I’m just beginning the arduous process of switching to a new hosting company. I haven’t really had any problems with 1&1, but their support isn’t the greatest, and I’ve heard some stories of sketchiness in dealing with their billing department. Since I’m at the point anyway where I need to graduate to a VPS from my shared hosting plan, I figured I might as well move to a more reputable host while I’m at it. I decided on MediaTemple some time ago (based on the features available and multiple personal recommendations), but I’ve spent the last month or two convincing myself it’s worth the $50 a month (much more than I’ve been paying 1&1).

Hoping to soften the blow, it occurred to me to check RetailMeNot to see if I could dig up an offer code and save a few bucks.

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I’ve been a longtime user of Google Docs (and Writely before it), mainly because I hate sitting through the three agonizing minutes of “font menu optimization” before Microsoft Word will finally launch (this is on my respectably equipped Mac Pro). Since my MLA-compliant college paper-writing days, I haven’t really needed the advanced editing features of Word, so I’m more than happy to settle for the simplicity of the Google Docs word processor.

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