.5 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

Improve reliability with Microsoft Exchange servers

Address performance of some image-processing operations in iPhoto and Aperture

Address stability and performance of graphics applications and games
Resolve a delay between print jobs

Address a printing issue for some HP printers connected to an AirPort Extreme

Resolve an issue when dragging contacts from Address Book to iCal

Address an issue where dragging an item from a stack causes the Dock to not automatically hide

Resolve an issue with Wikipedia information not displaying correctly in Dictionary

Improve performance of MainStage on certain Mac systems

Resolve spacing issues with OpenType fonts

Improve reliability with some Bluetooth braille displays

Resolve a VoiceOver issue when browsing some web sites with Safari 5

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4250.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.