Re: [PLUG] Suggest a Host

[Gwen Patton <ardrhi@voicenet.com>]

Paul wrote:
> > What it boils down to is what packages are installed on the system, 
> > like what editors, mail server, web server, database, and whatever is 
> > needed for the cliants needs.  For web hosting, is php installed and 
> > if so what version?  These are questions that you should ask to make 
> > your decision.
>
>
> Editors.  I use Pico.  They have Apache, PHP 4.2.1, MySQL (I really want 
> PostgreSQL, but that's OK.  I might not even get used.)  I don't know 
> what mail server they run, but it supports IMAP.
>
> I was just concerned that Debian would be different enough to cause some 
> trouble for me.
>
> Here's what they say about Debian:
>
> Debian is the distribution of the linux operating system we use on all 
> of our servers. It is the "open source" distribution, run by a volunteer 
> organization rather than a company. We have found it to have the best 
> software packaging solution and highest stability of all linux 
> distributions and we love it to death! We also have a few OpenBSD 
> machines running as firewalls. We have no Windows NT/2000 servers of any 
> kind. We find them to be too insecure, instable, inflexible, and 
> expensive for our needs as a premiere hosting provider!
>
> This is kinda funny: "Microsoft Frontpage is a somewhat popular 
> web-publishing program that *we do not recommend you use*. We recommend 
> buying a book on HTML or using CityDesk."
>
> But this worries me: "Also note, if you turn on FP Extensions your CGI 
> scripts will no longer work."  My customer uses Front Page.  Blah.  Is 
> it typical that CGI cannot be enabled when Front Page extensions are 
> enabled?

Dreamhost is a very good host, and they have the added benefit of not 
giving a rusty rat's patootie what you put up on your site.  They aren't 
in the business of being your nannies, unlike way too many other hosting 
providers, who seem to think they have to be your parents as well as 
your providers.

While the attempts at WYSIWYG that Frontpage generates might seem to be 
a good thing, the code it produces is abyssmal.  If someone else ever 
has to touch that code that does not HAVE Front-Rage, it will be a 
million times harder for them to maintain.

I bounce back and forth between Quanta Plus and the Mozilla Composer, 
and have been known to use gedit for really trivial things.  Quanta 
isn't WYSIWYG, but provides a decent working environment with nice tools 
at your fingertips.  I prefer to not have the tool do the thinking FOR 
me.  It can suggest, but *I* want to have the final say.

Win-Doze apps rarely have this attitude.  They want to do it all FOR 
you...and they lock you in forever.  If the next person down the road to 
maintain the site doesn't have THAT TOOL, it will be a nightmare.  The 
"Front-Rage Excresences"...sorry..."Frontpage Extensions" don't buy you 
enough to warrant making the site proprietary.

Better to learn how to do it yourself with a good tool that doesn't 
pretend to be you when you aren't looking.

--- Gwen

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