Tag Archives: meta

Zappable Now on the Cloud

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As discussed in this post, RedHat OpenShift offers a free tier of cloud hosting with instant setup of some common applications. Since my subscription with DreamHost is soon ending, I decided I would try out hosting my blog on the cloud.

Before switching to OpenShift, I tried out one other free PAAS - AppFog. As discussed on TechCrunch, AppFog now provides a very large free tier for web apps, which could be useful for both developers and non-developers. I setup WordPress on their site but ran into some strange technical issues so I decided to stick with OpenShift.

Instead of exporting my entire WordPress installation, I decided I would setup a new one, with a new look. I then just used the WordPress exporter to export the content of my blog to the new OpenShift installation. The next thing to setup was to point the domain name to the new location on OpenShift. However, OpenShift requires using CName records,  something my Domain Name Registar (1&1) does not support properly.* So instead I setup another cloud service, CloudFlare, between my domain name service and my web host. CloudFlare is a service that acts both to prevent attacks on your website and to speed up your site’s speed (a CDN). They offer an unlimited free tier, and a paid tier with more features. They also allow instant installation of various javascript applications for your website. There were some technical issues with setting up the domain forwarding correctly, so some links may not be working properly now, but I should get everything fixed soon.

I think that OpenShift may be a good option both for people who want a free web host and those that want to be able to scale to handle any amount of traffic.

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*1&1 has an option for setting up CName records, but when I changed it, nothing happened. After a few days of emailing support, they said that their CNames only work if you paid for hosting with them. I would suggest using a different Registar, such as NameCheap.com.

 

More Short Posts

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I don’t have time to frequently write long posts, but a blog won’t get readers without regular postings. So I’m going to try to increase the number of short posts, which might just consist of a link or two with a short comment. Also, if anyone is interested in contributing to a tech blog, let me know.

Posterous Platform Adjusts Focus to Photo Sharing

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I've been blogging on the Posteorus platform for about a month and its worked OK. It is able to quickly turn emails into blog posts, so it does the basic job effectively. However, it is missing many features, such as the ability to add useful widgets to the side of the blog. In addition, Gmail does not make the best text editor, since its also a bit oversimplified. For example, its missing basic formatting options that exist in other programs. 

Today, Posteorus just launched a new focus on being a kind of social network and photo-sharing site. The blogging platform will still exist, but they will no longer be focused on blogs. So I guess I won't be able to expect any blogging platform imptovement. I wish them luck, but I will probably move this blog to WordPress soon.

News sites: 
Forbes
Mashable

Posting on Posterous

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Every now and then, I try out a new blogging service. I would like to be able to share links, comments and thoughts on the web. I normally use Facebook, but that limits the audience somewhat. I’m also planning on writing some longer posts, so I wanted to try a new platform. WordPress works fine, but I wanted something focused on speed. I thought about Twitter, but I decided the 140-character is too ridiculous. So I’m trying out Posterous!