
Not every web host out there has a multi-million dollar budget to spend on software, so I have come up with a few free alternatives for you to pass around your office next time your searching for the right tool for the job.
Foxit Reader (for PDF viewing) – Out of all the PDF reader programs out there, Foxit gets the job done and is not half as annoying as Adobe is. If you want a PDF viewer that will not ask that you download updates for 20 other programs you do not have, Foxit is the best.
OpenOffice.org (for word processing, spreadsheets and more) – Microsoft Office is a program I have never really used. Why? I have always been a fan of the free alternative, OpenOffice.org. This bundle of a word processor, spreadsheet, drawing and more might even be better than the expensive Microsoft bundle.
AutoHotkey (for helping with those quick responses) – In my bag of tricks, AutoHotkey is most likely to be the most used one of them all. Thanks to a little simple script writing I can now type in a few characters instead of a two paragraphed e-mail each time I answer a customer’s question.
Thunderbird (for e-mail management) – I have tried a number of different e-mail clients and Mozilla’s Thunderbird wins out head over heels each and every time. Manage multiple e-mail accounts and with the add-ons, you can build onto the functionality of the product.
Google Calendar (for dates and appointments) – Can’t tell you what I did for a calendar before Google’s came around because Google was the one who turned me onto using it. Before Google Calendar I was stuck with ripped off sheets of paper with notes scribbled down. After Google Calendar, I can quickly click a date, add a note and I’m done.
Now sure, those big web hosts might have the thousands of dollars to spend on programs but the budget web hosts out there have to count their pennies. If you have any other suggestions feel free to leave a comment or drop me an e-mail.
How to Read Bad Hosting Reviews
As your palms get sweaty, you think to yourself, “Should I read it?”. Well, I am here to tell you that you should, but take it with a grain of salt. A healthy dose of skepticism never did any harm.
After reading a bad review, the first thing I want you to remember is that every coin has two sides. Your only hearing from the ticked off customer in many of these cases, and you don’t know what they did to to the web host in question. Something else I have learned over the years of working in the hosting world is that happy people usually don’t post reviews. If you are happy, and you know it you usually don’t do squat. Is it beyond belief? Well, when was the last time you wrote Oscar Mayer to tell them you love their baloney? I promise you though that the guy who found a human finger in his baloney wrote them a nasty letter.
Not to say there is anything wrong or bad with leaving good reviews. Heck some of those are the ones that really make people excited, due to their lack of actually happening. It is kind of like finding a duck dressed up like Abraham Lincoln. You don’t know how he got there, he probably won’t come back again, but he did put a smile on your face.
So remember, not all bad reviews are as bad as they seem. Sure, they may be rooted in some truth, however you should get a wide variety of opinions to see if this was just one guy out of the blue having problem, or if you can spot a trend.