Mac Alliance

KEN JUST SAVED MY LIFE AND COMPUTER. My computer wasn’t starting up and freezing on a blank grey screen and was out of work for two days. I was told at Happy Mac that my hard drive was damaged and in need of a new one, costing me $ 250. I decided to get a second opinion and came to Mac Alliance and am so happy that I did. While I had to wait a few minutes, it was well worth the wait!!! The other people waiting in line all agreed too that the wait is worth it for the service and knowledge of the staff. Ken spent about 30 minutes investigating my computer and checking out my hard drive and ultimately told me it was fine. He even gave me advice on speeding up the computer and storing data, as well as going through my files and softwares and deleting unnecessary data that was slowing down my computer. Excellent service and knowledge of computers, I would HIGHLY recommend.

Ken is a great guy who does solid work. He fixed my corrupted iMac and restored all of the data because that’s how he rolls.

Ken is a nice guy but I do have a rub with him. I have bought three used Macs from him and all three have crashed inside 15 months. I mean, they would just crash and they were irreparable.
When you come into his store, it’s a nice setting and he is good conversation. Also, when he presents his products to you, he speaks intelligently about how much server space they have and all this computer talk that makes you think you are getting good value for your money. But I’m sorry, I didn’t. Also, the prices were just okay. He charges 800‑1000 for a used 13″ screen Mac. Right now, you can go to Best Buy and get a brand new Mac, 13″ inch screen for 974. Folks, just do that.
Again, Ken is a nice guy but those Macs he is selling over there, in my experience, are poor quality and they will break on you inside 18 – 24 months…
Mark

A friend of mine recommended Mac Alliance, and I’m so glad she did. I’ll never take my Mac anywhere else. After taking my Mac to the «Genius» Bar and having it shipped out for a new motherboard, it came back with ¼th the memory it left with. This place fixed me up right, and I always get great knowledgable advice, too. The newspaper clippings and old beige Mac (like I grew up on) just add to the hole in the wall charm! Thanks Mac Alliance!

I attempted to purchase a computer from Ken, called on Monday and said he would have the computer ready for me on Wednesday. The computer crashed in the store after I paid for it, so I requested my money back. He stated he would not credit my account but write me a check because «that’s not how he does things, and it would cost too much money».
The store is in a shady part of town and my wife was there alone for over an hour for a laptop that was supposed to be ready when she arrived.
My wife did say that he was very apologetic after him and I got off the phone, so that helps some.

Awesome guys. I’ve been working with Ken for 4 years (online orders). Ken knows his macs. Definitely recommend Mac Alliance for your Mac needs.

Mac Alliance is the place for sweet deals on pre-​loved Apple gear and a knowledgeable cure for your under-​the-​weather computer. This is widely known.
The full cyber-​skinny is that knowledge is freely and cheerfully dispensed along with the reasonably priced, fully guaranteed service and merchandise. Every time I’ve gone there with an issue, I’ve walked away a smarter Mac user. This is the original genius bar!

Ken at Mac Alliance was amazing!!! I took my 2007 macbook pro in a few saturdays ago because the screen wasn’t working, and he quickly figured out it was the logic board. He helped me weigh the options of fixing it versus buying a newer model laptop, and when I decided to buy, he sold me a 2010 macbook for WAY cheaper than I could have gotten it in store, even with my student discount! On top of that, he stayed three hours past their closing time that saturday afternoon to get all of my data from one computer to the other, just so I could have a working computer for class on monday! Ken’s amazing — I won’t go anywhere else.

The guys at Mac Alliance are incredibly knowledgeable. Brian and Ken have saved me SO much time and $$ with their service and advice. I’ve bought a number of used Macs from them over the years. They are ALWAYS willing to help troubleshoot over the phone. I love recommending people to Mac Alliance. Their shop is a loveable wreck — very Austin!

If you like to be ignored when you walk into a businness, this is the place to come. My husband’s iMac had developed a hum that may or may not have been coming from a bad logic board, according to an Apple tech we contacted by phone. Since we did not want to send the iMac away, we brought it Mac Alliance (support local businesses, faster turnaround time, etc.)
We walk into the shop and there is a young man is sitting in front of a computer with his back to the door. «Can I help you?» he says without turning around. «Are you open?» says my husband. «Yeah — can I help you?» again without turning around. So my husband describes the problem and what the tech at Apple had told him over the phone. The young man turns his head this time to speak to us — «We don’t do component work» — and turns back to his computer. We left and took the computer somewhere else.
I gave Mac Alliance 2 stars for being honest about what they do, but subracted 3 stars for poor custome service.

Ken is an awesome dude. First time I used him was for a CD/​DVD replacement. I forget how much it cost but it was more than fair. Second time my computer was gefucked (thats German for screwed). Something impacted it while I was asleep. It wouldn’t boot up and the logic board slowly killed itself. He sent it off to California and still it could not be fixed. He looked into finding a used logic board which were going around 1 grand. May as well buy another computer for that money. So he hooked me up with a newer computer that runs faster, got my old hard drive and put it in an external hard drive. All this was cheaper than what I bought my old macbook pro for and cheaper than any of the other alternatives on craigslist.
The dude is honest and he isn’t looking to rip you off. He and his staff like what they do and that is really all there is to it.

Mac Alliance rocks. Three simple words. I have been going there 7 or 8 years and they have replaced WiFi cards, resurrected dead hard drives, replaced RAM, saved my Time Capsule, and archived and migrated files on 3 or 4 machines for me. I give Ken and Brian two thumbs up. Great guys! They have a good attitude and they work fast.

I have used Mac Alliance twice.
The first time I needed some keys replaced (and the plastic below the key) on my Powerbook G4. I called around to other places, who wanted to charge me for a whole new keyboard plus labor to install (over $ 150). I called Mac Alliance, and they replaced the individual key for $ 5!
The next time I went back my computer was running very slow and then did not boot up. I thought it was done for, and it was. But, Ken was very nice and helpful in telling me my options and replacing the hard drive for me. It ended up costing $ 200 after the diagnostics (which took 3 days to run since my computer was so messed up) and replacement, which to me seems fair.
The most important lesson I learned is BACK UP YOUR DATA OFTEN!!!

we have gone in there twice and they are always busy. we just bought a mac book for $ 675, great price. brought it home and the CD drive would not work. when we brought it back to be fixed they did it right then and there and only took about 45 minutes! we are very satisfied with our purchase and will defiantly go back with any other mac needs. the only think i would suggest is a quick greeting when someone walks in. other than that, great service!

Ken at Mac Alliance is wonderful! Not only is he very knowledgeable, thorough and efficient, he is also a very nice person! My problems with my Mac were fixed in no time! I will definitely return to Mac Alliance again (although hopefully not to fix a problem… they also sell used Apples for incredible prices) and I will recommend Ken to all of the Mac users that I know. Overall, Mac Alliance is the place to go for Mac repair or to buy used computers in Austin. Thank you, Ken!

Got to say that Mac Alliance still keeps their standards high and their prices low. Just had all my files from my ‘old’ Mac laptop to my «new» Mac laptop by the guys at Mac Alliance. They did a great job. Five stars (again).

I had just purchased Adobe CS3 and had inadvertently not considered how much RAM I needed on my laptop to run these programs. Friday at work I tried calling around to several places. As I’m a layperson when it comes to the inner-​workings of a computer I had no idea really what was involved. One guy I called told me there’d been a product recall on my specific laptop that might not even allow me to install more RAM. Yikes!!! Several major assignments needed to be finished by my bedtime on Sunday. I had to resolve this problem ASAP.
Fortunately I came across the previous review and called MAC Alliance. They quoted me the least expensive price for the RAM and didn’t even charge me to put it in. Which when i saw how simple it was to put in the RAM irked me that the previous guy had the nerve to quote me a $ 30 fee for installing the RAM.
Anyways these guy do it all — repairs, sell new and used apples. I chatted with the owner — Ken who has apparently been in the biz for 15 years or so. He started selling MACs 2 years after they first came out! Wow! What year was that?! The guy knows what he’s doing. I inquired about buying a new mac to get some quotes & definitely didn’t feel pressured to buy anything. Also he has this great analogy to explain the insides of a computer. Filing cabinet + desk space + brain = hard drive + RAM + CPU = computer:-)

There are a few things that really make life come to a screeching halt in our culture. One is losing your car keys. Oh, we all know the frustration of that. Another is missing your wallet. Even though it has somehow crept its way underneath the sofa, we envision every Tom Dick and Harry flying to Egypt on our credit cards. Then there’s the «Everybody off the bus, my computer is down» scenario. Life without email and Unilocal seems to be a life cut off from anything worth living for.
If you have an Apple, Mac Alliance is a solid choice to get you back into the 21^st century. I went here on the advice of a friend who also had a great experience here. I had some ram put in, and they even gave me a higher grade card for the same price, just because they had an extra lying around. Everything was done as I waited, and within a half an hour I was back up and surfing…