92
 Former Guides Now Listed

Guide: Ryan Faas

Called Home By the Mothership (it was shaped like an AirPort BaseStation)

Fore nearly five years, I was About's Guide to Mac Hardware. I'd been a Mac user since high school and my resume included stints as a web page designer, hardware/software/networking consultant and trainer, business sales of computer system, all specializing in the Mac. During the time I worked for About, I also added a publishing credit as the author of "Troubleshooting, Maintaining, and Repairing Macs": a 1200 page book that went further into explaining the inner workings of the Mac and how to fix them than any Mac book ever had.

Unlike many ex-Guides, I was not fired or laid off by About. I chose to quit in the summer of 2001 when I was offered a job by Apple in one of the new Apple stores. The decision wasn't easy, because working for Apple not only meant giving up About (which wasn't really hard, as I figured the company would go under completely or lay me off pretty soon anyway), but also any other Macintosh writing, since I would have access to various types of internal information. In the end, being me, I had to take the job with Apple as a Mac Genius (which in many ways is the real-life equivalent of what I did as a Guide: help people find the resources they need to work with their Mac, choose the products they need, and provide support when they have problems). So, I can now be found behind the Genius Bar in the Albany/Crossgates NY Apple store.

• Apple Computer
• R.J. Cam

Contact Ryan at: rjfaas@mac.com