It seems frivolous to be moving zeros and ones around while others are suffering so greatly. Especially since it is so close to home. As I watch each one do it’s dance in the Atlantic, I wonder if it will be coming for us. But when we are the fortunate ones, we do what we can and go on with daily life.

So, about the Cow. FatCow, that is. And moving those zeros and ones around.

FatCow has been my web host since February 2004 when I started this blog. Simplicity, customer service, and a cute cow face seemed to offer a lot to love. But the supposed simplicity actually made things more complicated when you wanted to do anything other than upload basic html pages. I’d been holding out hope for the one thing that was most lacking–a decent control panel. But it never came and, in my opinion, things went downhill fast after they were bought out by Endurance International Group (more details).

It no longer made sense to stay, but I took my time because I had nearly a full year left on my plan. (FatCow accepts only yearly payments.) With a baby arriving in December, I stepped up the pace of finding a new host. I didn’t want February to roll around and wind up stuck with the Cow again because I hadn’t prepared a place to go.

A few people recommended DreamHost to me. Their plans seemed almost too good to be true. Even so, I was on the verge of signing up with them, but kept hesitating. Then I found Site5.

I won’t blabber on about why Site5 seemed to be a better fit for me. But I will say they have an excellent reputation for customer service. I need that. I know some stuff, but I’m not a tech guru. Even sweeter, they’ll credit you up to $50 worth of your existing contract if you switch to them from another host. That certainly eased the pain of abandoning five months I’d already paid for at FatCow.

The transition went smoothly yesterday (although I still have to migrate my Gallery) and I couldn’t be happier that I finally switched. Good-bye you cute little cow.