San Francisco · Peninsula · Oakland

Fix what you have. Then make it do more.

Noxy is AI consulting, computer repair, and tech support for people rather than IT departments. The default answer here is repair and upgrade, not replace. With memory and storage prices where they are in 2026, the machine you own is worth more than it was a year ago.

$150/hr onsite, plus travel. Remote support worldwide. The first 15-minute consultation is free.

Onsite: San Francisco, the Peninsula & Oakland Remote: anywhere in the world Platforms: Mac, Windows & Linux

Leading service

AI consulting, without the sales pitch

Most AI advice comes from someone with a product to move. Noxy starts from what you already own and works out whether AI helps you at all. Often it does. Sometimes the honest answer is that the tool you were sold does not do what you were told it does.

Run it on hardware you own

Local models on your own machine, so your documents stay in the house. You'll get a straight answer on whether your hardware can handle it before spending anything.

Cut the subscriptions that don't pay

Most people need one AI tool or none. Working out which ones save you time and cancelling the rest.

Automate the boring parts

Small scripts and tools for the repetitive work in your day: transcription, file sorting, drafting, data cleanup.

The whole picture is on its own page

Local AI setups, tool selection, privacy, training, second opinions on what somebody tried to sell you, and where the current hardware market fits into all of it.

Go to AI consulting

The approach

Repair first, replace last

AI datacenter demand has pushed consumer memory and storage prices up sharply. Replacing a working machine in 2026 means paying today's prices for parts that were a fraction of the cost two years ago.

~60%
DRAM and NAND contract price jump in Q2 2026
13–18%
Further DRAM increase projected for Q3 2026
10–15%
Further NAND flash increase projected for Q3 2026

A slow computer is usually a fixable computer. Before you spend on a replacement, it is worth an hour to find out what is actually wrong with the one you have. If the honest answer is that it's time to replace it, you'll get that answer too, along with what to buy and whether to wait.

Computer restoration has its own page

SSD and memory upgrades, thermal work, battery replacement, clean installs, and Linux revival, with what each tends to cost and when you'll be told to replace the machine instead.

Go to computer restoration

Repair & support

What Noxy handles

Three decades of fixing computers, on every major platform. Mac, Windows, or Linux, the job is the same: make it work.

Slow, crashing, infected computers

Tune-ups, malware and junkware cleanup, and finding out why the machine got unusable in the first place.

Upgrades instead of replacements

Memory, storage, and thermal work that buys a working machine several more years. Priced against what a new one would actually cost you today.

New computer setup and migration

Out of the box and onto your desk with your files, photos, mail and apps moved over and working the way they did before.

Home WiFi and networking

WiFi that reaches every room in the house. Set up once, correctly, so you stop rebooting the router every week.

Printers and smart-home devices

Printers that connect on the first try, and smart-home gear that stops fighting the rest of your network.

Ongoing support plans

A technician who already knows your setup. Worth it for parents, grandparents, and anyone tired of explaining the problem from scratch every time.

Pricing

One published rate, and honest examples for everything else.

$150 / hour, onsite

One-hour minimum, plus travel expenses. This is the only fixed number on this site.

Text or call to schedule
Everything below is example pricing, not a quote. These are illustrations of what jobs of each type typically run. Anything quoted as a project gets a scope evaluation first, so the number reflects the actual work.
ProjectTypical timeExample cost
Slow computer tune-up~1 hr$150
Virus and malware cleanup1–2 hrs$150 to $300
Memory or storage upgrade (labor only, parts separate)1–2 hrs$150 to $300
New computer setup and data migration2–3 hrs$300 to $450
Home WiFi and network troubleshooting1–2 hrs$150 to $300
Printer or smart-home device setup~1 hr$150
Old laptop revived with Linux1–2 hrs$150 to $300
AI consulting sessionHourly$150/hr
Local AI setup on your hardwareProject bidQuoted after scope call
Custom PC build (labor only, parts billed separately)Project bidQuoted after scope call
Home network redesign (mesh WiFi, wiring)Project bidQuoted after walkthrough
Ongoing support planMonthlyPriced per client

Not on the list? Describe the project and you'll get a scope call, then a real number. Bigger jobs are bid as projects rather than billed purely by the clock.

Remote support, worldwide

Plenty of problems don't need anyone in the room. If you're outside the Bay Area, or you just want it handled today, a remote session usually beats waiting for a visit.

Anywhere there's a connection

Onsite work covers San Francisco, the Peninsula and Oakland. Remote work has no such limit.

Per-incident or ongoing

A one-off session for a specific problem, or a standing arrangement if you want someone on call.

Quoted per job

Describe what's going on and you'll get a number before anything starts. No surprise invoices.

About Jacob

Jacob Hunter has been fixing computers since 1990, starting in his school's computer lab. He got his start on Mac OS, then moved into hardware and Microsoft Windows, and has never cared much which operating system a client runs.

In 2000 he founded SMAUG, a Linux User Group in Santa Cruz. The pitch then is the same pitch now: there's no reason to pay for a worse system when a free, well-supported alternative exists. He still runs both Mac OS and Linux day to day, on Fedora currently.

That same instinct is why Noxy leads with repair over replacement, and why the AI work focuses on what you can run yourself rather than what you can rent by the month.

"I want to provide affordable and expert service to the people who actually need it."

At a glance

  • Fixing computers since 1990
  • Programming since 1995
  • Founded SMAUG Santa Cruz Linux User Group, 2000
  • Platforms macOS, Windows, Linux (Fedora)
  • Onsite area SF, Peninsula, Oakland
  • Remote Worldwide
  • Rate $150/hr onsite, plus travel

Interested in Linux?

Jacob has run Linux since 2000 and founded a Santa Cruz-area Linux User Group that same year. If your laptop is too slow for Windows 11, or won't run it at all, a Linux install often costs less than replacing the hardware. Which matters more this year than most.

Fedora, currently

Fedora is the distribution Jacob runs and recommends today. If you already have a preference, that works too.

Give old hardware a second life

A machine Windows has abandoned often has years left in it. Cheaper than replacing it, and less waste.

Set up so you can actually use it

Installed, configured, and walked through, with your printer and WiFi working before he leaves.

Get it handled

Describe what's going on and you'll get a straight answer on what it takes to fix and what it costs.

415.916.2599

Text or call · San Francisco, the Peninsula & Oakland onsite · Remote worldwide