Archive for May, 2005
· May 9, 2005 at 6:13 pm · Odds & Ends
I have been giving getting an audioblog.com account for some time now, so that I can do a few quick movies and possibly a few other audio posts here and there. What do you think? Do you really need more Mitch in your week?
With audio, I was thinking of doing a few quick posts now and again on various topics. Maybe doing a weekly “preview” for The Web Hosting Show or for up and coming things on Mitchelaneous.
As far as video blogging goes, I was thinking about taking some shots from around on the “farm” here. Maybe doing a weekly quick tip (kind of like the news program over at The WHIR, but with a much lower budget). It’s been a while since I started a new project so I am feeling that itch again to get something new going.
I really like what both Eric Rice and Matt Hartley have both done with adding audio and video content in with some of their regular postings. Why audioblog.com? Well after looking at all the diffrent video and podcast hosting solutions out there, I think they are the best of the best. Also, having the flash player right there is a nice addition as well for both audio and video.
I won’t be changing anything about the current layout of The Web Hosting Show, just think of this as possibly a new addition to both that and this Web site here.
So what do you think? Anybody going to help talk me into this?
· May 9, 2005 at 1:17 pm · Odds & Ends
Do you have questions about the way the Web hosting world works? Is there just something about HTML and file transfers that just bug the heck out of you? Well have no fear, because The Web Hosting Show is here!
This special “all E-mail” edition of The Web Hosting Show is brought to you by Web Hosting Chat. Web Hosting Chat is your number one place for Web hosting discussions. Who am I? Why I am the capped Web hosting crusader himself, Mitch Keeler.
Today I have for you six questions I have been asked over the past week about the Web hosting world. I promise they are not ranked in any way, just randomly shuffled into a podcast. Why should we start worrying about being professionals here?
We are all close friends right? So take off your pants, get comfortable and who know? Maybe I’ll be answering a question you had!
[Listen to This Week's Show!]
· May 6, 2005 at 5:12 pm · Odds & Ends
I had a feeling that more than a few folks would sound off about how Google’s new Web Accelerator works. I have to say I ran it for about an hour, didn’t notice much difference and then took it off. I do not need a lot of crap on my system that I have no use for. That is nothing against Google, just my personal preference there. Also before anybody says I am anti-Google, I’m not. I love Google when they do things right. When they do things that are
controversial though, I want to get things fixed.
Is Google Web Accelerator a security threat? Sure, if they wanted to they could track everything you do with this little bad boy. Here is somebody that is even more paranoid than I am, and that is truly saying something.
Right before he clicked on the “upload” button, the person at Google who put the Web Accelerator online probably took a nice big swig from a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. Why must this be, having not been in the room and having no evidence to prove so? Because no rational human being could have posted this program without needing to steady himself, preparing for the storm that was to come.
You thought Autolink and Desktop Search and Gmail were bad? You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Yesterday, Google released perhaps its most controversial product ever: The Google Web Accelerator. Its a simple product, one that promises to speed up your internet connection like many little applications have in the past. It doesn’t seem like much.
[Read the Rest of the Article!]
I have to say that the author doesn’t really paint a pretty picture as for the future of Google Web Accelerator. I do agree though that if these security threats are there, Google should be taking care of the problem. It shouldn’t be pushed back onto the web master to do all the heavy lifting. Wait a minute, that’s right.. Google likes to make content providers work a little harder.
Also make sure you read the rest of what InsideGoogle has been saying over the past few days. Microsoft who? Seems Google is trying to take over the roll of big brother.
· May 6, 2005 at 12:21 pm · Odds & Ends
On the next edition of The Web Hosting Show we are going to do an all E-mail episode! So if you have ever had a question about the world of Web hosting or if you want to know more about myself, the show’s production or anything else, this is the time to send me an E-mail. Make sure you send your E-mails to mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll do my best to answer every single question I get on next week’s edition of The Web Hosting Show.
The reason I am doing this is that I was always a big fan of the “All Call Friday” episodes they used to do on the old TechTV show, the Screensavers. It seemed like the easiest way to get a lot of work done while having fun doing it. I like to answer people’s questions because I believe that Web hosting should not be as complicated as it is.
Right now a lot of things inside the world of Web hosting are very confusing. Then throw in the sales terms, marketing and other jargon and you have a real mess. Well, I am here to sort through all the junk to get you what you need to know.
For the Web hosts out there, this show is still for you as well. Give me your questions too because I’d love to answer them as well. There is more than one way to skin a cat and there is more than one way to run a successful Web hosting buisness. If there is anything I know, it is knowing what folks are really looking for in Web hosting these days. So send me your questions, comments suggestions and feedback as well.
Hopefully this will make for one heck of a good show. If I get enough postive reaction from doing it, I might have to do it again in a few weeks. I’ll see you next Monday on The Web Hosting Show, the voice of the Web hosting world. Send me your questions, mitch@mitchkeeler.com.
· May 5, 2005 at 2:54 pm · Odds & Ends
How would you like to have totally free Web hosting with no ads at all? That type of service just isn’t out there, is it? Yes it is. Moved.in is causing a lot of buzz in the world of Web hosting because they are offering totally free Web hosting with no ads anywhere.
So lets first look at what you get. You get 150 MB of Web space, 5 GB of bandwidth a month, full FTP access, PHP, 3 mySQL databases, 1 PostgreSQL database, CPanel, Fantastico and ad free hosting. That is a good line up for a regular Web hosting account, so getting all of that for free makes the deal even better.
So how do they make money from this if it is free and has no annoying ads popping up? Well one way is through advertising in the newsletter they offer to customers. I was told though that since they already run several other popular and successful Web site that costs were not really a worry right now. So from what I got out of the conversation is that they can keep Moved.in running from the revenue they earn on other projects. Sounds good to me!
The Accounts Manager, Martin Bosch, told me this:
“Since there is no high cost attaches to keep the servers running it’s no big deal at all. Even if there were no advertisers it would be no big deal as we run serval high traffic sites which cover all costs. Generally it’s a ‘give back to the community’ project but if it covers the costs it’s even better.”
So is the actual Web hosting any good? I’d say it is equal to some of the low-end Web hosting plans available out there today. Sure, you don’t get much if you compare it with some paid solutions out there, but for free you have to admit this is a lot more than you’d be getting at Angelfire or Yahoo’s Geocities.
Another thing I like about Moved.in is they are working off of the invites only system. This means you have to be invited by a current member before you can get an account of your own. This system does a good job at keeping folks who just want to clutter the servers with junk far away. They don’t want the accounts just to be used to harvest pictures for other places. They don’t want the folks who just need a place to host their eBay images in other words. They want real people, with real Web sites.
Can you point a domain name to your account there? Lets say you don’t like the mysite.moved.in interface. This is what they have to say on the matter:
You can point your top level domain name to your account. However, we do not allow domain parking or add-on domain names. To point your domain name to your account you will need to setup a (cloaked) URL redirect pointing to username.moved.in
Another thing that is worth mentioning is that they don’t want forums to be hosted either. I can’t disagree with them there because forums do take up a lot of space and popular ones can hit servers pretty hard.
So if you can get an invite, I’d say try out the services and see what you think. I really do believe though that this is what the future of free Web hosting is going to look like in time. I might have to talk with the folks at Moved.in again to see if I can give away a few invites on an episode of The Web Hosting Show too.
· May 4, 2005 at 10:54 pm · Odds & Ends
Now Google is taking one more step to help my surf faster! I thought once I got DSL I wouldn’t need a “web accelerator” though?
I have been on DSL for a little over a year now. The experiance has been great and I could not ask for anyting more. So why now is Google telling me they can help make my browsing experiance faster? After seeing this link (via Steve Rubel)
I thought maybe this was something for the dial up crew to look at. Nope, I was wrong. It says right there in big bold print, “Designed for Broadband - Web pages load even more quickly on DSL and cable connections“.
I downloaded it, and tried it out a little. I went to a few more demanding Web pages out there just to see how quick things got. Well, I am kind of disapointed. So far, and mind you I have only had this for around 45 minutes or so, I haven’t noticed any boost or change. Google tells me something diffrent though. You see, after you install the program, it tells you how much time you have saved. So far Google says I have saved, “12.7 seconds”. Here is a neat little bar chart showing me that in comparison with the time it would have taken me without the Google Web Accelerator.
I’ll be trying it out a while longer to see if I notice any change over the long run though. Maybe the longer you use it, the smarter it will get? Try out the Google Web Accelerator, and if you have a better story than mine to share, I’d love to hear it.
Update: It seems like Google Web Accelerator doesn’t like the fact my blog is hosted at Blogware. I had some issues getting this posted, because Google’s Web Accelerator timed-out on me. Hmm, not a good way to get me to keep this thing!
