Yey webhosting!

[Orangy Tang]

I've finally got my hands on some proper web hosting to replace my now-expired uni hosting. So for its first practical usage, the first screenshot of Quix!



Actually I'm still seeing some DNS oddities, so if the image doesn't show then yell and I'll see whats up.

[oNyx]

Congratulations - or so

DNS resolving works without problems.

[nonnus29]

Hey, that doesn't look like the quix I remember...

If/when I get webhosting I'm going to want something that will let me run a highscore or game server in java.  What kind of package did you get?  What did it cost?

Games published by our own members! Check 'em out!

[ChrisM]

Hey, that doesn't look like the quix I remember...

If/when I get webhosting I'm going to want something that will let me run a highscore or game server in java.  What kind of package did you get?  What did it cost?

That was Qix, not Quix  Quix is a chocolate milk drink (you know, the one with the rabbit?)

-Chris

[ribot]

I too would be interested in somewhere to host java servers of a sort.  
Just in case I can't get anything for a reasonable price, I'm currently in the process of searching for a second apple machine to install OSX Server on.  There should be no problem at all running JBoss, Tomcat and the like plus I'll have the flexibility and power to change server settings without risking other peoples data or incurring high monthly costs (I have a business grade DSL line with a static IP).

Off to ebay to find a 2nd hand G4 Cube.  

[edit] silly spelling mistake

[blahblahblahh]

I too would be interested in somewhere to host java servers of a sort.  

Everyone in this position, please email me (ceo @ grexengine.com) with your requirements, and some spiel about what you're planning.

JGF is about to move, and if there's no demand for java hosting, it'll probably just go to PHPnuke (bleurgh!) or similar. OTOH, if there's a lot of people who want to do java game servers, we'll probably leapfrog that and go straight to hosting that includes JVM and shell access, and I can then work some magic that will let JGF give free hosting to game servers (modulo certain precautions).

[Mithrandir]

Give me a yell if you want to talk over some of the details. I run my own servers, have my own IP address block etc. I wouldn't want to host game servers here as the link is only 1MB DSL link. Almost everything else can be put up here or I can give you some advice on how these sorts of setups run. We run both j3d.org and xj3d.org, as well as my personal and company sites from it.  Starting to host stuff like gameservers can get really expensive really quickly as the bandwidth usage can get nuts very, very quickly so you want to be really sure about what you're getting yourself into if you go down that path.

[cfmdobbie]

I swear, some days I run into problems that make me wish I had a blog just so I could rant about them.  One day it's people I meet, another day it's software or hardware issues, and another day it's politics.  Today it's 123-reg.co.uk.

My local church wants a website, and we've just about built one.  We've decided on a domain name, so we just need to hand over some money to register it, and get a host.  I expect it'll use no more than 20MB of space, I doubt it'll ever hit even the most draconian download cap, POP3 would be nice, FTP access is essential, and I'd like to use .htaccess files to make a secure area.  Fine.

So we come to 123-reg.  They list the domain as available, and will charge £9 to register it.  They offer small hosting packages for £1.59 a month, which allow .htaccess files, give 150MB of space, 1.5GB bandwidth, and 15 POP3 mailboxes.  Fine.

But god DAMN does their website suck!  The "I've forgotten my password" form fails silently, the registration process changes your username without telling you, they use HTTP authentication to secure their site, the FAQ tells you nothing about account management, neither the website or the registration email give any indication on how to delete your account, they require information like home phone numbers and postcodes, the logout button doesn't, and if you have any queries beyond what the website provides they'll happily charge you a pound a minute for a phone call to resolve things.

And these are people I'm supposed to be entrusting my credit card details to?

So I'm a little distressed, I've just about decided not to bother with these people, and am scanning through their FAQ looking for anything that might convince me otherwise.  And then I come across this little gem:

Q. Is there a restriction on upload and download speed?
Upload speed is unrestricted, but download speed is restricted to 1.3kb.

Er, no.  Anyone getting my CC details WILL be using a proper login/logout system, they WILL have a website that works, they WON'T charge me extortionate amounts of money for simple support requests, they WON'T hide important and crippling account details several links deep on their site, and they WON'T be 123-reg.co.uk.


So, anyone know a simple, cheap and cheerful domain name registrar and website host?

[blahblahblahh]

Try UK2.net, and if you can't bear them (most people can't for long ) then use them as the benchmark.

Cheap n Cheerful - no phone support (email only, and its effectively non-existent most of the time) but they've been running a scarily large number of sites for a long time and they're online admin systems are good. Especially at the low price. However, they traditionally have catered to "bulk" - i.e. people wanting to run 50 or 500 sites cheaply rather than just one.

They're also quite nasty in several ways, but I never found them to be incompetent (how sad is it that todays hosts are so bad I count that as a convincing reason to buy from one? !?!).

Oh, and I would strongly advise not using them as a domain registrar UNLESS you get a domain which is handled by joker (joker.com). uk2 will make themselves the main contact for your domain (giving them all rights to take it away from you) and are VERY bad at obeying your demands to remove themself...BUT JOKER are wonderful and with 5 minutes and one fax you can get your domain under your full ownership with UK2 not allowed to touch it in any way (just host it) and JOKER does this all for free.

Although, I would also look at just doing all domain registration with JOKER and finding a host separately - JOKER are the "good guys" of the many hosts and registrars I've used, and give you a LOT of service for free if you own a domain registered via them.

[darkgem]

http://itanets.com/?rf=elfire

Only have good things to say about these people here...
$5 monthly

Games published by our own members! Check 'em out!

[swpalmer]

I swear, ...

My local church ...

But god DAMN...

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Hosting is the least of your worries now ...

sorry.. couldn't help it.

[cfmdobbie]

Heh, I never said I had a vested interest in it, did I?

darkgem,  ITA Network Solutions look perfect, in fact so perfect that there must be a catch!  Well, whatever, I've thrown them some money and we'll see how it goes - if they really can offer what they're advertising for £40, I'll probably be sending a lot more work their way.  Many thanks for the reference!

[ribot]

For the last four years I have used http://www.titaninternet.co.uk for all my company's clients: We have about 30 accounts with them and they provide some of the best support I have ever seen.

Cheapest package is priced at £50 a year, but worth every penny and more in our view.

[darkgem]

If there's a catch, I have yet to find one! If you do find one though please let me know, as I have three accounts through them. Be sure to create a ticket and ask them to turn on JSP/Servlet support, because it is not on by default (meaning tomcat is not running I believe).  Their support is excellent, I always seem to get a response within 5 minutes, a response from a very knowledgeable person. And what impresses me the most, if I ask a question that they don't have an answer or solution to, they will say "hey, I have no idea, let me find out for you" - and they always do.