Dropbox is the most important application I use because it keeps all my files in the cloud, syncs them across devices, shares them with my team and backs them up. It's spoiled me, because now I expect all my applications to be in sync no matter what computer I use.

The problem with native software (as opposed to web-based software) is that your data is stored locally. If I use an app for an hour on my desktop then pop open my laptop, I can't expect to open the same app and see all the data I just worked on because it's a different computer.

Several applications circumvent this problem by syncing your data with Dropbox or another online source. 1Password and Things are good examples of Dropbox support, while an app like Evernote syncs your data with it's own servers.

For apps that don't have a way to sync your data, there is a slightly less perfect (see below) solution at your disposal. It's worth trying if you don't have another way to keep things in sync.

In this example we're going to sync the Address Book application, so that your contacts are available on any computer you have setup with Dropbox. The same steps are involved in syncing most any other Mac app also.

Step One

Close the application you want to sync. Then click on your home folder and navigate to Library/Application Support/. Drag the AddressBook folder into your Dropbox. You can put the folder anywhere.

Step Two

Open the Terminal application. Type in:

cd ~/Library/Application Support/	

This just tells Terminal to "change directory" and navigate to the Application Support folder we were just in.

Step Three

We're creating a "symlink", aka a symbolic link. It's sort of like creating an alias in OSX, but an alias won't solve our problem in this case.

Now type this code in Terminal:

ln -s ~/Dropbox/AddressBook .

This creates a symlink permanently connecting the AddressBook folder in your Dropbox with the AddressBook folder in your Application Settings.

Step Four

Test your symlink by navigating to Library/Application Support/Address Book in the finder. If you see the files, your symlink worked!

Now your Address Book is being synced with Dropbox! The only thing you have to remember now is to not open the application on another computer until your Dropbox has finished syncing. Opening the app before it syncs can sort of blow everything up, which is what makes this solution shaky.

Deleting a Symlink

Keep in mind the actual files are now being stored in Dropbox. The AddresBook folder in Application Support simply points to those same files. So if you want to undo everything we just did, you can delete the AddressBook folder in your Application Support folder. Then move AddressBook from your Dropbox back to it's original location in Application Support.

I use this solution to sync applications like Billings or even my iTunes music library. Hopefully it can help if you use multiple computers. Rest assured that in "the future" stuff like this will get much easier as software becomes more web-connected.

A few weeks ago, the Google Analytics team released some fantastic updates to their software. Of particular interest to me was enhanced mobile tracking and reporting capabilities.

The first thing to understand about mobile website reporting is that it works differently than regular websites. Many mobile browsers do not yet support javascript, the language that platforms like Analytics depend on to track website stats. Instead of the browser doing the work, mobile tracking leans on some server-side code to track visitors properly.

Don't be intimidated by all the geek-speak though. It's not rocket science to implement analytics on your mobile site. If you've got five minutes, know how to use FTP and don't mind copy/pasting some code, you can do this!

1. Add a new profile

From your Google Analytics account, add your mobile site as a new domain.

2. Get advanced tracking code

Once your site is added, Analytics will give you a Web Property ID like normal. Keep this around for future reference. In the example below, the Property ID is highlighted.

Click on the "Advanced" tab under the instructions heading. Then click on the radio button to select "A site built for a mobile phone". Finally, select the server-side language. I will be using PHP for this example.

3. Insert the snippets

There are two snippets of code that you must copy/paste onto each page of your mobile website. One goes at the top of each page, right after the <html> tag. The other goes at the bottom of each page, prior to the </body> tag.

Note that the third line of the top snippet includes your Web Property ID. This varies for each domain, so be sure to change it if you ever re-use this code.

4. Upload the file

Lastly, you have to download this file called "ga.php" and upload it to the root directory your domain. This means if your domain is m.yourdomain.com, this file needs to be at m.yourdomain.com/ga.php.

5. Test and Celebrate!

Give it a few minutes and refresh the tracking status in Google Analytics. Assuming you followed the directions, you should be in great shape.

Known Limitations

Lastly, it's important to familiarize yourself with the currently known issues, published by Google in the sample code instructions:

• Multiple instances- you can't run multiple copies of the script on your website, or use it in conjunction with the standard javascript tracking code.
• Inaccurate locations- Since Google determines users' location using their IP address, tracking this from a mobile device is not as accurate.
• Server load- Due to the additional code required to track visitors properly, additional server load may be possible.

A couple of years ago I wrote a post outlining many of the tools we are using to run the business, work with clients and build websites. Of course a lot has changed since then. I'm always interested in what others are using, so hopefully some of you folks can benefit from this updated list.

By far my favorite app, the one that's most crucial to our work every day, is Dropbox. It stores all my files securely online, keeps backups and previous versions automatically, syncs everything across computers and even on my iPhone, allows me to share files and folders with my partners and does it all incredibly well without getting in the way.

Utilities

1Password (Mac/iPhone/Browser Plug-ins)

1Password is a useful application for keeping track of your logins/passwords. It makes great use of browser plug-ins to add new logins and sign you in quickly to sites it knows about.

Fluid (Mac)

This SSB (site-specific browser) allows you to use web apps like desktop apps, giving them a separate icon in your applications folder so it works independently of other apps. It's great to use for your favorite web apps.

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M (Hardware and Mac)

This is the best document scanner you will ever own. It's so awesome that I got the small version for home and highly recommend both.

Pixel Tracker (Mac)

This app is incredibly useful when you need to find a hex value fast.

Snapz Pro X (Mac)

Very handy application for taking photos and videos of your screen

Creative

Sharpie and Paper

All our wireframes start with a blank sheet of paper and a sharpie! I recommend the Dot Grid Book for sketching.

OmniGraffle (Mac)

I create sitemaps using OmniGraffle, and sometimes wireframes if the project demands it. However, we prefer not to get more specific than the paper/sharpie method whenever possible.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 (Mac)

We use Fireworks, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and the Media Encoder regularly.

Code

Textmate (Mac)

Text editor that's fantastic for coding, and I also prefer to blog/write using it

Textmate Zen Coding Bundles (Mac)

I recently started using this super cool bundle that makes writing HTML and CSS 100% faster using abbreviations and snippets. This article should get you started.

DiffMerge (Mac)

This is a free tool for comparing files and finding differences between the them.

Transmit (Mac)

Great FTP client, easy and reliable

Versions (Mac)

Beautifully designed subversion client, love it

Communication

Adium (Mac)

Great little open source instant messaging client that supports any well-known provider (AIM, Yahoo, gTalk, etc.)

Skype (Mac/PC/iPhone)

Skype is a swell app for VOIP phone calls and chat

Mail/iCal/Address Book (Mac)

They are not perfect, but I prefer the default OSX tools for email, calendar and contacts. I especially love the Letterbox Plug-in for mail.

CoTweet (Web App)

CoTweet is great for companies that have numerous people managing one twitter account.

Tweetie (Mac/iPhone)

Great twitter client, beautiful UI for both the Mac and iPhone

GoToMeeting (Mac/Web App)

We use this as a conference call number and also for client demos of all sorts.

Twuffer (Web App)

This is a nice little application to schedule tweets for the future.

Productivity

Evernote (Mac/iPhone)

I store all kinds of notes in this program, along with categorized bookmarks. If I don't know of a place to put or remember something, it goes in Evernote.

OmniFocus (Mac/iPhone)

EVERY task goes through this app, as I swear by the GTD methodology.

Behance Action Notebook

Great paper tool for taking notes in meetings and so forth

Financial

iBiz (Mac)

All our time tracking and invoicing takes place in this app. The clincher for us is creative control over the template design using HTML/CSS.

Quickbooks 2008 (Windows)

I'm looking for a reason to ditch Quickbooks, so I am not going to link it up here. It's just tough to find a system that is CPA-friendly and has the advanced features we use.

Ubersmith (Web App)

All recurring and credit/debit card billing goes through this system. It's primarily built for hosting providers, but we know the developers of this software and enjoy using it.

Firefox Plug-ins

Firebug

THE web developer tool of choice!

YSlow

Great firebug extension that helps developers optimize pages for speed, according to Yahoo's best practices

Google Page Speed

Another firebug extension that is great for optimizing and measuring web page loading time

Feedly

If you use Google Reader, Feedly is a sweet little tool that structures your feeds more like a newspaper. Sometimes I prefer using this instead of the reader interface. Cool idea!

MeasureIt

Simple little tool to measure the pixels on a web page

Screengrab

Neat tool for taking a full page screenshot, no matter how long the web page is

Xmarks

Sync your bookmarks across browsers and computers, or even view them online

Web Developer Toolbar

Lots of very useful tools for analyzing and building websites

Website Optimization and Monitoring

Clicktale (Web App)

This is a truly awesome tool where you can watch videos of people using your website and see very useful analytics. It's a great form of user testing because it is cheap and users don't know they are being monitored.

Crazy Egg (Web App)

A great way to visualize how visitors are interacting with individual pages on your website

Google Website Optimizer (Web App)

Comprehensive tool for doing A/B or multi-variate testing on your website

Google Analytics (Web App)

Definitely the most popular analytics platform, and you can't argue with the price

Pingdom (Web App)

Uptime and performance monitoring, which notifies us immediately via email and/or SMS the moment anything is funky on one of our servers

Linkpatch (Web App)

Our team created Linkpatch, and we use it to watch for broken links on our websites. If someone encounters a broken link on the website, we get an email with all the information necessary to fix the problem.

Other Apps

MailChimp (Web App)

We recommend this service to ALL our clients for email newsletters and marketing, they rock

Google Reader (Web App)

Really useful feed reader

Feed My Inbox (Email/Web App)

We created Feed My Inbox, which you can use to subscribe via email to any feed. It's very handy for people that don't use feed readers and want an easy way to follow their favorite sites.

MyFax (Web App)

I've never owned a fax machine, so this application gives me a number by which I can easily send/receive faxes via email.

Survs (Web App)

My very favorite way to conduct online surveys

Tripit (Web App/iPhone)

Automatically organizes your trip itenerary

After nearly two months without a post on this blog, I'm pleased to come out of hibernation this week. One of the reasons I was unable to make time for blogging recently is because my spare time has been dedicated to a side project that we launched about 3 weeks ago.

Our team is never short on inspiration or ideas for the web, and our outlet is a little software company called Brightwurks. Linkpatch is the name of our second web application, and it is our way of solving a problem we deal with every day at Project83.

One of the more frustrating things a user can run into on the web is a broken link. Often times, it leaves the user stuck, forcing them to wander the site aimlessly looking for what they need, or become frustrated and go elsewhere.

We do a number of things when launching a website to minimize dead ends like that. We always check the site for broken links between internal pages, and setup redirects (when applicable) from any old URLs to the appropriate location on the new site.

While most geeks stop there, I don't believe that's enough. There aren't any tools that are constantly watching, monitoring when and why people run into a broken link on your site. If another website is linking to your website, but the URL is broken or out-of-date, you have no way of knowing ... until Linkpatch.

The idea behind Linkpatch is simple. It is a small script that is always watching your website's error pages. If a user ends up on an error page as the result of a broken link, the script records all kinds of information about what happened, and sends an email to the webmaster so it can be fixed.

Linkpatch has been an incredible resource, as we have been using it internally for quite some time. We have it installed on many of our websites, and if a user or customer runs into an issue, we're able to diagnose and fix it very quickly. If we make a mistake in building the site, Linkpatch usually lets us know before the client does.

Here are just a few of the uses we have had for Linkpatch recently:

• One of the URLs in a recent client newsletter had a typo. We were able to add in a redirect from the misspelled URL to the correct one.
• The shopping cart page on a client site was broken after a recent update, and Linkpatch found it very quickly.
• Links from blogs, twitter, search engines and affiliate websites that were all wrong or out-of-date were able to be caught and corrected within minutes after the first sign of an error.

Linkpatch has definitely been a big help to us in keeping our client websites error-free. We think other webmasters and web design shops will enjoy it too. Feel free to check out the site if it sounds appealing, and we always welcome any feedback. For the next 2 days, you can get a free 5-site Linkpatch account for mentioning the app on twitter. Check out this page for more info.

"What's a feed?"

I hear this question at least a few times per week. In short, feeds are the future. A feed is a document that keeps track of updated content on a website. Blogs and news sites are the most common places to find feeds since the content is updated pretty often.

When you subscribe to a feed, you can be notified when the content is updated without having to visit the website. Geeks use feed readers, like the one google has. I personally follow about 60 different feeds from my reader. It is much more convenient to have all the new content from those sites on-demand rather than visiting the sites individually.

Since experts say that only 3% of people use feed readers, we need a way to bridge the gap and help people figure it out. Feed My Inbox is our solution. When a feed you have subscribed to is updated, we will send you an email with the new post(s).

About Feed My Inbox

The concept is designed to be as easy as possible for the 97% out there that is figuring out the feed scene. All you have to do is enter a website, and enter your email on the home page. The application will go to the website, find any available feeds there and subscribe you. Simply click the link we email you to confirm the subscription, and it's all set.

It literally takes 30 seconds or less to add a feed. No new software or learning is required.

Each time the feed is updated, you will be notified through email. However, if a feed is updated more than once in a 24-hour period, you receive one email with all the updates. This is designed to keep your inbox tidy, as no one wants more email than they already get.

How Long Did it Take?

I talked about this a lot on my twitter feed, but we tried to create this entire application in 1 day. All in all it took a little over 2 full days, but all the design and front-end stuff was done within the first day. We just wanted to make sure the technical side and emails were done right, so that part took a little longer.

Building something this way is great for a number of reasons:

• We built ONLY features that were absolutely necessary to launch, then added the rest to a list for "someday maybe".
• All working together, 100% focused on the goal for an entire day, was a great source of momentum. We all pushed each other, and as a result, things happened quicker.
• After only a couple full days of work, we have an extraordinary sense of accomplishment! You can't beat that with a stick.

I Thought You Built Websites, not Software

We DO build websites, and thoroughly enjoy it! However, we like to work with our own ideas too. It keeps us sharp, motivated and always learning new things. So to make these ideas a reality, I partnered with the same two guys to create a software company called Brightwurks. I will make Brightwurks announcements on this blog from time-to-time.

Feed My Inbox is the first of many web-based software applications Brightwurks is building. We have 3 more in the works. We would love to hear what you think of this one.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a beta for Dropbox. Like so many people, I have experimented with tons of various file sharing/storage applications, and most of them did not last half a day. Dropbox is not only the exception, but it has made my workflow and communication with our team fundamentally easier. Here are 3 of my favorite things about it:

2 Minutes to Setup and Start Syncing

Simple setup was the key to hooking me. It's mostly self-explanatory, and took less than 2 minutes for me to drag a bunch of files into my Dropbox and start the upload process. Within about 24 hours, I had 8GB of my files uploaded to Dropbox. Dropbox has already bailed me out in a serious way. A couple of weeks ago, prior to leaving for a week of work in New York and Austin, my powerbook stopped working completely. No power at all after 2 batteries and days of charging. I had to get a new MacBook (love it, by the way) in New York when we arrived. The first thing I did on my new computer was try to access all my important business files that I would need over the next week. Once I linked my account, I had the latest versions of all my files downloaded locally within 2 hours. WOW! Not only that, but when I got home and started up the desktop, it automatically downloaded the updated files from my laptop that were created or modified during the trip.

File Backup and Restoration

Another really great feature of Dropbox is that it constantly keeps backups of your files. Let's say you save the same file 5 times over 5 days. All 5 versions of the file would be available from the web interface, and it only takes one click to restore a prior version. This feature also bailed me out recently.

Super Simple Sharing

Sharing files and folders is also quite easy with Dropbox. From your desktop, simply right-click the folder you want to share, and Dropbox has sharing options in the contextual menu. This takes you to the web interface, where you can instantly share folders with other people that you specify. Sharing folders is also a nice way of providing your friends and family with Dropbox accounts rather than making them wait in line for the beta. In the last week, our team has gotten on board and is sharing files for projects and other work.

Obviously, Dropbox gets 5 stars from me. It's the way file sharing and storage always should have been. I can't wait for them to release plans with more storage space so I can ramp it up even further. You can visit their site to signup for the beta and also watch a cool video of the application in action.

There's a great deal of amazing software out there these days to help web design companies manage projects and build great quality websites. I'm always wondering what kind of cool applications people in our business are using, just in case one of them would be great for my own toolbox. So I want to take the opportunity to share tools our team uses on a day-to-day basis and give them some link love (as if they need it). Disclaimer: Any of the following desktop applications are for Mac, so PC users may be out of luck on some of them. Sorry, but not really since I love my macs.

Web Development

• Code- Textmate
• FTP- Transmit
• Design / Editing- Adobe Photoshop and Graphic Converter
• Debugging- Xyle Scope, Firefox Developer Toolbar, IE Developer Toolbar, Total Validator
• PC Testing- Parallels
• Quick and Easy Forms- Forms to Go
• Wireframing- OmniGraffle
• Proposals- QuarkXPress
• Dedicated Servers- Voxel.net

Web-Based Tools

• Content Management / eCommerce- Springboard (shameless plug)
• Website Monitoring- Pingdom
• Analytics- Google Analytics
• Email- Zimbra
• RSS Reader- Newshutch
• Flash Slideshows- Slideshow Pro / Slideshow Director

Administration / Management

• Getting Things Done- iGTD
• Getting Things Done Outside the Office- Jott
• Internet Merchant Account- Merchant Plus
• Password Management- KeePassX
• Backups / Syncing- Super Duper and FoldersSynchronizer
• Accounting / Invoicing- Quickbooks and iBiz

Cool Mac Utilities

• Chat- Adium
• Find a Hex Value on-screen- Pixel Tracker
• Screenshots / Screencasts- Snapz Pro X
• Prevent Apple top menu from burning into your display- MenuShade
• Copy/Paste Management- iClip

Thanks to the awesome software creators and providers out there! It sure makes my day much easier with software and services like this. Feel free to mention any cool apps I am missing out on in the comments!

Although I work on the web, over the years there have been very few web applications that have truly become instrumental to the way we do business. Pingdom is certainly an exception. Pingdom is a very simple service really. For a small monthly fee, they allow you to monitor a number of websites 24/7 and check for downtime or errors. Their monitoring servers will check your website any number of times, from once per minute to once per hour. Should it be down, you instantly get an email, and if you choose, an SMS text message on your cell phone. You also are notified when the server is back up. Users can actually setup similar monitoring for mail servers as well using Pingdom. I find it to be a must-have for any website administrator, and it is great security for your clients to know that you are on top of their site.

A Fun Registration Process

I love studying checkout and registration processes, and I must say that signing up for Pingdom was an absolute pleasure. I started by signing up for their risk-free 30-day trial. It took maybe 60 seconds and there was no billing information required. Then I saw something I thought was really great. Following my sign-up confirmation, I was offered a one-time discount on the pricing if I were to make a purchase immediately. Being a sucker for a great bargain, I took advantage of their offer and bought a one year plan. Following my purchase, I was immediately emailed new login information. I was able to login and setup all of my sites in less than 20 minutes, and have been absolutely thrilled with the application ever since. The administration area is very intuitive, and makes use of some very clever javascript throughout to keep things moving along rapidly. All in all, Pingdom is a must-have in order for our company to continually provide clients with exceptional customer service. By all means, check it out today.

Most people that have built a web application would probably tell you that great design and development are the last things you should worry about. They are absolutely correct. It has much more to do with the process and mentality through which you create your application. Each person involved must possess a great deal of passion, optimism and foresight to see a project of that magnitude through to the end. If you have read this far and are still fired up, I would like to share 5 things our team learned so far in developing our new web application called Dayscape.

1. Find a Niche

While listening to a podcast from the Web 2.0 Show recently, I heard a great comment from their guest Richard White. Richard was on the team that developed Kiko, an online calendar that ultimately did not pan out and was sold on eBay, so I was very intrigued to hear what he had to say. When asked why he felt the application failed, he said it was because they were trying to be all things to all people. In a market where few have the capability to reach the masses like Google can with their products, it only makes sense to find the right niche. One of the first things you do when building a web app should be to define your audience. Who would benefit from this product the most and why do they need it? For example, our team knew about Google Calendar while in the planning stages of Dayscape, and it never shook our desire to build the application simply because we are going for a different niche of people. Our product's primary use is within businesses, so we decided to focus on personalization, communication options and using a more elegant, professional user interface.

2. Celebrate Small Victories

If a brochure web site is a sprint, a web application is surely a marathon. Your team will get easily burned out if you don't take the time to sit back and celebrate progress along the way. There will be moments of frustration and doubt, but make sure to use every excuse to encourage and praise the accomplishments of those you are working with along the way. Every 2-3 weeks our team would go out to eat, have a great time and cast a vision for where things are headed next. Those times really provide an opportunity to not only look back on progress over time, but also to get motivated for the next phase of development. By turning a huge project into small, bite-sized projects it is easier to swallow and gives you a lot more opportunities to pat yourself on the back.

3. Set Deadlines

Most people start developing a web application as a side project in their free time, which is great. The downfall in that situation is that people are often too casual in their planning. "As soon as possible" just is not good enough, it is easy to become lazy and lose interest in the project at that point. At all costs, establish deadlines and do everything in your power to meet them. It creates not only a sense of urgency, but accountability within your team. If you promise to finish a project by a certain date and know that someone is waiting on your work, somehow you do what it takes to get it done.

4. Keep in Touch with the Real World

Those that work within the web community can easily get stuck in a bubble along with everyone else that spends all day in front of a computer and get out of touch with casual users with relatively casual needs. Before spending a significant amount of time on your web app, conduct whatever research is necessary to find out whether there is a real demand for your product with normal consumers. The results could tell you to refine your idea or drop it all together, thus saving a great deal of time and effort. The community of web developers is a relatively small one. If your product only appeals to developers, chances are that there is not much of a business model for it. The bottom line is to make a product that fills a widespread NEED, not just a "oh, that would be cool". People don't pay for cool applications; they pay for a service that makes their lives easier. One sobering statistic that can help you figure our whether your application can create enough income to succeed is that only about 2% of your customers will actually sign up for a "paying" account. So if you have 200 customers, plan on around 4 of them actually choosing to pay for the service being provided.

5. Have a Unique Selling Proposition

A similar term was used in a previous article about writing a winning proposal, and the same principle applies here. Do everything possible to separate yourself from competition by outlining unique benefits your application has over other services. Once you find a niche market for your product, setting yourself apart from competition should be easy. One thing that really bothers me is that so many companies have blatantly ripped off Digg and their model for displaying content. Digg came up with a great idea and providers like Netscape just made a crappier version of the same thing. Unless you can make your product better and set it apart in some way, don't waste your time. Honestly, no one likes a copycat.

Recommended Reading

I hope this article has shed some light on the fact that there are so many important elements to consider in building a web app other than the code. The eBook Getting Real (from 37signals) imparts a great deal of wisdom to support the principles just mentioned. Anyone thinking about creating a web application must read this book and reinforce its principles each day. Getting Real helped our team zone in a minimal feature set to start off, keep things simple, and most importantly keep our users the number one priority.

An Update on Dayscape

We have been working very hard to meet our self-imposed deadlines on Dayscape, thus the lack of posts lately. Currently we are doing some private testing among our team here, but if you would like to be among the first to try it out, make sure to sign up on MyDayscape.com.

Would you like to see what the future of email looks like?

I think it looks a lot like an email product called Zimbra. Over the last year or so, I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this highly acclaimed software. I had the opportunity to beta test it a while back, and officially made the switch this past week and absolutely love it. It will be compared to Exchange Server by many, but is already miles ahead of it in most categories.

Zimbra was developed for the linux platform, and is open source at the very core. Like exchange, it syncs your calendar, address book and email. If you use a desktop client, you can currently set it up as an IMAP or POP account and it works beautifully. They have made a commitment to working alongside Apple and PC desktop applications to sync the contacts and calendar, though. There are tools for both Outlook and OSX machines that help you sync everything. I have been using the beta sync tool for Mac, which is fantastic. It operates as an extension of iSync, and my Zimbra account is automatically synced every hour, or whenever I make additions to iCal or Address Book. The Zimbra web client is simply a sight to behold. It takes AJAX to a completely different level. Everything is drag and drop, most things are right-clickable, and the amount of options is just stunning. Instead of going into major details regarding ALL of the features, it would just suit you better to try their hosted demo for yourself. Here are more of my favorite features so far . . .

• VoiP support, works seamlessly with Skype if you choose
• Widgets they call "Zimlets" that will add a great deal of value to the product
• Share your calendar publicly for viewing or editing in two clicks
• Support for Blackberry Enterprise Server is almost here, can't wait for that
• Re-brandable interface for your business
• Automatic backups
• Great search tool!

I could talk about Zimbra a great deal, but this product is something that must be "experienced". Set aside 30 minutes or so to play with their hosted demo, it is worth every second. To be fair, I also wanted to mention a couple things I feel that they will improve on in the near future. Since it is pretty much 100% AJAX, it can move slowly at times. I noticed the hosted demo is much slower than my new account though. Also, I have found a couple things that are a little buggy, but I am sure they will continue to improve their software at an amazing pace. So are you ready to sign up? Our friendly hosting provider Voxel.net was one of the first partners on-board with Zimbra, and their team has accounts with 1GB of space for only $4 per month. Zimbra is revolutionizing the personal workspace, and bringing innovation to the web with their software. I would suggest trying it out!