I've often thought that "techies" are similar to the priests of the many religions humans have practiced over the centuries - keeper of the sacred knowledge, party to some information we mere laypersons are incapable of understanding.

This has been less true of the Apple, which historically has been the world's most user-friendly computer - and therefore, fixable by most users. Still, there are those technophobes who either don't have the aptitude or the desire to go poking into their Mac's innards. Less frequently, Macs develop problems that should be addressed by trained experts.

In those cases, as a "Mac Genius," your position is tantamount to that of a powerful Mage.

Despite its appeal, this position has its downside.

In a typical Apple Service Center, out of 30 employees, only four of them are actual "Mac Geniuses." They rarely interact with - or even see - the public. They are hidden in the back, seated at their benches, diagnosing, troubleshooting, repairing, replacing - definitely not the job for ADHD individuals, or those who crave social interaction. On the other hand, Mac Genius are occasionally called out of their sanctuaries to calm and reassure an agitated customer - so "people skills" are definitely necessary. And you will be loved. Respected. At least for a time. You also have power. If a customer has a legitimate gripe, and is getting little or no satisfaction - or say, a machine is just barely out of warranty - a Mac Genius can usually get the problem fixed.

Much of this power comes from the fact that true Mac Geniuses are a rare breed. But here's where the hard truth sets in - this is not a career, its a job with little possibility for advancement. The hours are long and often inflexible. At one time, if you were a Mac IT expert, you could expect competitive pay. This has changed, particularly in the past five years as corporations focus less and less on people and quality service and products, and fixate on high profits, bloated CEO salaries and  inflated ROI for shareholders. If the choice is between a seasoned professional who can command a high price and a young novice who can be gotten for a song, they'll go for the novice every time (and sack them just before they're eligible for raises and benefits).

My personal feeling - corporate America, as things stand now, neither appreciates nor deserves genius. If you're really wanting a career in Mac repair, your best bet is to hang out your own shingle - or better yet, offer house-call service in your own local community.

After all, the quest for a better, more just and sustainable world starts in your own neighborhood.

In the eyes of its adherents, Mac OS X is far superior to Windows. Whether or not this is the truth, OS X still does suffer from problems every now and then (well, nothing's perfect), especially if and when users have it do more intensive tasks like video editing.

James Stoup from Apple Matters has put together a beginners' guide to fixing OS X. He stresses that it's meant to be taken neither as a comprehensive list of solutions nor a substitute for Apple-certified help (well, it's a beginners' guide after all, and available for free to boot).

So without further ado, here are Stoup's list of steps to try in the event your Mac starts hiccuping, listed in the order in which users should attempt them.

Restart. This is the easiest and the most basic thing you can try, and can fix many types of problems.

Delete preferences. Stoup recommends that if one of your apps is acting up, delete its preference file, which is stored in Library/Preferences, by moving it to the trash. The next time the app is opened it'll automatically generate a new preferences file. (You'll need to reset all your preferences afterwards, of course.)

Run maintenance/Clean cache. You can also try to download Cocktail or Onyx - cleaning scripts run automatically by OS X which in turn run OS X's CRON scripts at a default time (you'll need to have your computer on at this time though, and not on sleep either). They're shareware - something to keep in mind.

Run Disk Utility. Pop your OS X's install disk in your drive and restart your computer while holding down the 'C' key. This will force your machine to boot from the disk and not the hard drive. When it boots up, look in the menu for the Disk Utility option and click on it; this opens up the Disk Utility interface. Just click on the repair disk option to activate it.

Reset RAM. This will force the hardware to clear and reset the PRAM and NVRAM. It's easily done; you just need to hold Command-Option-P-R when the Mac's booted up. It'll reset the clock, too, but hey.

(At this point Stoup warns his readers that every solution after this point will take a bit of time and/or money to implement.)

Run Disk Warrior. This is a program by Alsoft which is apparently very easy to use and does wonders for corrupted directory structures. Two caveats, though - using this app can result in data loss, so you should back everything up before you give it a try; plus it costs $79.95.

Run Tech Tool Pro. Micromat makes this program, which lets you defrag your hard drive, recover lost data and back up your system, among other things - good for serious data recovery work. It takes a little while to work, but it's great for serious data recovery work (at any rate, it'll let you get your data back before your computer dies completely). It's not at all cheap, though. It'll set you back $98.00.

Run to the Apple Store. If you don't know it yet, these stores have free diagnostic service - all you need to do is walk up to the Genius Bar and ask for help.

Reinstall OS X. Stoup says this is your option of last resort, and I think that really is about the size of it. Make sure you back up your data first, though! Completely erase your drive first and then install OS X - the archive and install feature, he says, will allow some of your system to be saved so it can be reviewed after your install. Important note: this feature shouldn't be used as a substitute for a good third-party backup.

If ever any of you give this a try please be sure and tell us all how everything goes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll never need to do anything more drastic than, say, clean my Mac's cache - but at least now I know what to do just in case. Knowing, as the well-worn saying goes, really is half the battle.