How does this look?

[amalthya]

For lack of a proper entry, which I do intend to write at some point, I'm investigating web hosting services.

booksymagnifico sent me a link to this website:

DreamHost


Fellow Dorks -- how does this service look? Also, am I dorky skilled enough to write my own site from scratch? Can I learn flash on my own?

Or proper PHP?

Comments

[beknatok.livejournal.com]

1. Why pay when you can just host on my server. :-p

2. I have no clue how good these guys' service is, but if you want a good reliable cheap host, check out iPowerweb. Other friends use them to great success.

3. Beats me if you have the skills and the talent. Creating websites take two different angles... the design layer and the application layer. If you just have a flat, static site, then all you really must worry about is the design layer. When you add in other cool shit like database driven photo galleries, discussion boards, search engines, then you have to worry about the application layer. You don't often find individuals who do both (I specialized in the latter).

4. Flash sucks and is a gimmick. Don't waste your time.

[amalthya.livejournal.com]

Why pay when you can just host on my server. :-p

Because you hadn't previously OFFERED, silly ;) What kind of mooch would I be if I just assumed? Hmm? :)

3. Beats me if you have the skills and the talent. Creating websites take two different angles... the design layer and the application layer. If you just have a flat, static site, then all you really must worry about is the design layer. When you add in other cool shit like database driven photo galleries, discussion boards, search engines, then you have to worry about the application layer. You don't often find individuals who do both (I specialized in the latter).


Yea, see, I'm the former. The design I've got down, it's the application that I'm rustier on. I mean, editing maysun.org is easy, but actually writing my own code from scratch is more questionable.

Flash sucks and is a gimmick. Don't waste your time.

I don't deny that it sucks, but I crave to make silly flash games and (possibly) cartoons. Plus, it's becoming the standard requirement for people doing web design. (groan)

[beknatok.livejournal.com]

First, you never asked.

Regarding Flash, that really depends on who your audience is. You don't see corporate sites with all sorts of crazy flash shit. No, you see functional application development such as PHP or ASP.NET pages. Flash is stupid bullshit, very very rarely used to create a full site, and INSANELY time-consuming.

Flash will never replace a designer's core requirement to be able to create asthetically pleasing and user friendly DESIGNS, which is rooted in one's art and creativity capabilities. Flash may be here to stay, but it will never take over as the mainstay. It is far too cumbersome of a delivery method to deliver large amounts of content... just pretty fluff.

[amalthya.livejournal.com]

First, you never asked.

If I ask now, will you beat me over the head with a "Flash Sucks" book? ;)

[tom-kiper.livejournal.com]

I use DreamHost. So does flatvurm Rob. They're alarmingly chipper--must be the California thing or something--but otherwise I have no complaints.

PHP! I still have 2 PHP manuals on my desk. They've been there for several years now. But I keep telling myself that one of these days I'll learn... ^_^;;;

[amalthya.livejournal.com]

Feel free to update me once you learn it ::laugh::

[unreason.livejournal.com]

I kind of agree with the posters above, Flash is sort of awful. Also, it's expensive, so you either have to pay a lot, or troll around on the warez sites looking for it.

I've never done Flash, so I don't really know how easy it is, but I know that PHP is pretty simple. You can learn it from the php documentation at http://www.php.net/docs.php. It's not too difficult.

[amalthya.livejournal.com]

I know PHP is simple... I do editing in it now, but I'm unsure of my (possibly) buggy base programming.

[puckylunk.livejournal.com]

What do you need to program that isn't already existing and probably free? Check sourceforge for starters.

I won't give a perfect echo of the Flash Sucks crowd, but it is entirely overrated. And fairly complicated to do well. And entirely unnecessary. There are also applications that create quicker, easier, hackier flash shit. I can't remember the names, but a little googling should turn something up quick. Depends on what you want to do.

I agree with the dreamhost supporters. I'm on dreamhost (because the friend who hosts me is with dreamhost). The writers I intern for use dreamhost. They may not be the cheapest, but they're far from expensive. This is all moot, because you have a friend offering to host you now. I don't know why I even bothered typing that.

And now I'll shutup.