One of the biggest issues with using (or developing) cross-platform software is you basically have to make concessions in the software to get it to function for the lowest common denominator. One of the first, and most noticeable, things to suffer these concessions is the look-and-feel of the application.
But there’s good news, and the future looks promising. Application developers lately have been focusing more and more on better integration with the target platform.
With the upcoming version of NetBeans 6.7 (it used to be referred to as NetBeans 7 until the group renamed it to NetBeans 6.7), the development group decided to focus on greater platform integration; and I have to say I’m rather impressed with the results so far. I downloaded the latest beta release, which at the time of this writing was 6.7 M2.
Upon first launch, I noticed the window and all the elements in the interface had a much better look to them, one more consistent with the general OS X look-and-feel (specifically 10.5 Leopard).
Then I started using the application more, and it just has a better feel to it, and I don’t know if it’s just me but I feel like the different panels and features are more readily available and accessible to me. It also feels a lot less sluggish than NetBeans 6.5 does.
Just based on looks alone, take a look at NetBeans 6.7 on my Mac:
And now compare that to NetBeans 6.5:
Much better, huh?
I’m very impressed with where NetBeans 6.7 is headed, both visually and functionally. One has never complained about programs operating much quicker, have they?
In short, HostGator is light years beyond 1and1 in every respect.
As soon as I signed up with HostGator, I was sent an invoice. I paid it through PayPal and within 5 minutes I had all the credentials I needed to get in and start administering the site.
For security reasons, SSH access is disabled by default. So from CPanel, I just had to request an SSH be turned on for my account. It was an easy, quick, and painless process as a ticket was created for my request. I kid you not, within 7 minutes of my request, I had an email informing me that the account was enabled and instructions on how to log in.
HostGator is such a breath of fresh air compared to my dealings with 1and1. In fact, let’s compare HostGator to 1and1 real quick. HostGator handled my ticket within 7 minutes. I submitted a help request to 1and1 5 hours ago, and I still have not heard anything about it.
The biggest hurdle with HostGator has been getting familiar with their architecture, but I’m over that hurdle now and all my sites are ready for prime time. However, 1and1 continues to drag their feet and not all the sites are pointing to HostGator yet. I guess in just 24 hours of dealing with HostGator, I’m already spoiled and expect other companies to act the same way.
So I’ve been with 1and1 for the last 5 years and they were pretty good up until recently. It seems they’re overloading all their servers and not caring about it. (For those that know what this means, I SSH in and look at the server loads and the server is usually reporting load averages in the 80-100.0 range)
I’ve tried numerous times to get them to move me to a new server or to find the offending sites and keep their server loads under control. Their typical response is, “We can pull your site up within 2-3 seconds so all appears to be well on our end”
Just today, I tried to pull up my site and look at the screenshot of the following load times:
In case the image isn’t clear, it took my site 18.8 seconds to load; that is utterly unacceptable! You should also be able to notice that anything NOT hosted by 1and1 (those not coming from creanium.net) is what’s loaded so quickly. The Flickr photos only took about 150-200ms each, whereas a simple 275 BYTE image took 5.51 seconds to load from my 1and1-hosted server. I’m quite happy to be paying for my 50 byte-per-second hosting service.
I’ve decided to let my wallet do the talking and I’m leaving 1and1. I’m also taking 2 other hosting packages with me that I had set up with 1and1 and I will steer all future customers far away from 1and1.
I’m currently looking for a new hosting provider so if anyone has any recommendations, I’m open to ideas.
A new nephew, a shift in time, and now a brand new website; apparently I’m all about change right now!
As you can tell, I’ve just launched the new creanium.net! I built the new theme entirely from scratch, that way I knew it was as clean as possible. The previous them I had was just the default Wordpress theme adapted for my style.
I focused a lot of my time on the photo section of the site, so feel free to take a look through there. I think you’ll find it much easier to navigate and find other photos.
One of the other things I focused on with this new design is linking things together, either through tags or categories. You’ll notice that tags and categories are more prominent in the sidebar, both for posts and photos.
Enough rambling, I think the best way to really appreciate the design is to use the site for yourself, so feel free to take a look and browse. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to contact me.
Well the wait was worth it!
Aaron was born on Saturday, March 7th, 2009 at 4:08PM weighing 8 lbs 9 oz and measuring in at 22″ long. The biggest surprise was the fact that he was born with a head full of red hair! He certainly has a bit of Irish blood in him and we’re all just hoping he keeps the red hair.
I’ve posted some photos of our visit with him so feel free to take a look.
Last night, Jess and I were at a birthday party for a friend of ours when I got a text from Facebook. It was Gaile’s status update and she said she thought her water just broke and that they were headed to the hospital to find out for sure. Exciting news!
Then at 7:30 this morning, Michael texted us saying she was progressing. She had gotten the epidural and was at 5cm, then 20 minutes later she was at 7.5cm and Aaron’s head had lowered. Then at 8:30 Gaile said she was at 8cm.
So that’s the latest at this point, we’re all just eagerly (and impatiently) waiting for word that he is here!
