sharing e-mail addresses (was Re: [plug] Prevent downloads)

[Michael Hunt]

On Tue, 2003-05-13 at 18:56, Tim Bowden wrote:

<snip>

> b) Doesn't wan't the added expense of a domain name which can be 
> significant to a very small business on a tight cashflow.

Considering that a domain name can be purchased for as little as $30/yr
and hosting for about $35/yr, I really don't see cost being that much of
an issue. If it is that the cash flow is really too tight for this
meager expenditure I would wonder about the viability of the business
operations as a whole. [1]

> c) Doesn't have the skill, interest or time to investigate domain 
> registration- common to small business.

Do it for them and charge $25 on top of what it would cost you above and
you still come in it $100. $25 bucks for 10 minutes work is not to bad
in this economy.

> [1]  Dialup is rapidly becoming uneconomical for all but the most casual 
> of users or those in a poor service area

Oh I don't think dial-up is as completely antiquated/defunct as you
suggest. For casual use and people who need semi-mobile access (i.e.
they don't mind plugging the laptop into a land line when they need to
be connected) dial-up can be a cost-effective and adequate means of
providing such connectivity. For more intensive use and for those who
mobility/higher costs are not an issue then broadband is certainly the
way to go. [2]

<My mind goes back to the days of 1200 bps modems and I remember all
that I was able to accomplish on such limited amounts of bandwidth. This
constant pursuit of bandwidth is fruitless I tell you, nothing will
profit from it !!! :-)>

> Another 2c

My 2 euro cents. Aussie and US dollar are fluctuating to much to make
good value comparison tools.

> Tim Bowden

[1] Even the cheapest dial-up connection is probably going to cost them
more than this per year.
[2] There are initial setup costs (~$300+) that a fledgling SOHO
business might want to defer and/or not invest in if cash flow is an
issue. And I could see this as a suitable reason for sticking with
something like dial-up for the short-term until such a decision/capital
is possible/available. However for case studies that I have done on this
very issue, switching to broadband where possible actually can result in
cost savings (no second line rental, telephone calls etc) that result in
a better service at either a lower cost or equal to what was originally
being used. Where lower the upfront costs can usaully be recovered from
the savings in 12-24 months.