MacFixIt was a website for troubleshooting news and information about the Apple products. It began in March 1996. At first, it was called The Sad Macs Update Site and was designed primarily to be an online update to my book, Sad Macs, Bombs and Other Disasters. On October 10, 1996, the link to the book was ended and MacFixit was born.
MacFixIt was sold to TechTracker on July 14, 2000. Two years later, on July 15, 2002, I stepped down as editor of MacFixIt.
In September 2007, TechTracker was purchased by CNET. In May 2008, CNET was purchased by CBS.
A column I wrote about 10th anniversary of MacFixIt [Ten Good Years, March 2006] provides much more history of the site, including screenshots of how the site's home page looked in its early days.
The end of MacFixIt: In March 2014, CNET dropped the MacFixIt name from its site, ending an 18 year run.
mac.column.ted
From October 2003 to August 2009, I wrote a monthly column for MacFixIt, titled mac.column.ted. Each column focused on some current issue in the Mac universe, most often with troubleshooting but also veering off into other directions.
My final column [The Demise of Troubleshooters?, August 2009] included a brief farewell to the site.
Reviews and Awards
MacFixIt has been recognized as one of the best Mac sites on the web, receiving critical acclaim from sources as prominent and varied as U.S. News & World Report, the New York Times, the Washington Post and Yahoo! Internet Life - as well as virtually all Apple media. Here is just a brief sampling of the recognition MacFixit has received:
PC Magazine listed MacFixIt as one of its Top 100 Web Sites in 2004.
Yahoo! Internet Life cited MacFixIt as one of its Best of the Best Sites for 1998.
Macworld named MacFixIt as the Best Troubleshooting Site on the Web.
Personal recognition. I was twice included in the MDJ Power 25 (2000 and 2001) as one of the 25 most influential people in the Mac community. In 2007, I was included on the MacTech 25, another list of the most influential Mac people.
MacFixIt makes the news
They say no publicity is bad publicity. Maybe so, but back in December 2001 MacFixIt cut it close when it found itself at the center of a controversy. The site had posted information about how to convert an OS X 10.1 Update CD into a full Install CD. We had intended it as advice on how to solve a reinstall hassle. Apple did not see it the same way, and sent us a "cease and desist" letter. This made more news than we ever imagined - with coverage in the New York Times, Wired and numerous other sources.