I’m totally stoked! Check it out!

See the “The 10 HTML Tags Beginners Arent Using.”

It is a little longer than I would have liked to make it, but it will work.

QuickTime Broadcaster – You can download it directly from Apple’s site. Also, I am not aware of any good Windows / Linux alternatives to this. If you know of any let me know. I’d be interested just to see them.

I hope this helps someone. Let me know if so.

If you do any web design / development you are likely very familiar with juggling files via FTP and your editor of choice. Some editors have very nice integration with some form of file handling. I will commend Dreamweaver and Coda for this. My choice however is TextMate. TextMate has no integrated file handling. What is a guy to do.

After some digging I came across MacFUSE and Macfusion.

Macfusion is an open source Mac application that allows you to work with files on servers across the internet, as if they were sitting on your computer. – Macfusion’s web site

This means that it is now possible to mount your web hosted drive as a local disk.

This is really simple to do. First download MacFUSE. This is only a prerequisite for Macfusion.

…installing the MacFUSE software package will let you use any 3rd-party file system written atop MacFUSE. – MacFUSE’s web site.

Then get Macfusion and run the installer.

Now, if you are using Snow Leopard, there is one quick fix that must be done (unless it has been fixed or updated.) Open your System Preferences and click on MacFUSE. Put a check in the “Show Beta Versions” and then click “Check For Updates.” Update to the latest version. Then, launch Terminal. If you have never used the terminal don’t worry. It can be intimidating but it is very powerful. It is located in the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder. Once it loads enter this command:

rm /Applications/Macfusion.app/Contents/PlugIns/sshfs.mfplugin/Contents/Resources/sshnodelay.so

After running the above script close the terminal, launch Macfusion and click on plus sign, choose FTP of SFTP and enter your user name and password.

Now just click on Mount.

If you open a Finder window you will see your web drive mounted as if it were on your local computer. Pretty sweet eh?

Enter DreamHost.

I have had personal experience with a handful of hosting companies. Some experiences have been decent, some bad. DreamHost has been hands-down the best that I have used. I think what it comes down to for me is the flexibility and control. I mean, seriously, take a look at all they offer in their hosting plans. My personal favorite feature is their storage space: Unlimited TB + 50 GB. (They explain it in their FAQ as a jab at the other hosting companies out there.)

So lets highlight a few things with DreamHost. Unlimited domains/subdomains, Darwin streaming server, custom DNS, great database control (including database hostname), virtual private server, (if you so choose) fast servers, great customer support, and DreamHost is a green hosting company. (So you can feel good.)

You can pick your favorite options, mine would have to be the unlimited domains/subdomains, custom DNS, and Darwin streaming server. I know I don’t actively use it, but seriously, a good FREE streaming solution included with your hosting plan. It is also really easy to setup. Forget about paying for an expensive streaming alternative.

Ok, now for the only downside I can find. There is not a reseller option. Let’s talk about this for a second… Some hosting companies like HostGator offer a reseller plan. You would pay for the reseller option and then be able to allocate the resources in your plan (storage space, bandwidth, etc.) and provide a unique login for your clients / customers to have their own hosting administration panel (cPanel for HostGator). You are welcome to charge whatever you feel while you have your fixed monthly rate. Pretty nice.

DreamHost currently does not provide the option to create multiple logins and have separate administration for each domain. They do state in their terms and conditions that there is absolutely nothing wrong with reselling your hosting, just that you cannot set up this admin panel. This feature is up for discussion and vote in their suggestions section. I for one do hope that they add this feature in the near future. Let’s be honest, if I have a client and host their site, I can charge them $5/month and I then really only pay $4.95 for my hosting. Sweet right?

All of this comes down to this: If you are looking for a great hosting provider, you cannot go wrong with DreamHost. They have 2 year plans for $8.95/month and 1 year for $9.95.month. One free domain registration is included with your hosting package.

Now for the perk. If you have stayed with me through this and are convinced that you want to check DreamHost out, here is a promo code. Visit DreamHost.com and enter the code 25OFFDH and get $25 off of a monthly / 1 year / 2 year hosting package. That is 2.5 months free if you purchase a 1 year plan. Not too bad. They also offer a free two week trial. That way if you sign up and for some reason are not as convinced as me, you can cancel your plan and only pay the $10 for the domain registration.

I think I have covered why I like them. Also, I promise you, I am not a DreamHost employee.

dan

I will pretend that it is just a long delay.

My excuse for dropping the ball after the first post is this: the holidays happend and I got too busy. I had full intentions to design a killer layout for the blog and get everything I wanted to in place before my next post. Yeah right.

I have now decided to just move forward and we will worry about the design and the extras later. Props to digitalnature for the Mystique theme I am currently using. It is very cool, but sorry, I will ditch it as soon as I can.

That being said… Here is to some great stuff to come!

what separates me from the rest
I would be lying if I claimed that I will be the best. I will do my best and offer my best, but I am well aware that there will always be someone better than me in something. What I will say is that I will always provide my honest opinion, never edited, politically correct or not opinion and thoughts. I welcome criticism and input. The biggest threat to the creative community is when individuals stop learning.

what to expect
I feel like I have learned a lot of really helpful and useful information. I am by no means an expert in the technology field, but I am a HUGE advocate of anything and everything technology related. Sure I will probably advise you to pick up a pen and paper once in a while, but that’s not what I mean. I like technology, software, the internet, design, programming, and learning. I want to share what I know.

Look for:

• why I like… (Most people call this reviews. But this will be an installment about random things that I like and why. A piece of software. A tech product. Something my kid likes. etc.)
• code snippets (The pieces of code that I use over and over again.)
• tutorials (There are a few things that I have searched the internet for days to figure out. And it really wasn’t that hard. I want to share my experiences and help everyone save time.)
• reviews (This will be sort of like “why I like…” but, I may not like it. I’m just saying.)
• etc. (This is like the last line of a job description that lets you know there is always something you didn’t plan for.)

my hope
My hope is that I can provide useful information to the world. I tried to get a job not that long ago helping people and was turned down. Sucks right? So, I have to try to help anyway I can. This is the best I could come up with at the moment.

see you soon
Expect to see the design and layout change a lot over the next couple of weeks. Stick with me though and I promise to provide the best advice I can. Thanks all for taking the time to give me a shot.

dan