Julio Garcia

Looking to Move from DreamHost // September 27th, 2006

After being a “customer” with DreamHost for almost two years, I have now started to look for another web hosting provider. Recently, DreamHost had been having a lot of technical issues with their servers, hardware, and network. Many people were upset with the constant problems and left to other hosting providers.

On their part DreamHost openly discussed their problems on their blog (part 1, part 2) which they were lauded for (Mike Davidson, Robert Scoble) because it, of all things, kept the dialogue open between them and customers.

Honestly, I appreciated the move at the time. Now I look at it and it seems like they are just trying to pass the buck off to Cisco. Not cool. I decided to give DreamHost a month or so to see if all their work corrected all the issues they had, then I would decide to stay or move to another web hosting provider like MediaTemple (which, by the way, was very polite and courteous to me when I was looking for a web host provider for work).

Sounds like a plan, right? Well, then Andy had a problem today with DreamHost. He explains his issue in great detail on his new blog, NightmareHost, but basically what happened is that DreamHost said “there were a large amount of copyrighted movies on that FTP server” and completely canceled his account and refuse to reactivate it. An account that hosted a large amount of websites, and a few with high traffic. The thing is this; Andy, on occasion, works for Ipecac Recordings, a record label, and has permission to host concert video from several bands. The other thing is that if someone uploads copyrighted material to his FTP server, and he does NOT have permission to host, he removes those files. Not only that, but he configured his server in a way that the files could not be downloaded until approved.

But let’s say Andy did knowingly host and distribute copyrighted material which he did not have permission to do. I would at least think DreamHost would either warn him and then reactivate his account, or ban him from DreamHost but at least let him have all of his, and clients, data back. Neither option was given by DreamHost. In an effort to clear things up, Andy contacted DreamHost customer support several times. The second and final response was “I’m sorry, but this account closure was is a decision we will not rescind under any circumstances. Thanks!” I don’t know about you, but doesn’t the “Thanks!” seem like a kick in the stomach while you’re already on the ground? They have yet to respond to his other emails simply wanting to know how to correct this problem. That’s DreamHost for you.

There a couple reasons why this ticks me off. The first is that I recommended DreamHost to Andy, I told him that aside from some email issues in September 2005, everything was great. I also recommended DreamHost to Jeremiah Owyang and now he’s not too found of DreamHost either (he’s even asked them to respond to Andy). So, basically, thanks to the DreamHost jerks, I’ve lost some credibility. The other reason is that DreamHost is always quick to ask for a second chance time and time again when things go wrong, yet they don’t even give a customer the respect of a full response or explanation, let alone a second chance. Nor do they even provide a phone number, just a voicemail which they pick the best messages off of to post on their blog to laugh at.

I blogged about this because I can no longer recommend DreamHost to others (well, maybe I can to people I dislike) and because I would just like them to, at least, explain to Andy what happened and give him the chance to explain his side or at least take his data elsewhere. And to see if anyone out there has a web host they are happy with, if so, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Further:

• Andy says DreamHost has resolved the situation, but he and I are now looking into sharing a dedicated server
• Brian’s post about this situation
• Robert Scoble chimes in

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New Purchase: Verizon Wireless EVDO Card // September 25th, 2006

Call me crazy or loopy but I recently purchased a Verion Wireless broadband wireless card. Why? To increase productivity. Now instead of sitting around doing nothing on my computer at home, I can sit around doing nothing anywhere. OK, seriously, reasons why I purchased this (I get the lower monthly charge since I already have a Verizon voice plan);

1. Productive anywhere. At Starbucks, without having to pay for their WiFi service. In the car traveling to Sacramento or Monterey or Tahoe or wherever. Maybe even in the coming months while driving around looking at potential property to buy. Scoble sold me on this point while reading his blog.
2. To us se in places that don’t have WiFi or allow WiFi access, such as my place of employment, or conferences, or area restaurants, coffee shops, or even parks.
3. *ahem*… SlingBox! ’nuff said

Think about it this way, when I need to go anywhere with my computer, I don’t need to worry about finding a free WiFi connection, the security on said connection, and losing that connection when I move to another spot. Instead I can bring my computer along wherever I go and be more connected, but worry less about what is going on. It is sort of like having a cell phone and being more connected to everyone but having to worry less about missing an important call.

This option isn’t perfect but it is far better than the other options available.

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New Television Shows I’m Watching // September 24th, 2006

Thanks to my DVR, I am able to only watch television shows I am interested in on my time rather than sitting in front of the TV flipping through the channels over and over. Two new shows have started this fall and they have quickly been added to my watch list. Surprisingly, both shows are on CBS and neither are CSI:Anything or comedies with unattractive men married to attractive women. The first show is ‘Jericho‘ and the other is ‘Smith‘.

About the serial drama Jericho:

After mushroom clouds appear on the horizon, fear of the unknown propels [town residents of] Jericho into social, psychological and physical mayhem when all communications and power is shut down.

[more]

Jericho seems to be more of a character study, so that means the average person may find it to be a little boring. But for you and I, we’ll find the drama in how each character and town society as a whole develops and reacts in this new world. Jericho stars Skeet Ulrich and Gerald McRaney and airs Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.

Smith is also a serial drama and stars Ray Liotta, Virgina Madsen, and Simon Baker with Amy Smart, Franky G, and Johny Lee Miller. ‘Smith’ is about a

…close-knit crew of criminals who plot and execute high-stakes robberies. Though Bobby Stevens (Liotta) appears to be a regular family man with a nine-to-five job, he’s actually an expert thief who is seeking a few last big jobs so he can finally leave the business for a comfortable, lawful lifestyle with his wife, Hope (Virginia Madsen), and their two children. While they never discuss Bobby’s illegal pursuits, Hope is growing weary of turning a blind eye.

[more]

Smith has more of a movie or mini-series feel to it which is great because it will keep you interested each episode. Unfortunately, with this much star power and thus salary, if ratings aren’t there at the start, it will probably be canceled quickly, but you should catch it while you can. Or you can go back to watching ‘Celebrity Duets‘ and complaining there isn’t anything good on broadcast TV. Smith airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT on CBS.

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AJAX & Images // September 19th, 2006

I would like to create a small web application for a couple of projects that utilizes AJAX in getting a “next” or “previous” image, but because I have never truly developed anything of significance with JavaScript I don’t know where to begin.

The desired outcome would be a little similar to the Flickr photostream viewer. But with this, I need the advancing or retracting images to go over a background image and have the “scrolling” images appear over the background until they reach the end of the image and then disappear/fade out. I have looked at script.aculo.us and other effects libraries but I am not having any luck finding something that could get me started. I could use some examples or the Flickr script to try to hack something together, but then what would be the point of learning something new? So, if anyone could point me in the right direction with tutorials or examples, I would appreciate it.

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