Starts with wheels, ends with wheels
I’m clearing out any photo I have in the 2007 journal folder that doesn’t have a home. You’ll note they are devoid of humans. I try to post pictures of people on the rare occasion they happen.
15 photos that did not get lost in the shuffle
Now, the questions.
1. Do you love your web hosting company?
I need a new web host for my personal site and a handful of friends’ domains. I’ve got one to consider, but I’m curious if anyone has strong opinions about their experience.
Requirements: multiple domains, email, MySQL, PHP, lots of space and bandwidth, preferably a control panel interface for everything
2. What (small) device records audio well?
Dan wants something to record rehearsals, practice, and a performance here and there(classical, brass). Final output might be for playing at home or sharing on the web. Currently looking at the Zoom H4.
Now that MiniDisc players are gone, what’s left? I know someone who uses a mic on an iPod that’s happy with using it for voice recording, just curious if there is something else out there.
Insight for either question extremely appreciated. Comment or drop a line
Current music: Sad Pony Guerilla Girl “Good For Cows”
19 responses to “15 random photos and 2 questions”
I switched from digitalspace to dreamhost after 5 years with the former. I’ve been with dreamhost for 2 years now and couldn’t be more happy that I switched.
Good rates, good service, great eye toward the future (offering a wealth of goodies on the server end at no extra cost to me). I’ve had a handful of downtimes here and there, but not running a business off of them I don’t mind.
Thank ya Mr. Faust. That marks 2 in the Dreamhost column after someone just wrote in. Much appreciated!
I’ve been using Media Temple for two years and have really liked it. I just moved over to their GridServers and like it quite a bit. The control panel is easy to use.
Mark me as the second vote for Media Temple. I’ve been with them for a couple years and am extremely happy with them.
I host multiple sites on Dreamhost and have been a customer since 2000. They have all the things you need and provide plenty of server space and bandwidth.
I’m not running a “mission critical” business so the occasional downtime has not been an issue.
Plus they have an irreverent sense of humor that I enjoy.
I had pretty good luck with Microsoft BCentral for my shops hosting. I dont know how well it would work with blogs but it maybe worth checking out. I know their customer support really is great.
T
I know a lot of people that are very happy with Media Temple, so I thought I’d pass on that tidbit.
I’m with Dreamhost and Bluehost, and both have been excellent.
I like my Media Temple hosting – they respond nicely to customer service requests.
If the management interface is important, Media Temple’s is good (if a bit slow). I’ve got sites on both Media Temple and Dreamhost, and I have to say that I find Dreamhost basically pretty appalling – the price is good, but their attitude to downtime is laissez-faire, and they can take a looooong time to respond to support requests. Media Temple seems like an all-round better package.
I’ve been hosted with Surpass Hosting (http://surpasshosting.com/) for three or four years now, and I’m perfectly happy with them. Their customer service is great, and their community support system is great. Surpass uses cPanel and is completely customizable.
I’ve been using MediaTemple for years, but with the recent switch to Grid Servers, they’re no longer competing on price, so I’ve started using DreamHost more and more. I’d recommend either one.
Chris, I’ve been with Dreamhost for several years now and am pretty happy. As Brian noted above, the occasional downtimes can be annoying, but I’m not running a business, I just don’t like to be without email. It’s worth noting that the downtimes don’t happen often — it’s just when they do, they can sometimes last several hours. But for the services and space they offer, you can’t beat the price. And their customer service has always been super-responsive to me.
If you sign up with them, make sure you get the name of one of the folks who mentioned them above. They’ll get credit ($100, I think?) for you signing up.
And now I’m still waiting to hear back about that promise meet-up (ahem, cough)….
Cheers,
dp
Wow, thank ya everyone.
I swear this is akin to shopping for a car. There’s reliability, looks, and a host of other features to take into consideration.
I’m making a comparison grid.
And Dave, I’m going to be in Cincy a lot over the next week – maybe we can bend elbows SOON.
I switched to Dreamhost recently and it’s extremely easy to use and setup. Tons of space/bandwidth.
Take a peek at their forums (http://discussion.dreamhost.com/) for promo codes, usually in the signatures of forum admins. Could be some great deals going on.
Dreamhost. Hands down.
Dreamhost is a frustratingly mixed bag. Great interface, sense of humor, goodies, etc; downtime drives me nuts. I had to beg to be moved off of a hinky server. On the plus side, service improved dramatically afterward. In the minus column, they did not cop to it right away. Bottom line on DH is that prices like that come at some cost. I’m just sayin’…
As to recording devices, I’d been looking at the Olympus DM-20 for voice recording, but the Zoom sounds like it would be better for music.
I’ve used dreamhost for about 4 years, and I’d have to agree with communicatrix – it’s got a great control panel, and a ton of space/bandwidth, but they’ve definitely had some service/support issues. It’s definitely a get-what-you-pay-for situation. They seem to have straightened out some of the major problems they were having a few months ago, but their support is basically non-existant, and their sense of humor, which some people like and admire them for makes them seem like smug, childish assholes more often than not. Having said all of that though, I wouldn’t not recommend them, the price/value is just too good as long as you know upfront what the downside is.
I also host a few sites with TextDrive, which is also very good. You also get all of the other Joyent stuff bundled with their hosting which may or may not be useful to you. I like the idea of the “connector” but their email is slow/buggy more often than not.
Media Temple gave my web dev partner nothing but trouble when he was trying to fix a site for a client. They denied him access after having given it to him. They changed some of the client’s code after he had fixed it. He was on the phone with them several times trying to resolve issues for a client that may or may not have gotten resolved. Needless to say, I’d never use Media Temple. (My partner has his own server and hosts most of the sites he’s developed.)
I recently signed up one of my clients with bluehost.com and feel pretty good about them. About an hour after I opened the acct. they phoned me up to welcome me. That was a huge surprise.
I host my site using Servergrid. My brother and I have hosted a variety of websites, mostly non-commercial, and have had little if any problems with them at all. In the 6-7 years that we’ve been with them, I can’t recall any downtime.
http://www.servergrid.com/