Over the last year I have been actively researching ways to create my own website. Not really understanding HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) I started reading books and scouring the internet for tutorials. I found quite a bit on YouTube and learned how to read the language but not being the most creative, I was coming to the reality; you need expensive software or buy into a site that offers all the tools needed to complete your website. I didn’t want to jump in to the pool with both feet until I learned how to swim and rather than put out a big expense, I started looking for alternatives.

PageBreeze

Getting free web hosting is quite easy and most of them have website builders but you are limited without some type of HTML editor. I was determined to find something and recently I came across PageBreeze. PageBreeze is free but it does offer a paid version…I currently use the free version and am quite happy with the results.

Ease of use

With PageBreeze you pick from one of their default templates, use one of your own templates or create one from scratch. Once you have decided on a template you have all the tools you will need to create the perfect website to suit your needs.

With PageBreeze you can:

• View the page normally. (Makes editing a snap)
• Adjust the properties of the page. (Style sheets, Description, Meta Tags, and adjust the overall coloring)
• Look at the HTML code. (With a little experience you can tweak the code to your liking)
• Preview the page in Explorer. (Shows you the exact look in the browser as well check to make sure everything is working.)
• Publish to an FTP site. (With all the correct credentials, this makes uploading you site a breeze)
• Create forms. (From drop down menus to validation codes)

The interface reminds me of Microsoft Word which makes the text editing very easy to use. Check out PageBreeze, it is worth the price.

As people get ready to go on vacations this spring, many will be looking for something to keep them entertained as they travel. While some planes now have wi-fi, many still do not, which leaves you without the ability to stream video. There’s some great programming out there streaming on sites like Hulu and YouTube, but you can’t watch it without a internet connection. Not anymore, as a great new program lets you capture streaming video to watch back later. (more…)

There is an old adage out there that says, “You get what you pay for…” until now.

Have you ever downloaded free software that didn’t work that well, was a stripped down version that was limited or one that was on a time trial and before you knew it you were shelling out the necessary $$$ to keep that software package? This was the scenario for me most of the time but I have been introduced to a website that will allow you to search for an alternative to the more expensive software(s) and in most cases, the functionality to make it worth while. (more…)

As we create a larger presence for ourselves online, many people need ways to edit images. It may be for a blog, a photo sharing site, a Facebook page, even a LinkedIn profile. Since Photoshop costs over $200 dollars and even the stripped down version of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, is close to $100 dollars, there is a great need to discover a usable and useful alternative. If it didn’t cost nearly as much, that would be a great plus as well. Luckily, there’s a great free image editor called GIMP. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. (more…)

If you are like me, you don’t like plain and boring backgrounds. Through one my YouTube subscriptions, I have been introduced to great piece of software to create customized backgrounds for your desktop. That software is called John’s Background Switcher (JBS) and it was written by a gentleman named John Connors.

JBS can be set up to change pictures periodically to as much as every hour. You can use pictures from your computer, Flicker, Facebook, and/or Picasa. Once you setup the credentials, it will pull the photos you select. This program launches on start up and sits in your system tray, it does very little to hurt your system’s performance so you have no worries about slowing your computer down. (more…)