Noodlings

No, not the number of days since I last posted, though yes, it’s been a while. I just happened to be looking at my server stats and noticed that I had an uptime of 413 days. I guess this post would have been more timely and poetic at the 1 year mark but I have to say that I’m pretty impressed with Slicehost (warning: it’s affiliate link so if you sign up using that link, I get some credit). The reboot of my slice way back when was when I upgraded to a bigger slice.

I’m sure other people on other providers can post similar numbers but seeing as I had come from DreamHost, I find it pretty amazing. And yes, that is an affiliate link as well as I still use them for other things – I can be a whore at times, too.

Looking back over the past 413 days, I only recall contacting Slicehost support once, and that was for an administrative issue. I do remember some network problems once but those were resolved within minutes. By the time I asked around in the IRC channel about it, it was fixed. For the most part, I almost never think of Slicehost. The fact that I can take them for granted says something about their reliability.

How have the other services and tools I’ve been using on my site fared during this time?

PotionStore has been great. And now that it has an in-app Cocoa store component, it’s even better. I’ve currently integrated it into the latest Hazel beta (forum account required) if you want to see it in action. Just keep in mind that while the app is beta, it is connected to the live store so all sales are real.

Between the two main transaction processors I use, PayPal has been far better than Google Checkout. Very few issues with the former (knock on wood). Unfortunately, when there has been an issue with Google Checkout, I’ve had to hunt to find a way to even contact them and then the email support has been pretty crummy. On the flip side, I can find PayPal’s phone number quickly and their support people seem very knowledgeable and when the call is over, the issue is resolved. Fortunately, Google Checkout accounts for a small number of sales.

For server monitoring, I have been using Montastic. At least, I thought I was. Recently I checked my account only to notice that it wasn’t really monitoring. After unwedging it, it seemed to not like my store certificate, bugging me with alerts regularly. It also seemed to be sending MIME mail of some sort which end up as MMS on my phone. They’ve got pics of my server on fire or something? Annoying and potentially expensive. I’ve disabled it so suggestions for an alternate server monitoring service are welcome.

I could end this post with “Here’s to another 413 days” but I know I have to do a server upgrade at some point which will break my streak. Nonetheless, it’s good to know that downtime occurs on my terms and not my provider’s.