Dream Host: V12.03 March 2010


Mar 3, 2010
0. Introduction
1. I'm back.
2. ePub, Bud.
3. iPad Contest Winners!
4. Git 1.7.0
5. NEW One-Click Install: Piwik!
6. DHSOTMs

########################################################################
0. Introduction

Allow me to take you back in time. Back when things were simpler,
people were friendlier, the globe was cooler, and taxes weren't due.

I'm talking, of course, about March of 2010. It feels like it was only
two and a half weeks ago. Ah, memories.

########################################################################
1. I'm back!

This month Josh just flat-out *gave* me his password and *told me* to
write the newsletter.

After I guessed his password last month to write it, I have to admit
this isn't quite the response I was expecting... Maybe I should start
writing myself company checks for $50,000 every Tuesday!

########################################################################
2. ePub, Bud

Speaking of Josh, he's taking a little time off. And when I say taking
a little time off what I really mean is "working feverishly through the
night to write and support a new web app". The result?

http://www.epubbud.com/

ePubBud is an eBookstore where everything is free, children's books make
up the majority of the catalog, "DRM" is a dirty word, and you can
upload your own books to share instantly with the rest of the world.

If you're not able to upload files you can even mail in your physical
books - he'll digitize anything and make it available free of charge!

ePubBud will accept books in nearly any file format and convert them to
the .epub standard - one of the most widely compatible eBook formats in
the world... Unless of course you've got an Amazon Kindle, which I hear
hates .epub, openness, freedom, and anything that doesn't directly
contribute money to Jeff Bezos' yacht-upkeep fund.

Learn more at...

http://blog.dreamhost.com/2010/04/12/ipad-iglad-or-isad/

Stanza and other iPad apps will even let you download ePub books
directly into your iPad - freeing you from the tyrrany, expense, and
exclusivity of Apple's own for-profit iBooks app.

Speaking of the iPad...

########################################################################
3. iPad Contest Winners!

It took a little longer than we would have liked, but we finally got our
hot little hands on 20 iPads.

http://blog.dreamhost.com/2010/04/14/weve-got-20-ipads/

That means our Twitter contest is officially over! You can find a list
of winners on our blog...and also get some creative ideas about how to
get the most out of your iPad *without ever opening the box*.

You can of course continue to tweet about DreamHost, but doing so will
no longer enter you into a contest. Unless we're talking about the
online popularity contest that's always running in the back of my mind.

Each winner has 30 days to claim their prize after which point we'll
head back to the ballot box and pick new winners for any unclaimed
iPads.

########################################################################
4. Git 1.7.0

Coke vs. Pepsi. Windows vs. Mac. Subversion vs Git.

Some matchups may never have a clear winner, but that won't stop some
people from clogging up message boards for years-on-end with caffeine-
fueled nerd rage.

In the world of version control systems, Subversion and Git rule the
roost. It's not up to us to say which is "best", but we can certainly
show love and support for both of them as they grow and mature into
responsible young adults.

We're in the process of rolling out Git 1.7.0 to all of our customer
hosting machines. There isn't *yet* a webpanel-based management system
for Git like there is for Subversion:

https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=goodies.svn

...but this new version of Git gets us one step closer to someday
making that happen.

########################################################################
5. NEW One-Click Install: Piwik!

Every DreamHost account has always - at least as long as I can
remember - included a free installation of Analog. Analog's a free,
old-as-dirt website log analyzer that hooks you up with all kinds of
useful data about your site's visitors.

http://www.analog.cx/

(visit https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=status.stats to
get started)

As great as Analog may be, it's getting a little long-in-the-tooth. It
also doesn't provide stats in real-time. So we're now offering a NEW
log analyzer in the form of an optional one-click-install: Piwik.

http://www.piwik.org/

Piwik bills itself as the open-source alternative to Google Analytics
and from what we've seen they're not far off. If Google one day changes
their business mantra to "Let's be evil!" (and I suspect they may,)
you'll be able to rest soundly knowing that your site stats are safe and
secure from the prying eyes of the "Almighty Privacy-Eliminating Service
Hoovering Internet Traffic" as they will come to be known.

Just visit the One-Click Installs section of your account control panel
and our software installation robot will go to work, makin' the magic
happen.

https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=goodies.installer

You'll need to embed a small JavaScript tag into each site you'll want
to track, but the payout is worth it!

########################################################################
6. DHSOTMs

The March 2010 DreamHost Site Of The Month contest has TWO winners.

As judged by our customers, these are they:

The #1 winner in the CONTENT, DESIGN, and ORIGINALITY categories is
"ZTS Photography - A personal and competitive photography experience."
http://www.ztsphotography.com/

The #1 winner in the STRUCTURE category is:
"AW Industries - A simple portfolio website"
http://www.aw-industries.com/

########################################################################
Your pal,
Brett D!

P.S. Do you prefer not to receive informative newsletters from
informative people who themselves are informed and like to inform
others...informally?

You can unsubscribe from this one at:

https://panel.dreamhost.com/id/?tab=contact

dreamhost.com website logo

URL source: http://wiki.dreamhost.com/V12.03_March_2010
<-- Previous

Want to add a hosting newsletter ? Use the contact form to let us know!

Related newsletters

Dream Host newsletter V12.02 February 2010 - 0. Introduction1. NEW: I guessed Josh's password2. NEW: Status.net one-click and PetStatus.com3. NEW: DreamHost PS Memory Doubling4. NEW: Rewards Page Improvements5. DHSOTMs####0. Introduction.The February DreamHost newsletter is finally here! Which leads me tomy next point...####1. NEW: I guessed Josh's passwordLook, it's March 11th. Josh's ...
Dream Host newsletter V11.12 December 2009 - DreamHost Newzealetter v11.12 December 20090. Introduction.1. New: Ceph, the open source scalable distributed file system!2. New: WSGI on Passenger!3. New: Super-fast nginx web server on Private Servers!4. New: Chartbeat real-time web analytics!5. DreamHost API: added flash media FLV conversion!6. DHSOTM####0. Introduction.Hello there. I'm sure you're as happy as I am to finally get your handson the ...
Dream Host newsletter V12.01 January 2010 - 0. Introduction.1. New: The Amazing DreamHost 20 iPad Twitter Contest!2. New: Alchemy Dedicated Servers now Regularly $59 a Month!3. New: MongoDB on DreamHost Private Servers!4. New Charity!5. New DreamHost Site of the Month Categories!6. DHSOTM####0. Introduction.Only groundhog's day and already the January DreamHost newsletter? Doesit feel like we only just finished burying December's newsletter to ...
Dream Host newsletter V11.11 November 2009 - 0. Introduction.1. NEW! We are done moving!2. NEW! Dedicated Servers!3. NEW! The DreamHost Shop!4. NEW! End your own PS!5. DHSOTM####0. Introduction.It's the world's most DreamHosty of newsletters, coming at you onceagain from the back of the Big Blue Bus in mid-December 2009: The HappyNovember DreamHost Newsletter!And, as seems to be a recurring theme with these things, I can't reallythink of a good ...
Dream Host newsletter V11.10 October 2009 - 0. Introduction.1. Live Chat Support!2. Django!3. cPanel Importer!4. Registration Only? You Can Still Park/Redirect/Cloak/Manage DNS!5. DreamHost PS Even More Efficient With Auto-Unloading Apache Modules!6. New Dream Halloween!7. New Charity!8. DHSOTM####0. Introduction.The hardest part about writing any October DreamHost Newsletter is thesame hardest part about writing any DreamHost Newsletter: getting ...