Fact is, if your website is mission-critical you shouldn't be going with shared hosting anyway - but for my purposes (personal and a not-for-profit club site) it's been just fine
I'll second that - I use Dreamhost for my web hosting... Google Apps for email. I also keep a VM online with Rackspace Cloud (when I'm not using it, I think it ends up being about $11/month).
They had a promotion happening a while back... it was essentially $20 for two years of hosting. And then you can just not have them rebill you if you don't like it. So if I weren't paid up through the beginning of 2011, I would probably just host my stuff on my own.
I like Dreamhost because of their tech support. I have had one or two issues relating to their control panel. I hate control panels, but at least theirs sucks far less than cPanel. Each of those issues were very minor, but I filed a ticket with tech support and had resolution within an hour each time. Not bad for not having an SLA. I know I can't expect that from them and the past is no indicator of the future, but hey, for my website that nobody gives a shit about... not bad!
If I didn't use Dreamhost, I would probably host everything on a VPS. Rackspace Cloud Servers is who I have my VPS through right now (I was running mail and DNS through it... right now it's just chilling). I've also heard good things about Slicehost. The thing I like about the Rackspace product is that you can add/resize/delete cloud servers very quickly and easily, which sounds like it would be very useful if you have a website that will need to scale.
I think you're on to something there. Most non-technical managers (and in my experience, often times these are ANYONE above the "lead programmer" or "team lead" position) see programmers as simply labor, and are interchangeable.
It's all part of the same conspiracy. Do you realize how much rocket fuel has to be consumed - and how much pollution gets released - just to send a few people into space?
I predict that by the time we are capable of sending people to mars, ALL or our rocket ships will be coal-fired!
As a layperson - I've personally reached the point where I simply cannot trust what anyone says.
I think that's the best comment I've read so far. As a fellow layperson - someone who is analytically-minded (is that even a word? I don't have caffeine in me yet) - I have to say that the "deniers" have planted the seeds of doubt, and the "believers" have been pretty convincing too.
We, as laypeople (is that even a word?), can argue about it all we want, but it won't get anyone anywhere, because - as many previous comments have said - we're not terribly qualified to come to a conclusion on this.
Because of this, my approach has become one of pragmatism. Whether or not GW/AGW/CC exists, there are things I can do that are helpful either way. For example, I put CFL light bulbs in all the sockets in my home. Whether or not they reduce my carbon footprint - or even my electric bill - they still last way longer and are therefore more convenient (although at a bit of an extra cost). I drive a Honda Accord that gets 34mpg on the highway. It's no Prius, but whether or not its emissions are responsible for AGW, at the very least it saves me money over a gas guzzler. I do my best to practice the 3 R's - reduce, reuse, recycle - I learned that back in the 80s, in grade school, when we weren't worried about AGW, but instead about the hole in the ozone layer.
I see it as hedging my bets.... I guess I have just enough doubt in my mind to prevent me from becoming a tree-hugger:)
FFS. I suppose that some people would need to have rules explained to them. I think it's just a reflection of the lack of common sense.
Here are a few of my favorites:
3. Avoid taking calls when you're already engaged in a face-to-face conversation.
Am I the only one that thinks that saying "excuse me, I have to take this" is rude, even though "excuse me" was said?
4. If you do take a call, ask permission of the people with you.
I suppose under very limited circumstances (example: Your mom is really sick and your dad is calling).
5. Avoid texting during a face-to-face conversations.
Again, really? Before texting existed, did we just start doing other things while people were talking to us?
6. Put your phone's ringer on "silent" in theaters and restaurants.
Common sense. Everyone gets a free pass for forgetting once in a while, I guess, but it should just be a habit by now.
8. Hang up and drive.
When exactly was driving not the top priority when... driving?
This article is garbage. Anyone who needs to have "cell phone etiquette" explained to them is someone who is not going to ever practice said etiquette.
My original point was that open-source teams - at least those who develop more popular products - may be able to develop, test, and deploy patches faster, because there may be a wider group of people who are willing test patches and provide feedback, and they may be able to do it without the same kind of red tape that you may encounter at a large company when there are product managers, QA teams, and paperwork involved.
No, not at all! Re-reading my comment, it may sound like I was suggesting that it's okay to release something without testing it - that's not what I meant.
Don't open source people release patches to other developers for testing? I'd imagine that a lot of open source developers don't have the resources to fully QA everything themselves. That's all I was saying.
The other problem is that as a company, you can't just make a patch and send it off like you can with open source. You have to QA the thing first. Plus, I'd bet some companies have procedures and sign-offs that need to happen. Basically, red tape.
Which is precisely why I (and apparently many others) pay for access to wsj.com. It's something like $8-12/month. That's well worth it to get access to the in-depth content they provide. Sure, I browse other news sites to scan headlines, and I would probably even be willing to pay for one or two more high-quality sites.
What I will not pay for is a web site that does not provide me with original content, like sites that just aggregate the stuff of the wire, from the AP and Reuters.
I also pay for Slashdot by the way - of course most of the content other than "Ask Slashdot" is rebroadcast from other websites - but the original content here is the lively (and IMO worthwhile) discussions.
This may be a bit off topic - but don't people have better things to do? I, for one, will likely come across one of the many news stories that are sure to be published if/when Apple releases this thing. At that point, I will read the story, read reviews, visit Apple's web site, and determine if this device is something I would like to purchase.
Whoops, submitted a little to early. Some of it is trust, however.
We also use HID cards (I'm imagining most places do these days). Some managers actually review the swipe logs for their salaried employees. I had a manager once who had MIS generate logs of our logins and logouts from our computers. When he realized that my coworkers with desktops never logged out, and I always put my laptop to sleep... that didn't work so well.
These days, I have many days where my boss is out of the office... and his boss is out of the office. And his boss... she works in a different location. You still have to show up, and work all the hours you're supposed to.
And it's not just trust, either. Where I work, programmers, IT, project implementation teams... all salaried. Helpdesk is hourly, as you might expect (except for the managers there). Oddly enough, QA is also hourly. I can't figure that one out.
but I can't read someone's blog about getting around a specific C# programming problem?
In my organization, we do occasionally run across a legit, work-related site that is blocked by the filtering software... but our IT manager is given final say over what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate, and I have never had any problems getting a site un-blocked upon request - and usually pretty quickly, too.
I've also been told that some of the blocking has to be done for liability purposes, and that we're part of a publicly-traded company, etc. Not sure if that's true or not, but whatever. I can still do my job.
I am a software engineer: I will write my own software and run it if I please.
I agree 100%. If I want to write an application for a platform, I don't want to be (potentially) held hostage by that platform's manufacturer - even if my application is a piece of shit.
What's even funnier is that many of the other software engineers in my organization have iPhones and they love them. I guess they haven't tried submitting their own apps...
Is that really true? If I don't pay my AT&T for my BlackBerry, I'm pretty sure I can still use any feature on it that does not require connectivity. I don't miss my payments, but I have used my BlackBerry without the SIM card, and everything seemed to work fine... just offline.
It's been a while since I took economics, but I thought that to be a monopoly, there couldn't be any equivalent products - or close substitutes - on the market. Thing is, even though BlackBerry, Palm, or Android don't have a hundred thousand apps available, I'd say that they still make close substitutes.
Slashdot Mirror
I'll second gandi.net.
You know, I've always wondered: What happens when a registrar goes under?
Seconded. I started using Gandi after reading recommendations here. Their slogan is actually "no bullshit."
Anyway, you remain in much better control if you keep your domain name registration separate from your host.
Fact is, if your website is mission-critical you shouldn't be going with shared hosting anyway - but for my purposes (personal and a not-for-profit club site) it's been just fine
I'll second that - I use Dreamhost for my web hosting... Google Apps for email. I also keep a VM online with Rackspace Cloud (when I'm not using it, I think it ends up being about $11/month).
They had a promotion happening a while back... it was essentially $20 for two years of hosting. And then you can just not have them rebill you if you don't like it. So if I weren't paid up through the beginning of 2011, I would probably just host my stuff on my own.
I like Dreamhost because of their tech support. I have had one or two issues relating to their control panel. I hate control panels, but at least theirs sucks far less than cPanel. Each of those issues were very minor, but I filed a ticket with tech support and had resolution within an hour each time. Not bad for not having an SLA. I know I can't expect that from them and the past is no indicator of the future, but hey, for my website that nobody gives a shit about... not bad!
If I didn't use Dreamhost, I would probably host everything on a VPS. Rackspace Cloud Servers is who I have my VPS through right now (I was running mail and DNS through it... right now it's just chilling). I've also heard good things about Slicehost. The thing I like about the Rackspace product is that you can add/resize/delete cloud servers very quickly and easily, which sounds like it would be very useful if you have a website that will need to scale.
I think you're on to something there. Most non-technical managers (and in my experience, often times these are ANYONE above the "lead programmer" or "team lead" position) see programmers as simply labor, and are interchangeable.
Programming is as much an art as it is a science.
It's all part of the same conspiracy. Do you realize how much rocket fuel has to be consumed - and how much pollution gets released - just to send a few people into space?
I predict that by the time we are capable of sending people to mars, ALL or our rocket ships will be coal-fired!
As a layperson - I've personally reached the point where I simply cannot trust what anyone says.
I think that's the best comment I've read so far. As a fellow layperson - someone who is analytically-minded (is that even a word? I don't have caffeine in me yet) - I have to say that the "deniers" have planted the seeds of doubt, and the "believers" have been pretty convincing too.
We, as laypeople (is that even a word?), can argue about it all we want, but it won't get anyone anywhere, because - as many previous comments have said - we're not terribly qualified to come to a conclusion on this.
Because of this, my approach has become one of pragmatism. Whether or not GW/AGW/CC exists, there are things I can do that are helpful either way. For example, I put CFL light bulbs in all the sockets in my home. Whether or not they reduce my carbon footprint - or even my electric bill - they still last way longer and are therefore more convenient (although at a bit of an extra cost). I drive a Honda Accord that gets 34mpg on the highway. It's no Prius, but whether or not its emissions are responsible for AGW, at the very least it saves me money over a gas guzzler. I do my best to practice the 3 R's - reduce, reuse, recycle - I learned that back in the 80s, in grade school, when we weren't worried about AGW, but instead about the hole in the ozone layer.
I see it as hedging my bets.... I guess I have just enough doubt in my mind to prevent me from becoming a tree-hugger :)
this stuff doesn't just put itself together (at least, not yet.)
I beg to differ!
FFS. I suppose that some people would need to have rules explained to them. I think it's just a reflection of the lack of common sense.
Here are a few of my favorites:
3. Avoid taking calls when you're already engaged in a face-to-face conversation.
Am I the only one that thinks that saying "excuse me, I have to take this" is rude, even though "excuse me" was said?
4. If you do take a call, ask permission of the people with you.
I suppose under very limited circumstances (example: Your mom is really sick and your dad is calling).
5. Avoid texting during a face-to-face conversations.
Again, really? Before texting existed, did we just start doing other things while people were talking to us?
6. Put your phone's ringer on "silent" in theaters and restaurants.
Common sense. Everyone gets a free pass for forgetting once in a while, I guess, but it should just be a habit by now.
8. Hang up and drive.
When exactly was driving not the top priority when... driving?
This article is garbage. Anyone who needs to have "cell phone etiquette" explained to them is someone who is not going to ever practice said etiquette.
My original point was that open-source teams - at least those who develop more popular products - may be able to develop, test, and deploy patches faster, because there may be a wider group of people who are willing test patches and provide feedback, and they may be able to do it without the same kind of red tape that you may encounter at a large company when there are product managers, QA teams, and paperwork involved.
No, not at all! Re-reading my comment, it may sound like I was suggesting that it's okay to release something without testing it - that's not what I meant.
Don't open source people release patches to other developers for testing? I'd imagine that a lot of open source developers don't have the resources to fully QA everything themselves. That's all I was saying.
You sure can. But at the same time, lots of other developers/power users/hackers/whatever may be willing to take the patch and provide feedback on it.
The other problem is that as a company, you can't just make a patch and send it off like you can with open source. You have to QA the thing first. Plus, I'd bet some companies have procedures and sign-offs that need to happen. Basically, red tape.
I am thrilled to see it come back
Tape's been around. Consumers don't use it, but plenty of IT shops do. It's a wonderful medium for backup.
Which is precisely why I (and apparently many others) pay for access to wsj.com. It's something like $8-12/month. That's well worth it to get access to the in-depth content they provide. Sure, I browse other news sites to scan headlines, and I would probably even be willing to pay for one or two more high-quality sites.
What I will not pay for is a web site that does not provide me with original content, like sites that just aggregate the stuff of the wire, from the AP and Reuters.
I also pay for Slashdot by the way - of course most of the content other than "Ask Slashdot" is rebroadcast from other websites - but the original content here is the lively (and IMO worthwhile) discussions.
This may be a bit off topic - but don't people have better things to do? I, for one, will likely come across one of the many news stories that are sure to be published if/when Apple releases this thing. At that point, I will read the story, read reviews, visit Apple's web site, and determine if this device is something I would like to purchase.
Until then, I'm going to go do other things.
So nobody sending mail to or receiving mail from me knows it's all done by Gmail.
Not to nitpick... but that's not necessarily true. You have to set your MX records to google's mail servers.
example.com. 14400 IN MX 0 aspmx.l.google.com.
However, I certainly agree with the rest of your post :)
Whoops, submitted a little to early. Some of it is trust, however.
We also use HID cards (I'm imagining most places do these days). Some managers actually review the swipe logs for their salaried employees. I had a manager once who had MIS generate logs of our logins and logouts from our computers. When he realized that my coworkers with desktops never logged out, and I always put my laptop to sleep... that didn't work so well.
These days, I have many days where my boss is out of the office... and his boss is out of the office. And his boss... she works in a different location. You still have to show up, and work all the hours you're supposed to.
And it's not just trust, either. Where I work, programmers, IT, project implementation teams... all salaried. Helpdesk is hourly, as you might expect (except for the managers there). Oddly enough, QA is also hourly. I can't figure that one out.
but I can't read someone's blog about getting around a specific C# programming problem?
In my organization, we do occasionally run across a legit, work-related site that is blocked by the filtering software... but our IT manager is given final say over what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate, and I have never had any problems getting a site un-blocked upon request - and usually pretty quickly, too.
I've also been told that some of the blocking has to be done for liability purposes, and that we're part of a publicly-traded company, etc. Not sure if that's true or not, but whatever. I can still do my job.
I am a software engineer: I will write my own software and run it if I please.
I agree 100%. If I want to write an application for a platform, I don't want to be (potentially) held hostage by that platform's manufacturer - even if my application is a piece of shit.
What's even funnier is that many of the other software engineers in my organization have iPhones and they love them. I guess they haven't tried submitting their own apps...
Is that really true? If I don't pay my AT&T for my BlackBerry, I'm pretty sure I can still use any feature on it that does not require connectivity. I don't miss my payments, but I have used my BlackBerry without the SIM card, and everything seemed to work fine... just offline.
I wish I had mod points for this one. Someone please mod the parent up.
It's been a while since I took economics, but I thought that to be a monopoly, there couldn't be any equivalent products - or close substitutes - on the market. Thing is, even though BlackBerry, Palm, or Android don't have a hundred thousand apps available, I'd say that they still make close substitutes.
What is NOT free is demanding that a government agency force Apple to change their product...
Except in the case of monopoly (which Apple does NOT currently have).