Reviews

I have known Martin for well over 12 years, too long ago to remember. At that time Martin’s knowledge and ability was of great assistance to me in solving hardware and software problems. Martin has kept his skills and knowledge well and truly up to date, as now he is able to deal with the current range of Apple products including iPod, iPad and iPhone. He also has vast experience in carrying out upgrades for both hardware and software. He has demonstrated his knowledge and skills for myself and various other SAAUC (South Australian Apple Users Club) members over many years.

I have always found Martin very knowledgeable, most reliable and punctual at all times.

In 2009 I experienced major hardware problems with my Mac laptop which proved too difficult for two technicians to solve until I asked Martin to look at it. He discovered and rectified the problem within a week.

Last year I experienced software difficulties while writing my research thesis and again sought assistance from my university IT people to no avail. I found they did not appear to understand what I was experiencing and were not particularly interested in helping me. Martin listened and asked questions as I explained my problems which he then went on to solve while at the same time telling me what he was doing and why he was doing it. He also undertook to assist me to write out a thesis template until we found that the version of Word (2008) I was using could not run macros from previous versions of Word, when he then converted my files back to the earlier version of Word.

Martin is now writing simplified guides to assist someone in my family who lives with memory problems to use an iPad3.

I highly recommend Martin Howells as a highly skilled and reliable computer consultant. I could not be happier with his work.

As an American living in the USA, I first discovered Martin when an Australian colleague responded to my international search for someone to help me with my website. At that time, I heard rave reviews from several local people in Adelaide about his tech-handy abilities to fix almost anything related to computers. Since then, I’ve discovered that his skills are readily transferred across the world.

My husband is an educational technologist and I have experience in web work. Our knowledge makes it easy to readily recognize talent when we find it. Martin is world-class.  He is also a local treasure, as evidenced by the constant stream of requests he receives from various people in Southern Australia with an array of computer problems to solve. While offering continual challenges, his current itinerant diverse workload involves much travel. When I heard about the possibility of a local job, I thought to myself, “Aren’t they lucky!” I can assure you that if Martin lived nearby me in Vermont, he would have many job offers (even in this current economy).

Initially, Martin helped me revise my Dreamweaver website  (www.reauthoringteaching.com). He is conversant with HTML and edited the code directly. He then helped revitalize a discussion forum called “The Narrative Practice & Collaborative Inquiry (NPCI) Study Group”  based around “Simple Machines Forum” (SMF). Not only had we lost most details of the customizations by the previous admin, but the forum desperately needed upgrading, modifications and additional enhancements. Martin completed all these by 1) reverse engineering back to a default condition; 2) upgrading from there. Currently, we are working together to add “mods” as needed. He also quickly answers hardware questions such as my recent inquiry about cables and video.

Martin maintains both the website and the discussion forum. He is responsible for security issues and backups. Whenever the coding looks complex and we encounter difficulties, Martin readily solves the problems. Clearly, he stays well-informed about the growth of the tablet market, ensuring compatibility for both websites with iPads, which now dominate the market. Currently, he is developing an app to enable users to access to access the discussion forum via iPhone or iPad. He has also made considerable improvements to our instructional video and photo gallery, all of which are iPad compatible.

Over the past several months, Martin has also worked a great deal on the website-in-development for a very complex project.  We are currently developing an online series in conjunction with The Taos Institute (http://www.taosinstitute.net/) with continuing education credits through Alliant  International University. Martin’s work has been excellent in uploading videos, pdfs and other resources for course content, and in researching video conferencing. Without documentation, Martin has already solved a remarkable number of problems by trial and error, to the extent that after two months we were ahead of the developmental effort.

I continue to employ Martin on a retainer basis, working where needed in his spare time. Martin and I communicate solely through email. We get an enormous amount done in short periods of time. Why is that? In addition to his technological skills and knowledge, I have been surprised by the ease of our communication about complex issues. Martin is clear, concise and dependable.  He engages respectfully and with a collaborative spirit. He takes the time to put himself in my shoes, and to work hard to understand the issue from the customer’s point of view He shows an interest and understanding of the content and applications of the material (in this case, different approaches to psychotherapy). Without patronizing, he often generates new ideas for the material in both presentation and marketing efforts.

What Martin offers as a computer consultant surpasses my expectations. It also stands in stark contrast to many frustrating exchanges with other technical experts who seem to talk a different language without effort to translate into understandable terms.

In summary I highly recommend Martin Howells as a skilled, reliable and communicative computer consultant.

I have known Martin for twenty years. Martin has been advising me on the workings of Apple computers for over ten years. He has immeasurable knowledge in the workings of technology and I have found that Martin is never afraid of a challenge.

Last year I contacted Martin for some advice. I am a lecturer in cookery at Regency International College. Our department undertook a change in delivery to our practical sessions and I felt there was a need to provide more resources to our students to help them through their studies. Martin suggested an iPad and mentioned it’s versatility. It has been with Martin’s knowledge and experience that I have been able to incorporate the iPad into my everyday work. He has shown me how to create and convert PDFs into ePub format, develop and edit video recordings, resolve firewall issues and transfer large files via Internet. He even helped me resolve a cabling issue whilst I was conducting a PowerPoint presentation. I simply sent Martin an SMS with my problem and within in seconds I had a response and a resolution. This speed of response is unheard of in the IT world.

On the basis of Martin’s knowledge and ongoing support I was able to move successfully from my position as cookery lecturer to one whereby I focused mostly on promoting TAFE online using the iPad’s capabilities to upload videos to YouTube.  My videos are also used to train students as time and lecturer support is limited due to budget constraints and the technology enables me to minimize repetition of explanations by for example recording part of a presentation and having it available to students immediately who then engage in practical work. TAFE has a large number of textbooks created and edited in house, the printing costs are quite considerable when multiplied by a large number of students – by converting one of those to ePub format and incorporating audiovisual materials I was able to transfer one textbook very quickly for use on an iPad as part of a demonstration of where the future lies which impressed my colleagues and employers at TAFE.

It is Martin’s creative and practical thinking which impresses me most, he always has an answer to any problem I pose. Martin also impresses conducting the majority of his work on line. In fact I find the convenience of sending a message to Martin, which is instantaneous and far less cumbersome than the traditional telephone help line. His response time is very quick and his information is always accurate and up to date. He has an ability to communicate in what I would class as understandable computer language, unlike most IT professionals I have dealt with. I find this most helpful as he not only problem solves but he empowers me with confidence to tackle new ideas. I highly recommend Martin for his dedicated approach in solving all IT problems. He is prompt and professional and no problem is overlooked. He is abreast of current trends and his advice is unbiased.