Thank You So Much…Happy New Year!

Thank You So Much…Happy New Year!

Every year at this time, we reflect upon the year that is drawing to a close and look ahead to the new year which will soon begin.

First, we want you to know how thankful we are for your support and your friendship. When we look back on the year now nearing its end, we want you to know that we are aware that without your continued support and friendship, we’d not be able to keep our small company alive. So, we want to make sure that you know how very thankful we are for all of you!

Some of us look back at the year’s end with good memories, and happy memories and others look back upon bad memories and sad memories. But I think most of us look back upon the year that’s drawing to a close with a little bit of all of those.

And it’s natural too, to look ahead with hope and, of course, a little trepidation – since none of us can know what the new year will bring. The new year will no doubt present opportunities and challenges and victories and defeats. Whatever will be will be, and the new year will bring what it will. But we still choose to look forward to the new year with great hope and with great resolve to continue to do our best for you in the new year.

In 2023, we will begin our 25th year with the little company we call “Cloudeight”. A company that we started as a dream back in 1998. And like most of you, we look back with mixed memories at the year that is now coming to an end.

The Internet is a very different place now than it was in 1998; 25 years in computer terms is like a century in real-world terms. And so we all, I think, struggle to keep up with the changes that at coming 1t us from all directions.

The trend now is easy and instant. In-depth articles have been replaced with glitzy headlines created to induce you to click and short articles of dubious substance, written more to “go viral” than to teach and encourage exploration. The old generation of Internet users has virtually been replaced by a new generation of Internet users who live in a disposable instant world of quick and nearly free… nearly free apps and the instant, free, sometimes insubstantial world of social media.

The world is a different place now than it was in 1998. Far more people access the Internet with phones and tablets than with PCs. When we started back in 1998, 99% of those who accessed the Internet, did so with a Windows PC. Now, Windows users share the Internet with Android and Apple users. Windows no longer dominates. Android is now the most popular operating system, though it’s mainly used on smartphones and tablets.

Without YOUR support, help, and friendship we would have long since joined those Web sites and companies who, like us, were born in the early days of the Internet, but who could not survive in this new Internet landscape. Mom-and-pop sites have almost disappeared.

We are keenly aware that our survival and our success depend on you. It depends on giving you, our friends, what you want. Most of you are Windows users, but more and more of you are using Android & Apple tablets and phones to access the Internet. We will continue focusing on Windows, But we hope to add a few tips and tricks for Android users in 2023. And if you know some useful Android tips, we hope you will share them with us so we can share them with everyone.

And we believe that 2023 will continue to bring big changes with Windows. As of this writing, Windows 10 was supposed to be the last “numbered” version of Windows. But, as we all know it wasn’t. Windows 10 is still being used by far more people than Windows 11. And Windows 10 still has over two years of “life” left. And, even as Windows 11 struggles to gain traction with users, Microsoft is working on Windows 12. We have updated most of our Windows 10 tips for Windows 11 and we’ll continue to provide support and tips for both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

The Internet world has become a world of the catchy and the superficial. It’s full of free disposable apps – useful and useless. It’s a world of instant communication and instant relationships. A world where paragraphs and cogent writing have been replaced by short “tweets” that are easy and quick to read and click-bait headlines designed to scare you or sell you. And let’s not forget the 16-year-old “Influencers” who – thanks to TikTok – are making hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a year influencing viewers.

We are old-fashioned. Our mission is and always has been to try and give you what you want. But we will never sell you out. We still strive to tell you truth and warn you of the dangers both new and old that you face every day on the Internet. But, we promise to try to keep you safe without scaring you — without clickbait or yellow journalism. We will never use fear to induce you into clicking headlines the way that far too many others do. We’ll focus on Windows tips and tricks that will make you a better, smarter, and safer Windows user.

We’ll continue to recommend only software and products that we use and believe in. And we will try to help you save money by avoiding the many pitfalls of buying software based on fake reviews and false claims.

The complete commercialization of the Internet is here whether we like it or not. And though the Internet is vastly different than it was when we started Cloudeight, we remain committed to providing you with information, products, and services you can trust and believe in.

We promise you that we will continue to provide valuable, trustworthy information and never resort to empty, catchy, sensationalistic headlines written to get you to click.

We believe that if we continue to be a steady, reliable, source of information, products, and services that you can believe in and trust, you will continue to honor us with your friendship and your support and we will survive.

Thank you very much for making it possible for our little business to beat the odds and survive. We hope that in the coming year we will continue to earn your trust and friendship as we have tried so hard to do in all the years that have come before.

May the new year bring you and those you love happiness and good health. And may all your dreams come true.

Thank you so much for your friendship and support.

Happy New Year!

Darcy & TC