Google has spoken, and we must deal with it

To everyone who has called, sent text messages, and e-mailed me today freaking out about the impending shut down of Blogger's FTP service:

1. This was Google's decision, not mine, and I am not happy about it either.
2. Yes, I can keep your blog(s) working by moving it to a Blogger-hosted custom domain; however it is not a simple one-click process, and I cannot do it yet because Blogger hasn't finished creating their "migration tool" to redirect and preserve the page rank of your old blog pages.
3. No, I will not perform this work for free. I have dozens of clients with integrated Blogger blogs, and the test conversions I performed took 2½ - 3½ hours. That does not include my research and planning the best practices for making the transition and seamless as possible. I will be charging a flat rate for the conversion, with discounts for clients with multiple blogs. I haven't set the price yet (I need to see a working copy of Blogger's Migration Tool first), but it should be in the $80-$120 range.
4. Yes, a  few of you may have to transfer your domain name and/or web hosting to another provider that allows user total control of DNS records and the creation of sub-domains. If your domain name and hosting are with GoDaddy or Moondog Web Hosting (and possibly others), this will NOT be necessary.
5. No, you don't have to migrate to to a Blogger-hosted custom domain. I can (a.) remove the blog/news pages from your site completely or (b.) leave the old blog in place as an archive (you will no longer be able to update it).
6. No, I do not think the threat of a class-action lawsuit against Blogger would make them change their minds, nor do I think such a suit has any merit.

I will reply personally to everyone who has contacted me about this issue, but it is going to take some time. We have until March 26, 2010, so there is no reason to panic.