The Digital Plumber
Apple Macintosh® consultancy, networking
storage & support for the discerning creative
Live Tech Support: 0911 752 0700
Enquiries: +44 7930 312554
Click to send email to me
- New on the site: Migrating to iCloud
I write a bi-monthly column on all things Macintosh in The Association of Photographers' IMAGE Magazine, and an occasional column in The British Institute of Professional Photography's 'The Photographer' Magazine.
- IMAGE magazine articles
- The Photographer Magazine articles
- Surviving Breakdowns
- The List: software I find useful
- The Sites: websites and blogs of interest
The Plumber's Shop
IMPORTANT: The importer and distributor from whom I obtained the products featured in this Shop, A M Micro Distribution Ltd., appears to have ceased trading. This happened without warning towards the end of April 2010. I will make my best endeavours to honour warranties on goods I have sold.
Some advice: the Sonnet D400Q, while in every other respect an excellent unit, can suffer from fragile FireWire ports. The ports seem to stop working, or only work in certain configurations. I have found it difficult to get the fault repaired. If your D400Q displays these symptoms I suggest you use its eSATA or USB connections until I can arrange alternative sources of repair.
Sonnet remains an excellent brand and can be had at good prices from www.span.com. Unfortunately the D400Q is no longer available new, having been replaced by the less useful RAID-only D400QR5.
RocStor
hard disk enclosures
Sonnet Fusion
hard disk enclosures
Wiebetech RTX
hard disk enclosures
Books
Calls to tech support cost £1 per minute from a BT phone. Charges from other operators may vary. Line open 9am - 6pm weekdays. Macintosh and iPhone are registered trade marks of Apple, Inc.
Straightforward, knowledgeable, experienced, jargon-free, affordable, quick response. London & South-East England.
HOW I WORK
• I'm an Apple Macintosh® consultant. I have over 20 years of experience working with Macintosh computers and bring that experience and knowledge to bear on every system I specify and problem I troubleshoot. For quality of life reasons I'm afraid I don't do Windows PC's. Sorry.
• I'm also a working photographer and AoP member, which gives me a deep insight into how photographers use their Macintoshes and enables me to optimise their systems to best serve their needs.
• Consequently, my client base is largely composed of commercial and advertising photographers, who represent my preferred type of client: high-turnover sole traders and micro-businesses. I understand their world and they understand mine. I don't tender for work or offer support contracts, bulk discounts, "guaranteed service levels" or work for medium or large companies. If you are one of these, Google will offer a choice of more suitable IT service providers for you.
• I work by appointment and make my best efforts to be punctual. Nonetheless I respond as soon as I possibly can to emergencies and, in so doing, may be forced to delay a previously-scheduled visit. I ask you to be understanding, on the basis that should you have a similar crisis, you in turn will move to the head of the queue.
FEES
• I charge a flat rate of £75 per hour for consultancy on-site, with a £40 callout charge within the area of London bounded by the North and South Circular roads. Outside of this area my callout charge varies according to mileage and/or journey time. My minimum on-site consultancy charge is for one hour. I use remote control and diagnostic software whenever I can to minimise callouts, and for this service I bill in 15-minute increments.
• My premium rate technical support number will cost you £1 per minute from a BT landline, of which I receive about 70p. This number is only available within the UK: if you are calling from outside the UK, please dial +44 7930 312554 and I will time and invoice your call in my usual 15-minute increments. Please be aware of time zone differences.
• I offer 30 days credit for consultancy to established clients with a good payment record. New clients must settle my bill at the end of my work session for them.
• Invoices for equipment sales must be settled on receipt. All product descriptions and prices E&OE.
AND FINALLY...
• Computers are complex. Despite it being very reliable, there are an almost infinite number of ways in which your Macintosh can misbehave. Nearly all software has bugs. Despite my best endeavours I can never guarantee to be able to fix your problem, simply because its underlying cause may turn out to be beyond my control and influence. That is why I don't offer a "no fix, no fee" service.
Links to software, sites, blogs and organisations that I find useful.
- Site Map: find what you're looking for here
- The List: software
- The Sites: websites and blogs
- The Association of Photographers: I'm also a commercial photographer and this is my professional association
