If you’re a hardcore developer, you might look for a hosting service provider who can supply the widest assortment of frameworks, languages and scripting options possible, right? But, then again, if you specialize in a software development process, you may look for a hosting provider who can offer that specialty on a server designed to uphold that development. For instance, Ruby on Rails folks will gravitate to hosts that provide that option, and ASP.NET developers will want Windows servers.
To help you, as a developer, find the right hosting service for your passion(s), we searched for some of the most diverse and specialized providers among the bunch here at WHDb. What we came up with may surprise you, as some of the names are obscure, the companies may be small, and the prices are beyond belief as they’re so low. Of course, if you want to pull the dedicated server option, the prices listed below won’t hold water. Read the rest of this entry »
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a fairly complex telephony technology that requires quality of service, traffic management and security from any Web host provider. But these same needs are what makes many providers hesitant to offer the service. Additionally, the provider must have the expertise and resources to not only implement VoIP, but to make sure it’s a good fit for a particular client. The ideal hosting provider will help clients operate, manage, and keep the VoIP protocol up-to-date as well.
But, it seems that more Web hosting services are beginning to offer VoIP services and products as well. While some host providers might be able to explain their products and why they work, others may not. Still others may offer everything you need — all, of course, except the VoIP.
What do you need for a great VoIP service provider? Basically, the client who wants a dynamic VoIP support system will look for IP multimedia communications services with high-fidelity voice quality and near-zero latency. These objectives can be accomplished with a service that provides an all-optical network and multiple redundancies. And, you’ll need a VoIP system, if your Web host doesn’t provide the setup. You can hook up an inexpensive microphone to your computer or connect a phone directly to a VoIP telephone adapter (ATA). Or you can use a SIP Phone. Each SIP phone is a network endpoint, and voice is routed through its IP address. SIP phones also allow full use of advanced features like voice mail to e-mail and auto attendant. Read the rest of this entry »
A First Amendment case concerning a Web site occurred in February 2008, and that case brought several points to light. The case was brought by a Cayman Islands bank, Julius Baer Bank and Trust, against Wikileaks.org, a site that hopes to reveal unethical behavior in governments and institutions through leaked materials posted on the site. According to the New York Times, “Judge Jeffrey S. White of Federal District Court in San Francisco granted a permanent injunction ordering Dynadot, the site’s domain name registrar, to disable the Wikileaks.org domain name.”
But, anyone who harbors a modicum of Web savvy knows that shuttering a front door to a Web site is a futile effort, as there are other ways to keep a site ‘live.’ In the Wikileaks.org case, users could continue to gain access to the site through its Internet Protocol (IP) address and through mirror sites registered in other countries that the Wikileaks.org organizers created for such a circumstance. Those domain names were not affected by the injunction. Additionally, David Ardia, director of the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard Law School, stated that Judge White’s order to disable the entire site was not constitutional, and that “there is no justification under the First Amendment for shutting down an entire Web site.” Read the rest of this entry »
