The Casual Tech

For years, Firefox has been the browser of choice here. It started as a love affair with tabbed browsing that continued to flourish with each new extension and add on. The built-in spell checker was a constant reminder of how deep the love really was. I just read a book about this intense, passionate affair between two people that ended in tragedy because the male character had an extremely dark side. And while the affair with Firefox didn’t end in tragedy, it did end and it was because of its dark side. You see, Firefox has this problem with leaking memory that would drive me crazy numerous times a day, every single day. I wanted to enjoy all of the things I knew Firefox was capable of, but it was frustrating having to close down and restart the entire browser on a repeated basis.

A friend recommended Flock a few weeks ago, and as frustrating as the Firefox experience was turning into, I didn’t think the answer was a new browser. It turns out I was wrong. After reading a review on TechCrunch for Firefox 3 Beta 1 that had a huge plug for Flock’s lack of a memory leak, I decided I was going to take the plunge. I’m so glad I did. Flock has all of the things I loved about Firefox (since it’s built on the same rendering engine), plus a few new features I didn’t even know I was missing with none of the dark side. Opening 20-30 tabs doesn’t mean I will be restarting the browser soon because its memory use has spiked, tripling and even quadrupling that of other high powered applications like Photoshop.

Flock is touted as the social media browser - when you first load it up, you’re prompted to configure the browser to recognize all of your accounts such as Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, del.ico.us, and Photobucket. I don’t think I’ve completely tapped into the true power of the social media aspect of this browser just yet, but I’ve been enjoying the integration and ease of connecting to my favorite sites.

The eleven Firefox extensions (or addons) I was using (Ad Block, Firebug, Forecast Fox, Greasemonkey, IE Tab, Picnik, SearchStatus, Stumble Upon, TabMixPlus, TwitterFox and Web Developer) work beautifully with Flock. Although I would have liked the ability to export my Firefox extensions to import them into Flock, this move gave me a chance to dump a few extensions I wasn’t really using anyway.

Importing my Bookmarks into Flock went smooth, although I didn’t initially like that all of my imports were in their own folder instead of sitting at the root of the Favorites menu. It took a couple of days debating on rearranging using the Favorites Manager before I decided I actually liked how they were set up. One thing I don’t like is the way Flock handles adding a new Favorite. Firefox asked me where I wanted each new Bookmark to go, but Flock takes some configuring before it will mimic that behavior.

My biggest complaint about Flock was the way it handled new tab events. Some times a new tab would open to the right of the tab it originated from, some times it would open as the last tab on the right, some times it would open to the left of the tab it originated from - it was all pretty random and confusing. To make matters worse, the new tab’s text didn’t always stay red to make it easy to find. This was enough to make me seriously contemplate which was worse - the memory leak or the faulty tab behavior. Thankfully, I didn’t have to contemplate long because I came across a fix for the tabs thing.

If you want all of your new tabs to open to the right of all other open tabs, do this:

• In the browser’s address bar, type “about:config” (without the quotes).
• Find the setting for “browser.tabs.openNewTabsOnTheRight” and set it to True (double click on it)

Voila! Tabs behaving the way you’d expect them to. So far all new tabs have been opening with the red text and staying that way, as well. Hopefully the Flock developers add the ability to change this via some more obvious menus soon.

Have you been having a problem with Firefox’s memory leak issue, but love everything else about the browser? Are you into social networking? I’d highly recommend making the switch to Flock!

The internet has brought so many great innovations into our lives, both personally and professionally. When we lived overseas on military assignment in the late 90’s, many of our colleagues spent hundreds of dollars per month on telephone bills because the rates to call back to the United States were so high. We avoided those costs because we took advantage of web conferencing to stay in contact with our friends and family back home. Not only did we not have to pay outrageous sums of money to stay in touch, we also were able to see our loved ones since we utilized video capabilities as well.

It turns out we were ahead of our time back then, as we learned from our business associates once we came back stateside and left the military behind for the business world. When I had my first web conference at work, I was already very familiar with the technology and the software, which went a long way towards impressing my boss. It led to me organizing and leading many web seminars for our department when we communicated with vendors.

The same cost benefits that we experienced while living overseas are being realized by the business world today when they take advantage of this technology. Web conferencing means no airfare, gas, toll, hotel or other travel related costs and no long distance phone call rates. Even when commuting with a few people, travel expenses can sky rocket - and how frustrating that must be when the result of a visit does not end in a sale. Smart companies are regularly using web conferencing as a means to connect with potential customers while paying close attention to the bottom line. If the meeting doesn’t result in a sale, much less is lost.

Have you taken advantage of web conferencing either personally or professionally? What were your experiences with it? Mine have been mostly positive - I’d be interested to hear your views.

I spend a portion of time in my day job working on website design. It’s something I enjoy, but when there are 8,549 other projects going on, it’s hard to get my mind really set in design mode. It takes a fair amount of relaxation and quiet, creative space for me to be successful when designing websites, and I don’t always get that at work. So I don’t have any shame in getting help from some of the great sites out there offering website templates. These sites have saved my hide a number of times at work when I’ve been asked to put something together under a tight deadline. I can imagine these templates are even more helpful for people who don’t know - or desire to know - the first thing about designing a website. Everyone wants a website these days, and templates are a great way to get started.

On the personal side, I maintain a few websites for friends, family, and business associates. For a while we were hosting the sites on a laptop in our home office, but one of our clients’ sites have really taken off, so we needed another plan. We decided that a business web hosting or ecommerce web hosting solution would work best for their needs. I’ll still maintain the site, taking care of any redesigns or changes that need to happen, but I’ll be able to rest easier knowing the site won’t be going down at whim because it was slammed with traffic.

There’s still some web development work that needs to happen before we can make the switch, due to some technology limitations - so I need to get busy with that. Unfortunately, there are no templates for what I need done on the programming side!

Are you looking to get a website up and running? Consider using some templates to get started; you’ll save a lot of time - time that could be better spent on more important business matters.

Problem: You’ve been blogging on Blogger or Xanga (or any of those free services) but have found not everyone takes you as seriously as those who blog on their own domain. You want to blog on your own domain, but you’re just not exactly sure how to go about it. The whole process seems intimidating to you.

Solution: The Casual Tech’s Guide to Getting Your Own Domain for Blogging! I’ll show you how to get your blog on your own domain so you can start blogging with the “big boys”.

This is post four in the series. Go here for the rest of the series:

Post One | Post Two | Post Three

There are four main elements involved with blogging on your own domain: domain name (duh), hosting, blogging software, and FTP. A common newcomer misconception is that once you register a domain name, you’re all set. Not true. A domain name is just that - a name. You own that name on the Internet. No one will see it, however, unless you also have the domain name hosted somewhere. The hosting is where all of your actual files for your website will reside. Your job is to tell the company you registered the domain name from where the hosting resides, so they can point it in the right direction. (I’m over simplifying here for the sake of, er, simplicity.)

If you’re just getting started, make sure you check out the first three posts in this series before continuing on to STEP FOUR below:

STEP ONE - DOMAIN NAME
STEP TWO - HOSTING
STEP THREE - BLOGGING SOFTWARE

STEP FOUR - FTP

Now that you’ve bought your domain name, secured hosting for your website, decided on and downloaded a software package, you need a way to transfer the software and files to your web host so you can begin blogging. For the sake of this tutorial, we’re going to assume your host is Host Gator and that you are using Wordpress software.

A Real Basic FTP Primer

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is basically a method to transfer files across the Internet between two computers. When you have files on your computer that need to be on another computer, too, a common solution is FTP - much like the WordPress files you downloaded earlier that now need to get to your web server.

There are two main methods to utilize FTP: your browser or a software program. Using your browser doesn’t allow for many options that you’ll need to run a blog, so we highly recommend you download an FTP program to use.

Here are some of the more popular FTP programs available on the Internet today.

• FileZilla - FREE. This also comes as a portable app, which means you can take it with you when you’re not on your own computer. This is the FTP package we recommend and will be using for this tutorial.
• WS_FTP Home - 30-Day Free Trial. Pricing starts at $39.95 after the trial ends. Excellent, intuitive software with all the advanced features you’ll need.
• CuteFTP - 30-Day Free Trial. Pricing starts at $39.99. A very popular FTP program.
• CoffeeCup FTP - 30-Day Free Trial. $34.00 to buy. Very nice, easy to use software package.
• Smart FTP - FREE and Licensed versions available.
• FTP Commander - FREE. Very bare bones.

This is by no means a comprehensive list. If you’ve already got an FTP program that you’re happy with that’s not listed here, don’t worry. Keep using the FTP program that works for you, as they all basically do the same thing and operate in the same way.

Download and install the FTP software of your choosing (refer to Part Three if you need a refresher on downloading) then meet me back here. I’ll wait.

Okay, do you have your FTP program running, waiting to add your host and user information? Good.

Using FileZilla, go to File/Site Manager. You should see something similar to this:

Click on the “New Site” button and name your site in the program manager. Use a descriptive name for yourself; no one else sees this.

Next, you’ll need to enter your Host name and user name information. This is information your hosting provider sent you in email when you signed up. The values in this screen shot are for The Casual Tech blog; you will need to supply your own personal credentials here.

Click on the “Connect” button. If you entered all of your information correctly, you will be connected to your account on your web host’s server and should see something similar to this:

Here’s a break down of what each section of the program is.

• Section 1 - All server messages and statuses will display here. When you connect to your host’s server, you will see all the steps it takes to do so in this window.
• Section 2 - View of the files on your computer. This is basically a Windows Explorer window looking at all of the files on your computer. You can navigate in this window to get to the directory where your files for transferring are stored.
• Section 3 - View of the files on your host’s server. The same as Section 2, except these are all the files on the server at your hosting company. In order for anyone to see your site on the Internet, the files need to reside on a web server somewhere - this is where you place your files that you want the rest of the Internet to be able to see.
• Section 4 - All transfer status messages will display here. When you transfer files, a list of each file being transferred and its status will display in this window. This way you can tell if all of your files successfully transferred or if there were any problems encountered.

Please note that all panes can be resized for easier viewing. The panes are small in all of the screenshots in this tutorial, but you can customize yours to suit your needs. Using the guide above, in Section 2 of the FTP program, navigate to the location on your computer where you saved your WordPress files. Still referring to the guide, in Section 3, navigate to the “Public HTML” directory on your host’s web server. Your screen should look something like this:

Now it’s time to transfer all of the WordPress files to your host’s server. All you need to do is double-click the “Wordpress” directory and the files will begin transferring. Alternatively, you can highlight the WordPress directory on your local computer (Section 1) and drag it to your host’s server (Section 2). IMPORTANT: Please refer to the WordPress documentation for more specific instructions on uploading all of your WordPress files.

Congratulations! If you’ve started from the beginning of this tutorial series, you have chosen and purchased a domain name, researched and selected a web host, decided on and downloaded blogging and FTP software and have uploaded the basic blog software to your host so you can truly being blogging! Great job.

Please leave any questions in the comments.

Good luck and happy blogging!

Problem: You’ve been blogging on Blogger or Xanga (or any of those free services) but have found not everyone takes you as seriously as those who blog on their own domain. You want to blog on your own domain, but you’re just not exactly sure how to go about it. The whole process seems intimidating to you.

Solution: The Casual Tech’s Guide to Getting Your Own Domain for Blogging! I’ll show you how to get your blog on your own domain so you can start blogging with the “big boys”.

This is post three in the series. Go here for the rest of the series: Post One | Post Two | Post Four

There are four main elements involved with blogging on your own domain: domain name (duh), hosting, blogging software, and FTP. A common newcomer misconception is that once you register a domain name, you’re all set. Not true. A domain name is just that - a name. You own that name on the Internet. No one will see it, however, unless you also have the domain name hosted somewhere. The hosting is where all of your actual files for your website will reside. Your job is to tell the company you registered the domain name from where the hosting resides, so they can point it in the right direction. (I’m over simplifying here for the sake of, er, simplicity.)

If you’re just getting started, make sure you check out the first two posts in this series before continuing on to STEP THREE below:
STEP ONE - DOMAIN NAME
STEP TWO - HOSTING

STEP THREE - BLOGGING SOFTWARE

Now that you’ve bought your domain name, and secured hosting for your website, you need software that will allow you to maintain a blog. If you’ve chosen any of the hosts listed in Step Two and gone with their basic hosting packages, it will be easiest to use blogging software written in PHP. Fortunately, the most popular blogging software packages on the market right now are written in PHP, so this isn’t something you need to concern yourself with, especially if you’re not very tech savvy.

Here is The Casual Tech’s list of recommend blogging software packages:

• WordPress - Probably the most popular; it’s easy to install, upgrade, and maintain
• Moveable Type - Unrecommended, especially for newbies; Difficult to install, too many template files to customize and slow rebuilding after simple maintenance tasks make this one a turn off
• Expression Engine - Highly recommended around the blogosphere; its pricing models keep this one from being a favorite of mine
• Blogger - Although you won’t download this software and install it on a server, you could use Blogger’s free software and point it to your own domain. I’m not a Blogger fan, though, for a lot of reasons. I wouldn’t recommend this route, but I’d be remiss to not mention it as an option.
• b2evolution - Not as popular as the others, but this software has some cool features like file & photo management and multiple blog support
• Joomla! - This is much more than just blogging software - if you’re looking for a bigger, more comprehensive content management system - this is it. If you have no idea what I’m even talking about, stick with another product.
• Nucleus CMS - Similar to Joomla! - when you want more than just a blog
• Text Pattern - A little more unconventional, a little less user friendly, a lot more geeky than the more popular blogging software packages

There are a lot more options than these out there - I just chose the ones I consider to be the most popular. You can check out these external links to read more about other blogging software platforms.

Online Journalism Review’s Blog Software Comparison Chart - Not all are represented here, but still a good reference
Wikipedia - Weblog Software - In depth article
Blog Software Breakdown - Outdated, but still useful information here
OpenSource CMS - Let’s you try out popular blogging software packages without having to install them yourself

Choosing a software package can be a personal thing. Some people just feel more comfortable with certain systems, most likely choosing ones that seem the most familiar to them compared to other applications they use online. I strongly recommend WordPress for a few reasons:

• Sheer volume of clients using it means more chances that you can find someone to help you when needed
• It’s very easy to install, and a lot of hosts have a “one-button” installation and upgrade for it built in
• Themes are in abundant supply and are a breeze to switch
• It’s FREE

Once you’ve made your decision, the next step is to download the software to your computer (unless you are using Blogger OR your host provides the installation through their control panel). Using WordPress as an example, here are the steps to take to download:

From the Download page on WordPress.org, choose the download link that works best for your system. If you’ve opened .zip files on your computer before, the .ZIP link should work fine. Once you click on the link to download, you’ll be prompted to save or open the file:

Save the .zip file to a location on your computer. Once the file has completed downloading, open it and extract all of the files to a location that you’ll easily remember.

Congratulations! You’ve chosen blogging software and are officially done this step now. Continue on to Part Four - FTP.

Problem: You’ve been blogging on Blogger or Xanga (or any of those free services) but have found not everyone takes you as seriously as those who blog on their own domain. You want to blog on your own domain, but you’re just not exactly sure how to go about it. The whole process seems intimidating to you.

Solution: The Casual Tech’s Guide to Getting Your Own Domain for Blogging! I’ll show you how to get your blog on your own domain so you can start blogging with the “big boys”.

This is post two in the series. Go here for the rest of the series: Post One | Post Three | Post Four

There are four main elements involved with blogging on your own domain: domain name (duh), hosting, blogging software, and FTP. A common newcomer misconception is that once you register a domain name, you’re all set. Not true. A domain name is just that - a name. You own that name on the Internet. No one will see it, however, unless you also have the domain name hosted somewhere. The hosting is where all of your actual files for your website will reside. Your job is to tell the company you registered the domain name from where the hosting resides, so they can point it in the right direction. (I’m over simplifying here for the sake of, er, simplicity.)

If you’re just getting started, make sure you check out the first post in this series before continuing on to STEP TWO below:
STEP ONE - DOMAIN NAME

STEP TWO - HOSTING

Securing hosting for your website is the next step in the process to getting your own domain for blogging. Hosting simply means that someone with a large amount of storage space on a web server is letting you lease space on their hard drive to contain all of the files for your website. Just like with domain name registrars, there are a lot of companies out there who offer hosting for your website, and you need to exercise just as much caution here, too.

A lot of companies offer package deals for hosting and domain names, so look for these when you’re signing up - it could save you some cash. Keep in mind, however, that if your website’s domain name and hosting is with the same company and something goes awry with their service or business, you’ll have twice as much trouble getting things moved to a new place. I personally like to buy my domain name and hosting at separate companies, but I know lots of people who buy with one company without any problems.

There are a variety of different hosting options to choose from, and every company will have varying levels of services and prices for each. It can be a lot to figure out, especially if you’re brand new to this game. Let’s break down some of the basic hosting options and what they mean.

• Free Web Hosting - Your site files will be on a web server with lots of other people’s, and is typically ad-supported. You will most likely have banner ads that you can not control on your site if you choose this option. Limited functionality and control of your site usually comes with a free hosting solution, too. Avoid, if possible.
• Shared Web Hosting - This is the most common form of hosting for the average blogger. You site files will be on a web server with lots of other people’s. There are usually varying ranges of service for this option, mostly related to how robust of a site you plan to run. Most bloggers can choose the lower end or starter packages with no problems, at least when first starting.
• Dedicated Web Hosting - A great option if you have more money to spend and/or you are concerned about the performance of the web server for a shared hosting company. With dedicated hosting, your site will have its own web server, so you don’t have to share resources with hundreds or thousands of other users. If you are expecting a high traffic site, this is the best option for you.
• Reseller Hosting - This option allows you to serve as a web host for other people’s sites. Reseller hosting is an advanced option that the “Everyday Joe” blogger doesn’t need.
• Co-location Hosting - This option is for advanced users who have and want to retain control of their own web server.

Once you determine which type of hosting will work best for you, it’s time to shop hosting companies. Fortunately, a lot of people have done this work for us.

The List of Web Hosts is a great resource to search for your new hosting provider, allowing you to search by hosting type and services desired.

I’ve compiled a list of recommended hosting companies that work well for most basic bloggers, too. I have been a satisfied customer, or know people who have been a satisfied customer of each of these companies.

• HostGator - Shared Hosting Plans start at $6.95 per month
• iPowerWeb - Shared hosting plans start at $7.95 per month.
• DreamHost - Shared Hosting Plans start at $7.95 per month
• BlueHost - Shared Hosting Plans start at $6.95 per month.
• Verve - Shared Hosting Plans start at $5 per month
• GoDaddy - Shared Hosting Plans start at $3.99 per month
• Blogger - You need to sign up for a free Blogger account first. Shared Hosting is FREE, but you’re stuck with Blogger’s blogging software.

Once you have purchased hosting, the first thing you’ll need to do is have the domain name you purchased point to the the new host. Some hosting companies can take care of this for you during or after the registration process. If your host doesn’t provide this service, you will need to login to your domain name account and change the Name Servers settings. Your host will give you a list of name servers to replace the domain name’s default settings. These names will look something like this: ns1.hostingcompany.com.

Now that you’ve bought your own domain name and hosting, and have your domain name pointing to your new host, you’re ready to choose a blogging software package! Continue to Step Three to learn more about blogging software.

Problem: You’ve been blogging on Blogger or Xanga (or any of those free services) but have found not everyone takes you as seriously as those who blog on their own domain. You want to blog on your own domain, but you’re just not exactly sure how to go about it. The whole process seems intimidating to you.

Solution: The Casual Tech’s Guide to Getting Your Own Domain for Blogging! I’ll show you how to get your blog on your own domain so you can start blogging with the “big boys”.

This is post one in the series. Go here for the rest of the series: Post Two | Post Three | Post Four

STEP ONE - DOMAIN NAME

There are four main elements involved with blogging on your own domain: domain name (duh), hosting, blogging software, and FTP. A common newcomer misconception is that once you register a domain name, you’re all set. Not true. A domain name is just that - a name. You own that name on the Internet. No one will see it, however, unless you also have the domain name hosted somewhere. The hosting is where all of your actual files for your website will reside. Your job is to tell the company you registered the domain name from where the hosting resides, so they can point it in the right direction. (I’m over simplifying here for the sake of, er, simplicity.)

If you’re still confused, consider the following analogy. You just bought some land to build your dream home on. It’s going to be great when it’s finished, but right now it’s just a pile of dirt. It’s your pile of dirt, but it’s a pile of dirt nonetheless. This is your domain name. When people come by to see it, they’ll just see a pile of dirt (or the dreaded “Site Coming Soon!” message). Now you hire a builder and tell him where your pile of dirt is and tell him you want your home to go there. Fast forward a few months and your dream home is built, but you haven’t moved in yet. Now you’ve got some hosting. After you furnish the place and your family and things are all moved in - you have successfully loaded all of your content to the host’s server and you’re ready for life at your new home to begin.

Cheesy analogies behind us, let’s step through each of the elements for blogging on your own domain separately.

The first step, obviously, is getting your own domain name. You’ll need to figure out the domain name you want, find out if it’s available, and then register (purchase) it with a reliable registrar.

Finding the Perfect Name
If you’ve already got a name in mind for your domain - great! If not, there are a few sites out there to provide some creative help. These domain name generators are a great tool if you’ve got an idea or a word or two, but everything you’ve tried is already taken - or if you’re just flat out having a brain fart and can’t think what to call this blog of yours. Here are two nice ones that also show you if the domain you come up with is available for purchase:

• MakeWords.com
• NameBoy

Determining Availability
You’ve got the perfect domain name and you’re ready to get started - not so fast, though, you’ve got to make sure some one else has not beaten you to the punch. Most reputable registars have this step already built into the purchase process, so I usually use one of their tools:

• Network Solutions
• Go Daddy

Making the Purchase
Now that you are confident that you’ve got the domain name you want, and it’s available, it’s time to cement the deal. There are a lot of good deals out there on domain names, and some hosts offer a combination package if you decide to do both with them. (See Part Two for more on hosting.) A word of caution, though - sometimes you really do get what you pay for. I always use a reputable registrar when registering domains because I’ve heard horror stories from people who went with a no name. Even if you go with a bigger name, we’re not talking a lot of cash, and anyway you’re worth it, right? Right.

• Go Daddy - My preferred registrar. They make it easy to manage multiple domains and the cost is generally lower than the other big guys. The sales pitch is pretty thick as you’re going through the registration process, though. Just stick to the options you want - you really don’t need all the extras they want to give you, but some are nice if you’re interested.
• Network Solutions - Can be slightly more expensive than Go Daddy, but is one of the biggest domain registrars out there today.

Whew! You’ve got your own domain name registered. Continue to Step Two to delve into purchasing a hosting plan, and Step Three to choose a blogging software package.

I’m a big fan of anything that helps me do my daily tasks more efficiently. I’m also a lover of all things that I deem geeky-cool. Greasemonkey, a Firefox extension, is definitely high up there on the cool factor. Greasemonkey gives you the ability to run nifty little scripts that run the gamut from neat tricks to complete essentials that you wonder how you lived without. I was first turned onto Greasemonkey while using Flickr. I saw someone responding to other users’ comments, referencing each user’s icon in their replies. I had to know how it was done, and from there, a Greasemonkey disciple was born. More on the Flickr trick later.

To experience the Greasemonkey goodness yourself, start out with this great article on LifeHack which lists the Top 10 Greasemonkey scripts to increase productivity. My favorite from that list is probably the Gmail attachment reminder [link goes directly to JS file, you'll need Greasemonkey installed first to use]. How many times have you crafted a great email, checked and double-checked the spelling and grammar, made sure all the correct recipients were listed, mentioned the attached file and then clicked send without actually attaching said file? We’ve all done it. This extension puts an end to that nonsense.

Okay, back to my favorite Flickr trick.

• First, you have to make sure you’re running Firefox. (If you’re not using Firefox, we need to talk.)
• Next, ensure Greasemonkey is installed.
• Last, get the Flickr Buddy Icon Reply script and install it.
• Start replying with buddy icons on Flickr! Fun! You can see a screen shot of this in action on LifeHacker.

Technorati Tags: Greasemonkey, Flickr, Firefox, Firefox extensions

I am sure I am not the only IT Manager that is struggling to find robust tools that can help with asset management, networking stats and help desk functionality. Budgets get tight and it is nearly impossible to find something that is well suited for your needs without the Accountant Gods coming down and shutting down the cash flow to purchase a decent product.

Last summer, I was reading a trade mag, (Network World) and I was reading this great story about a start up company that believed they could set up a very cool web-based product that could give you help desk functionality, asset management, and basic network statistics. The company is called Spiceworks.

I was cautious when I first saw the site. Who is going to give out a tool that does so much for free??? Well they do have a catch, but it is very minimal. You can install the software and then run the web console in under 3 minutes. When you start the configuration you will notice on the right hand side, there are ads for technology products and services. I was nervous. Will I get pop ups? Will there be any downloading of unknown content? NONE OF THESE! In the privacy terms for Spiceworks, you can see they download stats that are basic and not specific to your network. It is just for statistical purposes.

After installing this on a network monitor server, I ran the console and set up the network configuration. I am now on my way. I run the scan and it starts to discover your network assets.

I have to say I am blown away. The web console has so many different tools on it. You can see a summary panel that tells you how many network devices you have on the network. If you mouse over the items, it pops up some cool stats in flash. We use Landesk at our company and I am not very pleased with it. When you run this Spiceworks tool, it does about 60 percent of what Landesk does, only better and for no cost at all!!

Some of the features are;

* Inventory and report on your company’s hardware and software assets automatically.
* Monitor and troubleshoot the hardware and software on your network.
* Run an IT Help Desk for your company that’s easy to use.

Check out the site and download it for your company network. It is not an enterprise tool, but for those companies that need a product that is robust and does not break the bank. This is a winner!

Technorati Tags: Spiceworks, Networking, network tools, help desk software, asset management

I have been a Microsoft fan for nearly 20 years now. I have never bought into the arguments and the debates about Microsoft being a “Evil” company and so on. I felt Microsoft was smart in the 80’s and 90’s and built an empire on making a very “nerd” like world into something the common person can use. I have now been an IT Manager for nearly 5 1/2 years now and I have been using Microsoft products for our company. In the last two years, I have begun to get frustrated with Microsoft. The Security issues, the lack of tabbed browsing in the Internet Explorer product and Outlook becoming such a complicated product with pretty much the same features since 2000.

I began using Firefox Browser about a year ago and I have not turned back since. I love it. Very flexible, pop ups are virtually non existing and the extensions and add ons are very useful and easy to use.

I have just downloaded Thunderbird. This is a full featured mail client which for the most part to the common user, would relate and work just like Outlook in basic form. It is easy to use, the application is stripped down and does not try to be an all in one product.

I have noticed you can import your Outlook client settings easily like Firefox does for Internet Explorer. Also, Thunderbird works with Active Directory for exchange server access. I am going to test this thoroughly and possibly use this for now on. I think for a company that does not want to spend lots of money on licenses, this may be a viable option!