Because I had grown accustomed to having my blog hosted on a system that I had control over (more control than my hosted blog) I had setup certain features on my site that I grew to depend on quite a bit. So during the move I had to consider how I was going to replace the functions of my website with free alternatives.

First thing I had to do was list out what exactly I used my website for and what I couldn't live without. Here are the services that I knew I couldn't give up:

• The Blog
• The Wiki
• a Web cam to watch the cats while away from the house
• Some code demos / downloads
• an openID server

Okay, right off the bat the blog is replaced by getting a hosted Wordpress.com account and adding my domains (pistalwhipped.net and pistalwhipped.com) to it via Wp's domain upgrade. When you sign up for a WP.com hosted blog you also get an openID server which knocks two items off the list with one swoop.

The wiki was easily replaced by stikipad but you could also use pbwiki for example. Stikipad also allows me to upload attachments to my wiki articles which takes care of the Code demos and downloads too! I'm making some serious progress here and I've only signed up for two web sites!

Okay, last item on the list. Replacing the web cam without having access to an FTP server seemed really tough until I remembered that logmein.com offers a free version of their Remote Desktop client software. After signing up for an account and installing the software on the machine that hosts the web camera I can now log in remotely and check up on the cats from any computer in the world. Excellent!

So there you have it. By using completely free services (with the exception of the $20 / year required to have my domains point to my wordpress.com blog) I was able to replace some pretty complex aspects of my site and save myself a ton of headaches and a couple extra bucks!

Until next time.

1.  For the times when I just can't stop obsessing about work, I go to logmein to access my desktop at school.  It's free (just download it on your work computer) and is a snap to use.  I can print to school so everything is waiting for me on my printer Monday morning.  Oh joy!

2.  Have you ever been annoyed because there just are no 'coupons' for online shopping?  Well, fret no longer!  I've tasted the kool-aid that is RetailMeNot and love it!  It's a website that lists coupons and promo codes for oodles of online companies.  I ordered a watch for the husbandito from Frontgate for Christmas and got a $100 gift card free!  (Or I could have had $20 off my order).   I've saved a bunch on shipping with Ballard Designs and some other companies.  Some companies don't participate but others do.  Enjoy!

3.  Luckily for me, my school banned this site, but RateMyTeacher can provide some humor (and some damage to teachers' egos!).   Students can log on and rate their teachers.  School boards and administrations have gotten involved, so it's not as much fun as it once was...but still!