PowerBlog Review: BugBlog

Editor's note: This is the fifth in our popular weekly series of PowerBlog Reviews of other weblogs...





The BugBlog's tagline says it is "A daily look at computer bugs and their fixes."



And that's precisely what it is. According to its website:

"The BugBlog covers the things that go wrong when you use computers. These include classic bugs, or errors in coding; security problems; incompatibilities between programs, or between software and hardware. It also covers what we feel are really stupid and/or backwards features in programs -- ones that companies often say aren't bugs but 'features'."

The BugBlog is published by Bruce Kratofil of BJK Research, located in Cleveland, Ohio USA near the Great Lakes, immediately south of Canada.



Bruce has an extensive history tracking and reporting on computer bugs. He served as Editor of the now-defunct BugNet. He has authored numerous articles on computer bugs. He also co-authored a book, The Windows 95 BugBook, which was put on display at the Smithsonian Institution.



What I like best about this weblog is that it's simple and to the point. It's a good resource for the average computer user who just wants to know key facts about computer bugs -- without having to spend hours wading through knowledge bases at the software providers' sites.



It's especially useful for owners of home businesses and very small businesses. Most owners of very small businesses don't have the luxury of network administrators and computer help desks. If you are a small business owner using a software application and something screwy happens with it, you have to diagnose the problem and solve it on your own.



That's where the BugBlog can be helpful. You can stay up to date through the daily postings on the site, or you can search it when an issue pops up (using your Google toolbar).



What's more, it is written in everyday language with some light humor thrown in. You don't have to be a techno-geek or write software for a living to understand the BugBlog.



The BugBlog also offers a members-only portion of the site and a weekly newsletter called the BugBlog Plus, for a very small fee. The BugBlog Plus provides additional information about computer bugs, over and above what appears in the free weblog. At $18 USD/year, the subscription costs less than a latte once a month at my favorite coffee house.





The Power: The power of the BugBlog is that it is a time-saver for those who want to stay up to date on issues affecting their computers, but who don't have time to hunt down and wade through all the information on their own, or who wouldn't know where to look. For a small business owner or the average consumer, the BugBlog can can save lots of time and headaches.