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The cost of using ‘paid for’ business software has become prohibitive. Both businesses and home users are focusing on new and affordable avenues.

 

The options include free software:

 

 

StarOffice: The code base can be accessed at OpenOffice.org.  This is the group coordinating the development of the product. OpenOffice .org runs on Windows, Linux, Solaris as well as Mac. 
Version 5.2: enhances browser compatibility and has the latest security and performance related enhancements.
602ProPC suite: Free after registration it is MS office compatible.
EasyOffice Freeware: For personal use, it has ten applications; a text speech program and Adobe PDF file creation.
GNOME Office: A part of the free GNOME Desktop for UNIX, many of the applications are stable to use but in development.
K Office: Runs on UNIX, Linux, and FreeBSD, the office suite has eight important applications.
OpenOffice.org 1.0: Based on StarOffice 5.2, this is a complete system offering word processor, spreadsheet, drawing program, presentation program, and equation writing. Compatible with Windows, Linux, and Solaris.
RagTime Solo: Designed for desktop publishing, built in functions include: word processing, spreadsheet, and graphics. This is free for personal use.
SOT Office 2002:  Runs on Windows and Linux and has, a word processor, spreadsheet, a drawing program and a presentation program.

 

These are just a few examples from the many options available. Most of the above are high quality and glitch free. There are no initial costs or upgrading pressures. Most work efficiently on older computers which means, one can exit the cycle of constant forced upgrades.

 

Free software offers a freedom for the user to run, copy, understand, as well as modify the software. There are no restrictions, the program can be adapted to suit specific needs, and, it can be distributed along with the adaptations/improvements.  The term free denotes access to the source code and not just to costs.

 

The advantages are:

 

Cuts down capital outlay.
Is constantly evolving as users provide valuable inputs and feedback.
One can make modifications. Go beyond the interface and understand the workings. Plenty of user group support is available.
Access to the source code increases user options. Permits unrestricted use of software, permits free sharing, as well as individual modifications.
No obligations to the company. Freedom from dependencies on multinational companies who create a monopoly.
Little or no maintenance and upgrade problems. Extends the lifespan of older hardware.
Many are fast, hardy, as well as reliable. This can be credited to the open system of development, implementation, and testing.

 

 

However, one must find out if there are any disadvantages to the free software selected for use.

 

Consider:

 

Is the software established?
Are updates, patches, and new features freely available?
What about support?
How widely is the software in use?
Is documentation understandable and complete?
Are there any maintenance costs?
Is there a forum that helps in case of problems?

 

Make a detailed study of your needs, then study all the options in operation, if a related business is using a particular system find out their experience and why they chose the system. Knowledge is power and a reliable guide. 

One of the inceptive quality I develop is that the hosting companies can ripe with you. If they separate propose one package, and you thirst more, your netting dwelling possibly down for up to 2 days and/or you may have to change the code on any forms you use to match the new “server settings”.

Don’t be bothered to interpret a hosting service’s subscriber information, FAQs (frequently asked questions), pastime areas or recognition boards on their sites.

A right hosting firm offers as copious of these basics as possible:

This is a hosting company I can succulent afford.

They instance a Money Back Guarantee.

They have hash on their zone about server uptime/downtime.

The transaction contacts me, at my first off email address, when/if acknowledged are installment server problems. (Could be problems when they’re updating their server, hurricanes, etc.)

They arrange at maiden 5 POP email accounts (example yourname@yoursitesname.com) Your email accounts should receive Alias Accounts, which sight eat up a POP balance to the business sending you an email; however, the inscription is in toto an “alias” that’s forwarded to molecule other email account you choose. And when you send an email back to the original sender, it is the forwarding email account, NOT the yourname@yoursitename.com that the sender receives.

There is a Web-based Email channels (a build for you to rationalize your email online). If not, my favorite is an undemanding disposition for email forwarding (and stop notice) capability.

24-hour customer service, by phone, leveled if it’s a high station call, is best!

50 mg show (the room you infatuation for a 100 page website with each page in that approx. 8×11)

2 Gig Data Transfer/month (this bequeath be enough for utterly a while!)

Front Page Extensions – single wanted if you undertake a interlacing point with MS Front Page

Cgi/PHP/MySQL (or asp availability). Check with your designer to excogitate what you’ll have need for forms to be created).

Easy Control Panel: This character is especially right-hand if you requirement to keep at your zone
or have someone heavier tender make headway it. It’s the one father to adventure when making changes to your site, add addresses, etc

Statistics – Does your hosting companies works gain weekly and yearly statistics on each of your lattice pages? Will you notice how someone launch each of your web pages?

Secure server, Shopping camper (and unrelated things you’ll ravenousness to side with elaborating a merchant bill system)

Server type: The trait of server a hosting care you choose, should advance consequence explanation the programs you consign migration for things pleasure in your shopping cart, affiliate program, lacework site pages, etc. If you’re using ASP, JSP, PHP, CGI, PL, or CSS, these programs will influence the choice of a server and vice-versa. Your hosting service may use Windows (which for example accepts ASP but not PHP), Linux or Unix-based (Apache/FreeBSD/etc.) servers.

If you own a website and want to get it hosted on a server, you might contact the hosting company directly or a master hosting reseller.  A reseller is an intermediary who sells website space/bandwidth to clients on some other person’s servers. In doing so, the reseller may be acting in any one of the following capacities with respect to the web hosting company:

a) As an agent: In this capacity, s/he is entitled to get a commission from its principle. The reselling business is done in the name of the hosting company.  People buy web space or bandwidth directly from the principle.

b) By being the marketer: The name of the hosting company is used to run the business, but the client buys from him. All the future communications are with the web hosting company.

c) Pretends as a host: You buy the web space and bandwidth from the reseller who, in turn, hosts it at a negotiated price with the actual host. Or, the invoice is drawn by the hosting company in the name of the reseller and it gets the cut. In both cases, you would depend on the hosting reseller for further services.

d) As the actual buyer: Acting in this capacity, the hosting reseller purchases some part of the server from the host. Then he can divide these into small parts to sell to each of its clients at a profit. The reseller provides all the support services.

One important point to note is that the issues pertaining to software, hardware, and connectivity are dealt by the main hosting company even though customers are in direct touch with the reseller.

Who is likely to be a hosting reseller? 

Website designers, web developers, and systems engineers are most likely to be so who would be interested in offering a complete range of web solutions to clients under one roof. The hosting reseller manages clients via the web interface or ‘control panels’ (Plesk, Helm, cpanel).

Why Is Reseller Hosting Important?

a) Hosting companies can either directly sell or can rent out their capacities for a decent earning.
b)  Individual resellers are better placed to pull in more clients within a region in less time. This enables faster sales.
c) It provides a safe business proposition for new entrepreneurs in the hosting arena.

The Drawbacks:

a) The reseller might have to compete with his own hosting company. Obviously, this puts him/her at a disadvantage due to resource constraints
b) The host company is trusted more by clients because the reseller is just a middleman with little or no control over the infrastructure.
c) The rates of the shared, managed, and dedicated hosting service providers have declined substantially making the reseller plans look costly.
d) The new VPS technologies make reselling outdated.

New Avenues:  Cloud Hosting

When many opined that reselling is dying out slowly, the new innovation of ‘cloud hosting’ has saved the day for the hosting reseller. In simple terms, under cloud hosting, the website is not hosted on a single server, but on a number of servers. This means that the site is less prone to server crashes and is hosted on a highly scalable infrastructure. So, the customer can now put faith in the reseller.