broadband or webhost?

  • Thread starter Thread starter dobro
  • Start date Start date
To correct your simple mistake in your .htaccess example, change your limit tags to include the POST method. ie:

<Limit GET POST>
require user hrdotcom
</Limit>

I was not aware that limiting the POST command was necessary, as any of the servers I have worked with do not allow POST for this type of retrieval. :confused:

Oh well...back to your regularly scheduled MP3 Clinic. :)
 
Waldo, Tunez: interesting exchange. It makes me wonder, though, how complicated it would be to set up a webpage with a webhost, the page having various songs in progress, each one password-protected. It would be nice to have part of the page public-access as well.

Tunez' example about the string of commands needed to set up a password-protected file was useful - it doesn't seem *that* difficult. Keep in mind, though, that I'm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier when it comes to computer/web stuff, and that I want to spend most of my time with the music, not with the technology.

So, what do you reckon, you two? You're soaring around up there in the cloudy mountaintops. How about me toddling around down here in the lowlands? Would I need help to set it up?
 
Why are you so up on password protecting? Just don't tell people about the files or don't advertise your site! I usually just through crap up on my webserver in a junk folder and send a link to whoever I want to have check it out. I'm not at all worried about somebody magically finding it and selling it to a boy band :)

At any rate, .htaccess is standard and not horribly difficult to setup. I'm not sure how phpwebhosting handles it exactly. Maybe it's in the web-based control panel that you'll use to configure your site, or you might have to use telnet/ssh or generate the file on your own machine (you need a way to generate a password hash at any rate).

What you'd do then, is create a folder (directory) called "music", for instance, and use .htaccess to secure it. If you wanted mulitple passwords for multiple projects, then it would probably be best to leave "music" folder public, and create secured subfolders off of it (e.g. music/project1 ; music/project2).

You then link to your music files from your main web page(s), which will be public.

Alternatively, you could put the page with your music links in the same secured folder as the music itself, that way a user would only have to authenticate once (although he might only have to authenticate once anyhow if IE caches the information).

phpwebhosting is a pretty good company. It is 10GB per month, and you can go over without extra charges as long as you're not breaking rules (acting as a file/warez server, porno, and so on). You can also go over 100MB if you really need the space, or so they claim. I had my wife set her work domain up with them because I've been sort of interested in their service for a while...so far it seems to be great.

Do not host your own webserver!!!!! It is simply much too dangerous on today's web. You won't secure it well enough and keep it patched, and you'll either become infected with some crap virus (especially if you use IIS) or you'll be hacked. Trust me, it's a pain, because I do it, and I've been hacked :) Let somebody else take the responsibility from you, and just worry about distributing your tunage. Not to mention that even with a good broadband service your upload rates are always crippled. I'm lucky if my site can dish out over 256kbps, and I'm on a 768down/512up DSL line....that's just the way she goes.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Uhm, phpwebhosting.com and phphosting.com, amongst others, are very different, specifically, what website are you speaking of dobro?

W.
 
Very shady looking, they do not list any actual limits on bandwidth, only saying that it is 'unmetered'... If so, then how the hell do they tell when somebody is abusing their bandwidth?

They do not seem to have any set rules, only:
Family photo albums, or other general purpose photo galleries are almost always fine. Our restrictions are mainly against an archive of photos, for example, of music artists, tv clips, or other types of archives that attract a large amount of traffic and cause problems for all the other users on the server.

Even the examples we just gave as being "unacceptable" can be fine as long as they do not cause exessive use of system resources. We do not have any bans on any particular files types or content.

In otherwords, if one day they like you, and the next day they don't, they can pull the plug on you, or throttle your bandwidth. I can't find any real TOU or legal agreements on the site whatsoever, detailing how they deal with copyright issues, how they determine whether to give you a 2k max. stream, etc.

Check out phphosting.com, much better for the same price in my eyes, and actual documented proof of limitations etc., better servers, better lines, etc. (And no, I have nothing to do with them)

W.
 
Yeah I've emailed them a couple different times about mp3 hosting and they were fine with it. They have a very liberal program because that's the sort of attitude they seem to have. Personally I like it. Writing is unimportant to me when the company isn't in the same state or even the same country, and maybe you've been screwed out of 60 bucks, big deal.

I only heard about them via word of mouth (from here actually). I've been thinking about moving my domains to them....so maybe I'll upload a few mp3 files to my wife's work domain (I think I can sneak em in there) and see how it performs. They have a 30 day money back guarantee, as do most hosts.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Biggest issue would be the copyright, since there is no legal agreement listed, you could be signing over publication rights to them, etc., who knows. That's why the paper work is important.

I dunno, I've seen more than a few people screwed in a similar manner. phphosting.com seems to have more space, same bandwidth cap, faster lines, better servers, and 24/7 telephone support amongst others, as well as a legit TOU and fully described rule set, all for the same price. They don't give no bull on the site, like 'un-metered bandwidth', that's a big lie, always has been in the industry.

Anywho, just what I can see on the outside, never used either service myself, but I'm very leary about someone claiming they don't meter their bandwidth.

W.
 
Thanks, Waldo. I checked it out - the site you mentioned looks more organized.
 
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