We’re passionate about helping people get the most from technology.
We’re not here for the computers, we’re here for the people. If you want a partner to help you use technology better to protect and grow your company, you’re in the right place!
We are not grumpy, secretive, self-righteous IT people. There’s a better way to help people keep up with the ever-changing technological landscape. That includes helping develop processes and documentation, teaching best practices, and doing important management work while keeping an eye on the future.
Typically, sophisticated technology services are not tailored to or priced for small businesses. We believe small businesses need proactive, protective, holistic IT services just as much as larger companies do. We get tremendous satisfaction in helping our clients’ companies be safer and more productive.
People centered IT
History
We started our Mac games & accessories business in 1997 in Washington state during the dawn of the Internet. In 2000, we made the move to Nevada and settled in Sparks. We continued with the e-commerce business in our home but after a year, the phone book came out and we started getting calls for people needing help with their Macs. We decided to look for a commercial location to fill this need for Northern Nevada Mac users. We opened a brick and mortar store focused on Apple computers and related technology and were authorized by Apple to sell and repair their hardware. Eventually, Apple opened their store at the Summit Mall in South Reno. Competing with an Apple Store that is 15 minutes away is not feasible, so we shifted our focus from retail to repair and consulting services, which is our happy place!
Meet Jason
I started my foray into computers and related technology when I was in junior high. It was mainly to play games on the Commodore 64 and I kept on the video game path until I met my wife and started to get exposed to Macintosh hardware and software. She has always been a Mac user. This was back in the 1990's when the Internet was starting to boom with commerce, video and all the other stuff that makes it what it is today, for better or worse. With the Macintosh, I started to be productive and start to do some work on the Mac. With my wife, Alicia and her sisters, Alissa and Michele, we built a website that sold Macintosh games and gaming peripherals. We were up and running within a month. This was also my first exposure to FileMaker and programming for websites. We used FileMaker as our database backend and we also used it to build our systems that ran our business.
I have an innate ability to troubleshoot and fix software systems. I can look at software interfaces and how software behaves to either get it to do what I want, figure out why it isn't working, or quickly conclude that it isn't capable of doing what I want. We have spent a lot of time optimizing processes to make them more efficient and eliminate double-entry for our customers. I really enjoy doing that. I love discovering ways to make a system work better or finding a novel way to eliminate tasks that waste time.
Today, my main focus is FileMaker development and connecting it to ecommerce and other systems. I still spend time troubleshooting and solving issues with Macs and Windows computers, but my passion is software development.
I enjoy spending time with my wife and our daughters. Simply sitting in the family room and watching Star Trek (any series) with them is a perfect evening of contentment filled with laughter. I also enjoy taking road trips with them to the Oregon or California coasts. I enjoy cooking, especially tending a slow and low cook on the Barbeque. Science fiction and horror movies are top of my list and I have read the Dune series from Frank Herbert so many times, it's the only books I remember reading.
Meet Alissa
Alissa is a fountain of facts and trivia. Ask her anything! When she’s not helping people with their technology, she’s happily cuddling one of our chihuahuas or collecting lots of rocks.
At Mac-O-Rama, she's our hardware focused technician extraordinaire. She can take apart and reassemble any Mac in under 5 minutes, blindfolded. She started her illustrious career in electronics at the bright age of 5 years old, helping her dad build a shiny new Heathkit computer from RadioShack. It brought the family hours of entertainment and frustration – typical of the early years of personal computing.
She teamed up with Jason, Alicia and the rest of the family to start and build Mac-O-Rama in the 1990's and has been developing new skills ever since. This year, she's doing some cool micro-soldering projects (component level repair) for clients and for fun. We are hoping to build this part of our program to continue our mission to prevent e-waste – it's much better to repair than to replace!
Meet Alicia
Our family has run small businesses for nearly three decades, so I know the highs and lows of business ownership. Because our business is in an industry that’s constantly reinventing, we’ve become masters of the art of change.
From the time I was a child, my parents taught me and my siblings to be helpers. The ones who stop and help a stranded motorist, baby birds, lost dogs… Pretty much anyone who needs a hand. The desire to help is built into my DNA and informs my personal and business ethics.
Outside the office, my favorite activites are spending time with family and our dogs, gardening and cooking. I have deep interests in human-centered computing, economics, politics, social issues and the great outdoors.
We can help.
Over 75 years combined experience
We started off in the Mac software retail experience, became experts in how to repair Apple products and today to are Reno’s leader in Mac centric IT support in mixed computing environments.
You should be able to sleep at night
You’re an expert in your business for a reason. IT and all tech support is not why you are successful. Use all of our experience to grow your business.