Update!

Site Update - I added a few advertising links. The ones from google are nice because they are focused on the topic that I am discussing as you may have noticed already. I posted the one from brinkster because I like the picture of the guy rock climbing. Also Brinkster is a great webhosting company, good prices and great tech support. Thats who is hosting this blog as well as 4 other sites I am affiliated with or I own.
Also, I set up a site feed. That means that this site can be viewed through newsreaders that will automatically update the user when a new post has been made. It is a real nice little feature. For more information click this link and then follow the one that says Blogger Help.Doc's Blog Site Feed

Personal Update - I gave my notice at the Library. My last day as webmaster for the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is April 15th. After that I plan to manage my business full time. This is a huge step and quite a risky one but I feel that I am ready for it. In preparation for my big jump, I am trying to pack my chute as well as possible, by finishing up ITRealm and finish up my business website webICS.net
A few big projects I am currently working on, are a restaraunt website with built in online reservation system, staff management & a meet the staff section, and dinner menu display and management. Another project I am working on is a income property management site for a client. So he can show apartments or commercial listings that he may have available for lease. I am also working on two highly potential projects with the engineers @ Bizingo llc.

Cheers!

--Doc

Getting What You Need @ the Best Price...Free!

Have you ever needed a specific piece of software to open that important file? For many, I am sure that it had something to do with Microsoft Office or Adobe Acrobat? Well, you clicked the right link to find out some FREE alternatives to some of the industry's most expensive software, and I am not talking about software piracy.

One of the biggest problems I face when working with small business owners, is that they need to open Word and Excel documents, but they can not afford to buy Microsoft Office for each machine in the office. This expense can rack up as high as $500 per computer. But there is a solid alternative, it is called OpenOffice.Org and it is developed and distributed by the community. When I say community, I mean a community of programmers that pool together ideas and functionality to a product. In most cases the outcome is an easy to use, very functional, and quite impressive piece of software. With OpenOffice.org, they stood up to those standards.

OpenOffice.org is packed with many features. It allows you to use it as the default program for opening and editing Microsoft Office Documents. OpenOffice gives you the ability to make professional text documents, create highly functional spreadsheets, impressive presentations, and intense 3D drawings. For more information about OpenOffice.Org, please visit their website. Please, if you try it and are satisfied with it, don't hesitate to donate. Every penny helps.

Another problem that many businesses face is creating PDF (Portable Document Files) documents. Because of the free software from Adobe, Adobe Acrobat Reader, PDF documents have become an industry standard for distributing information and forms. Because of the importance of PDF documents, Adobe has created a dominant need and desire for their software, Adobe Acrobat, that allows you to create PDF files. The only catch is that Acrobat costs around $279 for the standard version, but there are alternatives.

One alternative that I have found to be extremely effective is PDFCreator. It installs on your computer as a print driver. What I mean by that, is when you choose to print a document from a program like Microsoft Word, you can select PDFCreator as the printing device. This will then activate the PDFCreator and begin creating your PDF document, which you can then save and use it how you please. The best part about this piece of software is that it is effective and free. For more information, please visit their website.

--Doc

New Technique for Dealing with Spam

Now I know many of you have signed up for a newsletter or two at some point, and before you know it you have 20 spam emails a day entering your vulnerable inbox. Well, any type of newsletter is usually one of those instances where you should feel uneasy about handing out your precious email address.

Newsletter providers, although they can be very helpful, may often sometimes travel down that dishonorable road and sell your information to a greedy spammer. So if you find yourself at a loss because it is a MUST! to have that American Chopper newsletter, here is some help for you.

Many email providers offer options called "Email/Message Filters". These filters act as the "Air Traffic Controller" of your inbox. Yahoo for instance allows you to filter emails from specific places. The beauty of this is you could have your favorite newsletter set up to be forwarded to your non junk email account or a specific folder set up for your newsletters. Then this way you never have to sift through 25 spam emails to get your favorite newsletters.

--Doc