The MacDeskBlog

UPDATE: You are connected to the new server. Site preferences can be saved here.

I am cutting over to the new server now. Site preferences saved on the old server after this point will not migrate to the new server. There should be no downtime associated with this cutover. This post will be different on the new server.

I am cutting over to the new server. Changes to site preferences made on the old server after this point will be lost.

UPDATE: I encountered a small problem during the migration. I need to change a bit of code in the site for it to work at DreamHost. So, the migration is postponed until I get that straightened out.

This is a bittersweet time for us. The house is finally finished, and turned out the way I envisioned it. Yah! But we won’t be living there because we moved on a year ago.

I signed the listing agreement last week. The first brokers’ tour was yesterday and the first open house is on Sunday. The listing includes a photo tour and an artist’s rendition. I hope someone likes it as much I do.

The house has grown up quite a bit in the past three years, and I mean that literally. When I bought the place back in 1994 (and right up until the remodel started), it looked like this:

I followed my friend John Engler’s advice, albeit almost a year later, and signed up with DreamHost. I haven’t decided yet whether or not to stick with them. Here’s what I’m weighing …

Pros:
• Designated MySQL server
• One-Click installations of WordPress and phpBB, which I already use, and a couple of other products which I may start to use
• Transparency about downtimes and service impacts
• High disk and bandwidth quotas for a low price
• Pretty quick responses from support

Cons:
• Doesn’t support MySQL database replication
• Doesn’t support DNS slave setup, and some non-configurable entries in DNS management interface are incorrect, so their DNS is unusable for me
• Downtimes and service impacts appear to be fairly common
• Linux
• Pretty inflexible responses from support

Unknowns:
• Performance under load
• Database performance
• Implementation effort required to replicate MySQL via scripting

So, that’s where I am right now. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them here on the blog.

The site was down from about 3am PST to about 10am PST on Monday. A warehouse about two blocks away was destroyed by fire, and the power lines which feed us run right in front of the building. Fortunately, no one was injured nor killed.