• Just added myself to the http://wefollow.com twitter directory under: #reseller #webhosting #host #

Chances are that the term open source has mysteriously cropped up at least once in your online explorations. The term is commonly equated with the notion that the software is freely available or freely distributed. In reality, this is but a single element of what comprises open source. Dictionary.com defines open source as a term coined in March of 1998 to describe software that can be freely modified, used, and redistributed. The purpose of the term was to avoid the stigma accompanying the term “free software,” as it cast a dark shadow. Somewhat affectionately, geeks everywhere adopted the term FUD to describe this amorphous shadow, the letters being an acronym for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.

Contrary to popular geek assertions, it’s not always the proprietary (paid) software companies that spread these rumors or author this perception. In fact, FUD is the direct result of the human mind reasoning that one indeed “gets what they pay for” as the old adage goes. How could something free possibly be better than something paid? How could people that work for free output better work than those that depend on the job for money? How can freely available software ever possibly be more secure than proprietary alternatives? There were many questions, and not-so-obvious answers.

One of the great ironies about open source software is that it is arguably more secure than paid software. The single greatest merit of open source is that it forces peer review. This means that each programmer/developer is, in effect, a stakeholder in the software. The code that they contribute to the project is quickly used, viewed, and analyzed by tens, hundreds, or even thousands of peers. The pressure is on to make your solution/contribution worthwhile for both the good of the project, but more importantly (and ultimately) for the good of one’s self. No geek wants to be the subject of ridicule and scorn from friends and colleagues; that is just one of those unwritten facts of life. In all seriousness, the contributed code could mean a job, a reputation, or a claim to fame.

Another often cited reason for not using open source is that the software produced will not be maintained. Here again, there is great irony. Proprietary software has one goal, and that is profit. The proprietary solution will exist as long as the profit motive is held true. Since businesses ultimately exist for this single reason; profits, research, or exploration in other areas may leave software stranded on an island with closed source denying any chance to migrate critical data. In the case of open source, those involved on the project have a clear and vested interest in the project. If something new comes along, they need to migrate just as much as the enduser. For this reason, open source projects tend to continue much longer, even if they branch off into other projects.

Last but not least, is cost. This is the obvious open source advantage, and it needs no more words to convey the ultimate worth of this detail. However, I’ll part with these few final thoughts. Why pay for less security? Why not invest a little time to save a lot of money? Open source is here to stay, as it came forth over a decade now. It is built upon an internet with the philosophy of open standards, a very close sister to open source. When a door is open, it provides the greatest opportunity for many to enter!

• Following the keynote WWDC 2009 @ http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/08/phil-schiller-keynote-live-from-wwdc-2009/ #
• Briefly rebooting the server that our site is on; should be back momentarily. #
• Forums are down for maintenance. A twitter client for C-64 http://bit.ly/43NfvF #

• 100% uptime for month of June on all reseller servers https://secure.idologic.com/payment/serverstatus.php #
• Tetris 25! I love that game http://bit.ly/4rbIqk #
• AMD instanbul review http://techreport.com/articles.x/17005 Maybe I will take a 2nd look. #
• Xen on CentOS http://bit.ly/18WgMI #

• Ruby on rails is now integrated into our DirectAdmin reseller accounts Not sure what ROR is, see http://rubyonrails.org/ #
• MySQL 5.4 A Quick Look http://bit.ly/hZOqq #
• 1 hour/day=financial freedom? http://bit.ly/hzzAt #
• Service upgrade: RVSiteBuilder Pro being added to all cPanel reseller servers; over 600+ website templates! http://rvsitebuilder.com/ #

No, there is not a typo in the title. Idologic is proud to announce that Subversion & Trac and  Ruby on Rails are now available to all of our cPanel Reseller customers. These new tools are quite powerful, and offer some nifty features to developers. Both tools are easily accessible in your cPanel control panel.

Ruby on Rails is a programming language (Ruby) on a framework (called Rails). Chances are that if you host with us, you at least know what a programming language does. However, the concept of a framework might be foreign to you. Ruby is a unique programming language in that it tries very hard to resemble a written or spoken human language, as opposed to a complex computer language. Arguably, it succeeds at this task where others failed. If you want to know more about the language, we suggest checking out the homepage at http://www.ruby-lang.org/ to learn about Ruby. There are several helpful tutorials to get you started, and there are many books available at your local bookstore. Ruby further boasts a lot of local groups for those that are really interested because Ruby remains quite popular in the open source community.

Ruby on Rails is the next step; think of it as sort of an optimized version of Ruby specifically for web applications. Although you might not even know it, chances are that you already use websites that function through Ruby on Rails. The list includes: Twitter, YellowPages.com, Hulu, Backpack, Basecamp, and so on. As you can see, for this to be a relatively young scripting language framework, Ruby is already employed in some very demanding environments. More information about Ruby on Rails is available from the official website at http://www.rubyonrails.org/.

Subversion and Trac is a completely different animal. Subversion is what is known as a version control system. Think of it as a type of “time machine” for a script; it is a tool that enables a user to manage changes to a script over time. This is a popular tool for many developers because it enables the safe use of cutting-edge features. However, benefits are not just limited to developers, as it can be employed for any number of files that need to be modified and managed through time. Trac is a type of wiki and issue tracking system. The unique aspect of Trac is that it is tailored to be easy to use with Subversion. To fully understand this technology, check out the official sites: http://subversion.tigris.org/ for Subversion and http://trac.edgewall.org/ for Trac.

We could not possibly describe the merits of either Ruby on Rails or Subversion and Trac in a single sitting. However, from our terse descriptions, the high points are apparent. These features have now progressed far enough that they can be considered safe and useful in shared environment. They are now incorporated into all cPanel reseller accounts. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Idologic at http://helpdesk.idologic.com.

Update: Ruby on Rails is also available on the DirectAdmin servers; please update your client packages if you’d like to give them access to ROR.

One of the topics that we frequently find ourselves discussing here at Idologic is Sender Verify. Pretty much your only interaction with this nifty little feature will be negative, because you will see this much-maligned error message: 550 Sender verify failed. This is the hallmark error that shows up when something doesn’t work; otherwise you would never even know this feature even existed, as it quietly hums along doing its diligent duty and keeping spam from your inbox.

Sender Verify works like this in a nutshell: It sends out a callback to a mail server when it receives mail to verify that the email address actually exists. This is accomplished by a series of checks that do simple tasks like check for a broken DNS setup or verify an MX entry. It’s a powerful tool for fighting spam because most spam has forged information and is not sent from a “real server” – yes that is one of those vague explanations, but put that on the shelf for now.

99% of the time, Sender Verify works just like it should. That is why you don’t even know it exists; email that should be delivered is indeed delivered and email that is spam and should not be delivered is rejected. There is no need for the resources of antispam/antivirus software to be brought to bear thanks to this utility.

When Sender Verify occasionally doesn’t work [when it should], it is typically a result of a different email configuration from the sending server. The tool functions by making the generally correct assumption that all mail servers follow a set of basic guidelines (which most all do). However, there are certain email systems out there that don’t exactly follow these guidelines for one reason or another. This does not make them wrong, nor does this make Sender Verify wrong.

These are the times that a support ticket is necessary. In order to help you continue functioning and receive the mail you expect to receive, Idologic, Inc. offers two solutions:

1. Whitelist the “Offending” Mail Server. This is pretty simple; we grab the name of the mail server and add it to a special whitelist which will ensure safe passage of mail from that domain, as the actual sender verify checks are ignored. This is the recommended and most common solution.
2. Opt your domain out of Sender Verify. This is the nuclear option, if you will. We will remove your domain from Sender Verify altogether. You’ll never be bothered by Sender Verify again, but the same is also true for spam email sent to your account. Spam amounts will increase. This path is for those that are concerned about Sender Verify or just are lucky enough to frequently find themselves in disagreement with Sender Verify.

If you need to use either of the two options, simply create a ticket with the helpdesk informing us of what you would like to do. Either option must be carried out by Idologic staff.

(And to let you in on a little secret, we are currently developing a tool for your Billing panel that will allow you to remove a domain from Sender Verify without opening up a ticket.)

I feel a bit like a broken record when I say this, but Idologic is always here to help. We will be happy to field any questions or assuage any concerns. Reach us 24/7/365 on the helpdesk at http://helpdesk.idologic.com/.

Customers with dedicated servers can now manage their own Reverse DNS (rDNS) entries through a new tool introduced by Idologic. The entry can now be managed by logging into the Billing Client Area and clicking My Reverse DNS. Customers will then see a table for each server that they have with Idologic, including each assigned IP address. By default, the server’s hostname is associated with that IP address. Now notice the text area on the right hand side. If you would like an IP address to resolve to something other than the server’s hostname(such as a specific domain name), edit the hostname to reflect your desired entry and click Save at the bottom. Please allow a little time for the change to propagate, but your rDNS entry for that IP will be updated.

If you are unsure of what exactly rDNS is, please read on.

Normal DNS (simply known as DNS) turns host names into IP addresses such as texas.trustedurl.com into 208.101.27.146:

$ host texas.trustedurl.com
texas.trustedurl.com has address 208.101.27.146

Reverse DNS basically accompishes the opposite of DNS. rDNS is what turns an IP address into a host name. For example, Reverse DNS turns 208.101.27.146 in to texas.trustedurl.com:

$ host 208.101.27.146
146.27.101.208.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer texas.trustedurl.com.

rDNS is useful for many reasons, but one of the major ones is for email. Many providers will not accept an email if rDNS is properly set. Idologic, by default, is configured to work out of the box. This tool is simply provided for a quick solution when a certain site might require its own, unique, rDNS entry.

As always, if you have any problems, please let us know! You can reach us 24/7 at our helpdesk.

Folks, this latest press release from Idologic might just be on interest to you:

London, ON (February 11, 2009) – Idologic Inc. (www.idologic.com), a leading provider of Reseller and Managed Dedicated Hosting services, is proud to announce the launch of a new customer referral program, Idologic Connect™. Connect follows the proven Idologic model of unlimited potential combined with a truly rewarding experience for customers. Designed for any current customer to take advantage of, this program makes it incredibly easy for the launch of a completely new stream of revenue; this is welcome news at a time when the world’s economy seems to be slowing and a little extra cash is highly valued.

Idologic Connect is available for any Reseller Hosting plan offered at Idologic. In return for connecting your friends, coworkers, or customers into Idologic to purchase any one of the Reseller Hosting plans, Idologic will connect you with the entire first month’s payment. This is not an account credit; this is an actual one-time payout which will be disbursed after the account holder is with Idologic for 60 days. There is no cap placed on the amount of referrals made, so earning potential is literally unlimited. For example, with referring just five people, a single payout of $100 can be earned with just the smallest reseller plan available.

Jeff Gardiner, co-founder of Idologic, Inc., is excited about the new program and issued a statement. “The best advertising available is word of mouth and many of our clients recommend their business associates to Idologic,” Gardiner said. “This is our way of saying thanks to them.”

Idologic Connect can be accessed from the Idologic Billing Control Panel. The offer is extended to both existing customers as well as any new customer at Idologic.

If you have any questions about the service, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’re available 24/7 via the helpdesk, as always.

You know, as a member of the Idologic customer service team, I must say that we are pretty darn fast when it comes to addressing and fixing a support issue (not that I am biased or anything of the sort). Actually, none of us are that conceited, but we work very hard to be the best that we can be for you. However, believe it or not, there are some things that you can do to make us even faster. Here are a couple quick tips for making your interactions with customer support perhaps a little quicker and more pleasant; these hold true for Idologic or any other service provider out there for that matter.

Check out these guidelines that will improve your customer service experiences, guaranteed:

1. Copy and paste any error messages. One of the most helpful little tidbits that you can do is to post any error message. This includes those pesky and vague email errors as well as any 403, 404, 500, or any other ugly number that comes up instead of your website. While we can oftentimes scour the server logs for clues, a 403 (for example) might mean something as simple as incorrect file permissions.

2. Explain as much as you are able in detail. Overwhelmingly vague statements such as “My site doesn’t work!” do not help anyone, yourself included. Despite popular myth, no customer service team employs professional mind readers (though we’re all working very hard on achieving that level of mental prowess all of the time). A good rule of thumb is to explain what you were doing when ‘it’ failed to work. Also, go into detail such as the following example: My website seems to be down. I have tried to reach it for the past 5 minutes yet only a blank webpage comes up when I should see my front page. You’d truly be surprised at how much more that second statement tells a customer service representative.

3. Do not be shy or not admit that you were working on things before your website went down. Do not hesitate to note that changes we applied just before the issue arose or the website went down. If you can replicate the error, feel free to share that as well. Just remember that you pay us to help you in the grand scheme of things. We all make mistakes from time to time.
   

4. Remain calm. This is not really an issue here at Idologic (because we have great customers) but always remain calm and explain things to the best of your ability. Support requests can be quick yet still thought out. One of the unique aspects of our own support staff is that every single team member would be at least a Level III member at virtually any other web hosting firm. However, issues vary and sometimes you may feel as though you need someone a little more senior. Never be afraid to ask for a senior representative when dealing with any company if you feel like your issue is not being addressed properly.