Is there any difference between hard drives (portable or installable) that are "Macintosh-formatted" and those that report they are "For Windows PCs"?
    Yes, there are two important differences but only one you should be concerned with.
    Out of the box, a "Macintosh-formatted" hard drive will only work with a Mac. A hard drive "For Windows PCs" will only work in a PC environment in most cases. That difference is largely inconsequential because Macs and PCs both have the tools on-board to reformat a hard drive to work with their own operating system.
    The only real difference is price -- generally hard drives pre-formatted for Macintosh cost more than drives formatted for use with Windows hardware.
    It is a supply and demand thing. Internally, hard drives are essentially identical; only the transitory formatting differentiates them. Note that many external drives are marketed primarily as data backup devices and are bundled with proprietary backup software that only works with a Mac or a PC, respectively (rarely both). As both Macs and PCs are equipped with their own backup software, it is unnecessary to preserve the bundled software if the drive needs to be erased and reformatted.
   Selecting a hard drive for a specific purpose is a fairly easy task. However, there are other considerations beyond formatting and we can help walk you through all of the factors to be aware of when purchasing a new hard drive, either for installation inside a computer or for use externally.

    There are a lot of advertisements today promoting various providers of higher and higher Internet speeds for home users. How do I choose an Internet provider and what speed do I really need?
   There are several factors that affect the best choice for home Internet service. Internet speeds are marketed by megabits per second (Mb/sec), with higher speeds commanding higher prices. Now that slow dial-up Internet has gone away for most homes, "high-speed" Internet can be anything from 1.5 Mb/sec to more than 50 Mb/sec. Interestingly, even the fastest home Internet connections today are far below what is available to educational and corporate users (which often can be more than 1000 Mb/sec).
   There are several ways Internet can be delivered. For the home user, the Internet provider and speed decisions come down to what is available (physical location affects both the delivery medium and speed of service that can be established), cost, and how the household uses the Internet.
   If most Internet use in the home is primarily e-mail, even the slowest speed is generally quite adequate. Throw in a fair amount of web browsing, music downloads, then the situation could require at least 6 Mb/sec service. If users view NetFlix or HBONow regularly, 12 Mb/sec should usually fill the bill nicely. But if one uses an online data backup service or needs to deal with very large file transfers on a regular basis, then it makes sense to explore getting the fastest service available in the area at an acceptable price. The total number of connected Internet devices in the home is also something to be aware of.
    Of course everyone's situation is different and we are starting to see some genuine competition among Internet providers for your business. We will help you sort out the costs, benefits and other factors that need to be considered when looking at Internet providers' services.

    I depend primarily on wi-fi wireless Internet in my house but there are locations where the signal is very weak. How can I improve my wi-fi coverage?
    Wi-fi is a great thing but its coverage, even under the best of circumstances, is usually limited to 150 feet or so from its source.
   The first way to maximize coverage is to have the Internet provider install the wireless router initially in a location central to anticipated wi-fi use. The location should not be blocked by an intervening stone or masonry wall and, ideally, it should offer some elevation above the planned coverage area. Thus it is generally not a good idea to originate the wi-fi signal in a basement surrounded by cinderblock, in a stone-lined alcove near a fireplace, or in a room at the end of a long hall away from users.
   Also, resist the temptation to invest in devices marketed as wi-fi "range extenders." They often tend to be unreliable and even if they provide a boosted signal in a previously weak coverage area, they almost always do so at a significant reduction in overall Internet performance.
   We can help you decide on the best location for a new wi-fi installation, help you optimize an existing installation and, if necessary, provide the means to install a secondary wi-fi source in your home that will not compromise the quality of your Internet connection.

    Here's a late-breaking news item of interest to Macintosh users of Microsoft Office 2011!
    In mid-May, Microsoft released an update for Office 2011 (update 14.5) that caused a serious problem for some users employing Outlook 2011 for e-mail. The update was intended to resolve a security problem in the 2011 Office suite of software but inadvertently caused the main window in Outlook to become hidden. Microsoft subsequently issued update 14.5.1 to address the security issue and also resolve the Outlook main window disappearance generated by the earlier update.
    If you a Mac user of Microsoft Office 2011, you should "Check for Updates" under the Help menu in any Office 2011 application and apply the 14.5.1 update if it is not already installed. The Windows version of Office was not affected by this problem.
    Normally it is always a good practice to update software when the vendor releases such changes. This is one of the very rare instances where an update introduced a problem for some users and the vendor promptly took steps to resolve it.