I am developing a new site for a client, and set him the task of finding his own web hosting. I gave him a list of requirements which included perl / cgi access, and therefore a Unix / Linux server operating system. He shopped around and decided GoDaddy.com had a package that would suit his needs. I agreed with the specs and he went ahead.

Several weeks have passed and last night I logged in to the server via FTP to start uploading files, and was a little surprised to see no cgi-bin. A bit of hunting around revealed that I was in the unfamiliar environment of a Windows NT server, meaning that a cgi-bin would be redundant as would the use of perl / cgi scripts for forms and a shopping cart.

Oops! Someone made a mistake that I would have to live with.

I pondered that the real problem here was not whether a Linux or Windows server would be ‘better’, but that under a Windows server environment I would need a crash course in ASP. That would slow my progress on the site significantly.

As I pouted to myself I asked my client to approach GoDaddy and see if the hosting could be moved from a Windows server to a Linux server without incurring a financial penalty. I expected no joy and prepared to research ASP, however the following happened:

• GoDaddy Tech Support sent an automated acknowledgement to my client;
• Tech Support then responded in detail on the same day;
• The advice was to log-in at their site and make the necessary changes at a “My Account” screen;
• A simple radio button and submit button enables a change in server operating systems (“ASP to CGI Hosting”) that is free, and takes 24 hours to update / complete.

I am still amazed at how flexible this approach is! I thought for sure that a host would have a list of hurdles and hoops such as payment of a change fee, cancellation of account / establishment of a new account, or some other bureaucratic approach to penalising you for being a nuisance. But the GoDaddy service proposition is a stand-out, and I think sets the standard for other hosts (and ISPs, come to think of it) in terms of putting customers first.

I’m impressed!

This image appears on a Chicago Website showing people accused of soliciting for prostitution. It should be noted that these are merely the accused and they are innocent until proven guilty. This information will be removed 30 days after posting from that site:
MENDOZA, JOSE
M/24
7XX W 19TH PL
CHICAGO
3000 W 47TH ST
2005/08/05
720 ILCS 5.0/11-15-A-1

It is interesting that they only appear to go after the normal guys. Where are the white-collar businessmen?

In-flight broad band service is in our future. However, the US Government wishes to have the ability to eavesdrop on the transmissions — if they have obtained a search warrant — almost immediately. Some have suggested that such requests should be delayed. The protection would seem to be in requiring a search warrant. Delay should, it seems to me, have little to do with it. If there is sufficient probable cause to “wiretap” the wireless communication, what does time have to do with it?

Google has now improved open ended question searches. I like a lot of things about Google!

According to the google blog, Google now offers it’s news in two feed formats, RSS and Atom as of today.

The BBC has an interesting interview with Sir Tim Berners-Lee today. He speaks of his idea that the web be a writeable medium where all users could create as well as read content. I especially like some of his ideas on the good versus bad uses of the web and his explaination of why that does not concern him on a philosophical level. It is worth a read, and if you cannot watch the actual broadcast, it will be available tomorrow on the web.

Today I saw an item on Ebay that was listed for “buy it now” at a price about one-fifth of the true value. The key things I noted, besides the fact that the deal was too good to be true, was that the listing provided a yahoo.com email address and asked that all correspondence be directed there. In addition, it asked that no correspondence be directed through the ebay contact system and said the item would be delivered to the first person arranging payment of the $6550 purchase price. I bet more than one person allowed their greed to get the best of them and transfer the money for the item that I am convinced does not actually exist. In checking the user feedback for the seller, it is 100 percent positive. I am convinced that someone ripped off the users name and password to allow them post under that persons username. I immediately reported the likely scam to local law enforcement as well as the fraud site listed on ebay.

In discussing this with local police officers in the fraud team, they advised me that something called atm card skimming was of growing concern in the United States. I didn’t know of it prior to today, but it is very ingenious and nearly impossible to observe for even a well trained eye. See this site for more on this issue. Meanwhile, be careful and never act on something too good to be true!