Butter face. Or is it buthis face?
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The face on YouTube that looks like he’s American, but speaks in a Japanese accent. 
I’ve always said I have a face for radio.
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I don’t use it, but I hear a lot of positives about Spectacular.
“Serious” or not in the beginning don’t mean squat!
Until EVERY inspector jumps in and gets their hands wet, they have ZERO CLUE if they will even survive their first year in business!
Most newbies make the HUGE mistake of listening to most inspectors on this MB for advice on what to purchase! Of course most here will advise to buy the best that money can but, but that is NOT what they need to hear!
They need to hear what will work to get them off and running, and to find out 1) If they even like the Inspection Field, and 2) If they feel they can truly make a ‘go’ of it and be profitable, 3) What tools they actually need, 4) The depths of education they will need just to get through the first dozen(s) of inspections without getting sued, and 5) What they even want their Inspection Report Software to do and look like after spending countless hours customizing it to how they want it to represent their companies!
IMO… any inspector that dumps their money into the ‘Premium’ Gimmicks and Products right off the bat, is a fool and likely soon to be out of business and/or flirting with bankruptcy.
So do do all the MAGA podcasters
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Nobody cares.
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Ain’t that the truth 
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This made me laugh more than it should have.
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Sheesh, some acidic comments here. This ain’t our religions or politics.
For many newbies, cost is a big consideration. Brand names or knock-offs? $150 flashlight or $20 flashlight? Gas sniffer or use your nose? Spectora or EZ?
We all have different criteria. Instead of buying a brand-new Range Rover for my work vehicle, I bought a used Pathfinder. I could afford the Range Rover, but didn’t need that or the payment.
All the comments about the pain of changing software are true, but when you’re on a tight budget, saving a few bucks here and there can help buy hamburger instead of more beans tonight.
On the other hand, if $100/month for a report subscription is going to break the bank, you may not be ready for this biz yet. I changed software (wrote my own) about 15 years ago. It was a pain for sure, but my first software taught me what I wanted in my report (as did the old ITT paper report that I started with)
My barely two cents worth of advice is to first check out the software, reports and reviews and then the price. Going with a company that has been around at least five years can save you from a surprise headache if a new company suddenly disappears.
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A Range Rover and a Pathfinder are similar vehicles and can basically do the same things debatably equally. However, comparing a one-time purchase, bare bones, basic software to a business management system that also includes report writing is more akin to comparing a Peterbilt to a Taurus. One wouldn’t make a list comparing prices of a Peterbilt to a Taurus without explaining how they are significantly different. That was my point, before the forum gremlins took over. And I’m not even saying one is better than the other, I’m just saying that the list doesn’t mean much without knowing the differences between the quoted offerings.
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When I was a new-bee, I made a reporting software choice based on this MB, purchasing a report software that is highly praised here. As I did inspections with this software, I lost a few realtor recommendations because my report was difficult to digest. I came to learn that I needed a much better summary. This business is all about communication. Choosing the right report format is critical to accomplishing that task.
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If it takes quite a few months to get up to speed with any software, it’s the wrong software. It shouldn’t take more than a few days.
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This. Software should not be an impediment to the product. The report.
Can it be fine tuned, improved, and streamlined over time? Sure. The core function however should be usable on day 1.
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It’s like comparing a Shopmate all-in-one piece of woodworking equipment to individual specialized pieces of wood working equipment, or like comparing a stereo receiver and loudspeakers set from Radio Shack to an individual pre-amp, amplifier, tuner, and loudspeakers that all are optimized to fit a discriminating listener’s needs and tastes.
All-in-one stuff usually does a lot of stuff but doesn’t do anything particularly well, certainly not as well as individual specialized components.
Some inspection software companies have expensive inspection software that is limited in its core capabilities, such as customization. They try to compensate for mediocre inspection report capabilities by shoring it up with a lot of other stuff than can be better accomplished using specialized software to perform tasks other than actual report writing.
A lot of inspection report software options have stuff that not all inspectors want or need. They have one-size-fits-all software and that’s all they have. Buying inspection software should be more like buying a car. Some people want basic transportation and others want lots of bells and whistles. Why should inspectors pay for stuff that they neither want nor need?
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Want or need today or want or need somewhere down the road?
I am relieved to see someone got my point.
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Shopmate or Shopsmith?
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Shopsmith. Thanks. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually seen one. I was curious to see if they are still around so I went to their website. Their website says that they are ceasing production immediately and liquidating.
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