Blogging

Hosting Changes Afoot

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It’s September, so that means hosting provider changes! I don’t know why but both my blog hosting service as well as my general website hosting provider were both setup in September. That means annual fee’s are around the corner, so if i want to make changes i have to do it soon. Well Typepad did have an issue about 2 years ago so I now renew in November for them, but my hosting provider Site5 renews in about a week. I need to decide if i want to renew with them for another year or make changes to my hosting services.

I would like to cut back the amount i am paying for web services so i am thinking about alternatives. I like Site5 but my needs have changed over time. I ended up not using their free setups of linux apps like WordPress. I used Gallery for a while but just recently messed up my config and didn’t really use it enough to warrant the expense. With a blog site like this one on Typepad, having another site is a bit redundant especially if i don’t ever update it. Typepad now offers the ability to setup regular pages on my blog so i might create a version of my regular site here. That means i only have to get an email provider and keep Typepad as my main web presence. I have also been thinking of buying Flickr Pro so i can use it like i was going to use the Gallery application. With the cost of the mail hosting, and Flickr Pro, vs regular hosting with Site5 i am saving a few bucks. I am getting less features, but I am getting better functions out of the features I am using, so I am planning my migration away from Site5. The only thing that takes a little thinking is how to move my mail to a new provider without loosing any mail. Fingers crossed.

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New Widget

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I just turned on the Snap Shot widget on this site. I have seen it on several sites before and it is really cool, so i researched it and found that Typepad offers it on my blog so now i have it also. Cool addition to my site, so I wanted to write about it.

Map Mashup’s

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From the totally useless yet really cool department I bring myself MapKit. I have read about and seen plenty of places doing things like this on their websites but this was so easy to setup and link to my blog I had to do it. It allows me to note spots on a map with information. I can also add photo’s and other data. It looks like they use Google Earth for their mapping functions. It is neat what you can do with mashup’s these days. I know it is a waste of time, but I think it is cool adding interesting places or places I frequent onto my map.

I think I set it up so anyone can add sites to my map. I encourage friends to post stuff, even though I know no one will want to. My friends will think it is to geeky to do something like that!

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4th Anniversary

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As amazing as it seems to me, today is the 4th anniversary of me starting this blog. I have had a few hosting providers. Bloggar for a few weeks, then I tried it myself, then Gus’ server, and now Typepad. This blog was not the first time I ever wrote a journal about my life, but it was the first time I published those thoughts for anyone to see. Who would have guessed that I would get sighted in an online article or two, referenced by official blogs of some of the tech companies I write about, and my personal favorite emailed by the Chairman of the board of a company that I bashed their product. It has been an interesting 4 years. There have been times when I thought I wouldn’t continue to write this thing, but then there are other times like tonight when I sit here writing way past when I wanted to goto bed for the simple fact that I want to take what I am thinking and put it down on “paper”.

The amazing thing is I started writing this site for myself, and didn’t care if anyone read it. I still feel that way but I get a kick out of hearing from friends or strangers that read the site. Looking at how people find the site on google and other search engines is also interesting. Of course that isn’t as interesting as me finding my own site while searching for topics on google. It is never good when your search result for something brings up your site as a top search because you were previously blogging about an issue that you can’t find a resolution for.

Hear is to another 4 years of me documenting what I find interesting in my world. Or just writing about whatever comes into my head as I sit at the keyboard!

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A New (Old) Theme

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I got tired of the really narrow post area on this site so I ditched the stock theme provided by Typepad that I was using. I reverted back to an older theme I was using, and tweaked the color pallet a bit. I hope it makes for a better presentation. I am still looking at other custom themes that I might use if I upgrade my account to allow me to really edit the way the site looks. It turns out I can only do that on the high end package Typepad offers.

Just one of the things I am tinkering on this lazy Sunday afternoon.

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Lack of a Vox Update

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I have yet to find a way to import or export blog entries on the new Vox system. There may be a way but I haven’t found it. If I can’t find something like that in 15 minutes on a site like that, there is no point in continuing to look. Realistically I don’t think it exists. For now I will stick with Six Apart’s other blog platform, typepad. you know the system that you are reading right now. that means that some of my posts regarding work will remain on a private site. Yes, there are in fact posts that are not published to the world right now. not as many recently as I would have hoped, but they do exist. As I sometimes tell Kai, ask me about them after I leave (my current job). until then, no chance they will see the light of day. Nothing overtly bad or anything, just it was clear that certain things should not be public.

Ok, enough on this update. My hands grow tired. More later.

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Playing with VOX

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I signed up for a free vox account. I am interested in the fact that I can apply security groups to posts and allow some people to see it. I am wondering if that would enable me to resume my (semi)public posting regarding work stuff? Not sure yet. I am still playing with the service. So far I am in no rush to cancel my Typepad account.

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WordPress, Not For Me Yet

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I spent part of the day Sunday messing around with a WordPress install on my personal website. Yes I am paranoid so I keep this blog semi-annonimous and I also keep a regular website. It isn’t like someone could figure out who I am easily but in order to keep the powers that be (the people that pay me) from getting concerned about a blog I don’t mention last names, where I work, co-worker stories etc.

Since I do have a separate site to mess around with I tried to play with a stock WordPress install I got from my new hosting provider, Site5. I installed a bunch of cool plug-ins for the app. Unfortunately as of now, I have hit a major stumbling block that will prevent me from using WordPress to host my blog. The software does not support exporting blog entries in the out of the box configuration. You can get a plug in that will supposedly do this, but I have yet to get the plug into work properly. This is after editing the php file a bit. I got it to almost work, but I still get an error. For now I have given up.

If I get more time another day, maybe I will mess around with it some more, but I always feel if I can’t get something working pretty quick (for software such as this that means a few hours, but store bought stuff it is under an hour) I need to stop and move on.

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Spoke Too Soon

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So whenever I write about some service or piece of gear that I like or am content with I always jinx myself and end up finding some reason to get rid of it or change something right after I write about it. My post “2 Years on Typepad” is one of those times. Today while looking to solve one problem on the web, I stumbled across an application that I wanted to try on my website. In trying to figure out how to do the install I found a web host (actually several) that had this app pre-installed and ready to use. My current hosting provider is great, I wasn’t kidding about that, but they provide only basic site tools compared with some of these other providers. After doing some more research I have decided to sign up for an account with Site 5. It looks like they offer the same or more basic features as my current provider Media Temple, but they also package in tons (50+) pre-built packages that you can run that install open source apps to your account. I could probably install the same tools on Media Temple, but why should I if I can get the same stuff with the click of a button from Site 5? After I add up all the costs on Site 5 compared to my Media Temple account I will be paying the same amount. I signed up a little while ago, and I will use the 60 day free trial. Since I am very picky we will see if Site 5 does anything to piss me off or not.

One of the pre-built packages they offer is WordPress, so even this blog is not safe from me wanting to shake things up a bit.

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2 Years on Typepad

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Last week marked the second anniversary of me moving my blog to Typepad. Even after some bumpy spots, the service has been great. It is easy to use and offers allot. That is why I have been lazy and not just hosted my blog myself. It would only be slightly a pain for me to setup a Moveabletype or WordPress site on my Mac, or a linux box, but I just don’t want to deal with the effort of keeping the system up if I can pay and have it hosted properly. That is of course the same excuse why I host my mail and website now, instead of hosting my mail myself or have Miguel host it on his server with a ton of of other people I know.