Tom Magrini

Tom Magrini has written 21 books about computers and technology. He has authored 6 editions of the Master Your Mac series as well as 11 editions of the best-selling, award-winning Customizing macOS series. This series helps Mac users customize their macOS user experience with hundreds of tweaks, hacks, secret commands, and hidden features. Tom is also the author of 3 editions of Cut the Cord: How to Watch TV without Paying a Cable or Satellite TV Bill. Cut the Cord shows readers how to save money by ditching expensive cable and satellite TV for streaming video over the Internet. During the day, Tom is an information technology executive with over 40 years of experience as a network engineer, network architect, IT manager, and IT director. He has worked with Macs since 1984 and still fondly remembers his first Apple Macintosh computer with its 8 MHz Motorola 68000 processor, 9-inch 512 x 342-pixel black-and-white screen, 128 kB of RAM, and built-in 400 kB 3½-inch floppy drive. Tom has worked with NeXT computers and the NeXTStep operating system, the forerunner to Apple’s macOS. And yes, he has even crossed over to the dark side and has worked extensively with Windows PCs. During the week, Tom is a busy Assistant Chief Information Officer, leading a team of IT professionals who maintain two data centers and the data network, telephony, Wi-Fi, Office 365 messaging, server, storage, operating systems, IT service management, service desk, desktop support, fiber optic cable infrastructure, and public safety radio network for a large city. Tom has also taught programming, operating systems, Cisco Networking Academy, and wireless technology courses as a Computer Information Systems professor at two colleges. He has worked for numerous technology companies, including Cisco Systems, FORE Systems, 3Com, Bay Networks, and SynOptics Communications. Tom is also a certified ITIL® Expert, holds a GIAC Security Leadership Certification (GSLC), and has achieved eleven Cisco networking certifications. When Tom isn’t working on his MacBook Pro or hanging out with his family and dogs, he enjoys reading, writing, movies, and the beautiful Arizona weather with its 300+ days of sunshine.