When I need info and assistance for the Mac? That’s what I am going to share in my blog with you this week. You don’t need to be formally taught to learn about as much as the pros do, you just need to know where to look for the info.

For example, I had a friend whose Blueberry iMac G3 just upped and died. We guessed it was the power supply. And while I have some experience in replacing components in Macs and PCs, this was going to be a tricky one, since this was an all-in-one computer and pretty much had to be stripped down to get to the power supply.

I performed a Google search and found a disassembly procedure for the exact Mac I was going to take apart, complete with photos. Then I went onto eBay to try to find a replacement, but I had no luck. Fortunately, I was registered with Blue Raven Technology (formerly Pre-Owned Electronics) and I was able to order one from there. Sweet! The Internet is truly a wonderful place. Put it to work for you.

News and Reviews
Want to buy an external hard drive, or a scanner, maybe a printer? Want to see what other people think of the computer and peripherals you just bought? How about recommending something to a friend or a client? These are some great places to look. The first two sites are Mac-specific. The other two are sites with a broader scope. All offer means to search their site. CNet has some great comparison tools, as well as written and video reviews and user comments, too. A word to the wise. Don’t get overwhelmed by user comments. For every one dissatisfied user who writes, there are ten satisfied ones who don’t. So stick with the facts and the opinions of some of the reviewers. Check the user comments last. Another note, Consumer Reports allows free access to a limited range of articles. The whole site can be accessed for a monthly fee.

MacAddict
MacUser
CNet
Consumer Reports

News and Rumors
Want the dish on the latest Mac happenings? Know about new software or hardware before it’s official? Check out these sites for some potentially revealing information.

MacCentral
MacRumors
Think Secret

Parts
Parts is parts, right? Wrong! Macintosh replacement parts and used systems are not always easy to come by, one of the only downsides to Apple’s grip on its product. But you can find parts from these and other dealers who can offer warranties, advanced exchanges and trade-ins.

Blue Raven Technology
PBParts
PowerMax
Shreve Systems

Reference
Install memory, replace the hard drive, or for the adventurous, overclock your processor. If you need to get into your Mac, these are some of the places that can be useful. Mactracker is the only program mentioned in this article, because it’s like the Britannica for Mac specs. Comes in a Windows application, too, oddly enough. Everything from port listings to startup chimes, it has it all. And it’s free!

PowerBookMedic
AccelerateYourMac
Mactracker
Apple Specifications

Troubleshooting
I have found that users are some of the best sources of solutions for my clients woes and the best place to find them is on various discussion boards. Apple’s is almost always one of my first stops when looking for similar situations, many hardware and software manufacturers also maintain their own boards, like Adobe/Macromedia and Quark. Then there are some specific tech sites, like MacFixIt, Macintouch and the X Lab. And of course, you can almost always find help using an internet search engine like Google. Like Consumer Reports MacFixIt can be fully accessed by yearly subscription. But if you are looking for that type of info a lot, then it’s worth it.

A special mention for VersionTracker – I go there every day. Updates, upgrades, patches, shareware and freeware can all be found on the site. The most commonly recurring problems can be solved by running the latest version of your apps or finding just the right utility to help in a particular situation. You can even subscribe and get the software that scans your system and have it tell you whether there is a more current version available and then download it!

Apple Discussion Boards
Manufacturer’s Discussion Boards
MacFixIt
Macintouch
The X Lab
VersionTracker
Google

Some of these sites could be listed under more than one category, I just placed them in the category I might refer to them most often. Of course, I’m sure there are other sites as well. Feel free to mention them by adding your comments below.