On one of my projects recently, they needed a dynamic bar graph that would show the progress towards a goal of donations. I’ve never done something like that before, and it turns out it’s actually pretty simple to do. I’ll explain how the code works and then include everything at the end.
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Rather than clean up this post - which was updated throughout my ordeal with them - I wanted to summarize the problem I had when I was hosted with HostICan.
When I first switched to them, they seemed great at the time. I was very happy. I even signed up as an affiliate and recommended them, sent clients to them. A few months after I signed up however, the problems began…
At first I got a threatening email from them saying my site was using too much CPU/Memory. I could not get any kind of helpful response via email so I finally called them. The guy I spoke to said it was a momentary spike - everything was fine - lets see if it happens again.
A few weeks (?) later, it happened again. Again, I called and was told to install wp-cache and that should fix the problem. So I did.
I had a few more back and forths with them. The end result was that starting in 2008 I think they changed their monitoring systems, from a threatening email - to simply taking your whole site down.
My site has not had a massive increase in posts, or visitors in a few years. In fact, because I’ve been so busy, posting here has been less and less, and number of visitors has roughly averaged the same or less.
Simply put, I wasn’t happy with their service anymore. In my previous post, people said “What do you expect when you pay ~$6 for hosting” (Actually I had paid more than that - but whatever). No matter what - if that’s the service you get with cheap hosting - so be it. But what happened next is inexcusable.
On their site, they say that if you’re not happy, you can get your money back… they ALSO say that if you are not happy within 30 days - you can get a full refund. Well, I’m not looking for a full refund, but since I paid for TWO YEARS up front, and the service obviously isn’t working for me anymore - I would like to get a prorated refund. This is standard policy with every host provider I have ever contacted. On their site the “30 day RISK FREE money back guarantee” wording - is COMPLETELY SEPARATE from their “Service guarantee”:
SERVICE GUARANTEE:
We guarantee that we’ll provide quality service:* 99.9% Uptime Guarantee
* 24/7/365 Phone & Email Support
* Your satisfaction or your money back. (emphasis mine)
When I canceled I asked for my prorated refund, and I was told I would get nothing because I was canceling outside the 30-day window. Their friendly response:
You seem to miss one vital thing “30 day money back guarantee” and this applies within the 30 days “Your satisfaction or your money back.” not within 7 months.
They want to massively restrict CPU and take everyone’s site down - I guess, sure, thats what you get with cheap hosting - but to put up a VERY misleading “SERVICE GUARANTEE” - and keep hundreds of dollars for hosting I’m obviously not getting/using… This is a good business practice??
Whatever the restriction is on CPU usage - it was so tight that I had A LOT of problems getting my database off their system… I would try to export the database, and it wouldn’t let me… I had to manually export most of the rows for my posts and comments in small increments - and even then it skipped a few. It’s also interesting to note that if you browse around on their forums, you’ll see a bunch of people complaining of this problem.
People - be forewarned… This is not just cheap hosting… this is a BAD BUSINESS. I STRONGLY advise against hosting with them.
I’m seriously contemplating getting an iPhone. This is kind of funny for two reasons - 1) 2 years ago I swore off pda phones. I never carried it with me, because the bulky pda phone I had did not fit in my pocket, and if I couldn’t just grab it and throw it in my pocket when I quickly dashed out of the house - it would never come with me - and a mobile phone isn’t so useful when you’re mobile and it’s stuck at home. 2) When they announced the iPhone I thought it looked pretty cool, but didn’t think I’d ever have a use for it. My little phone worked just fine - it made calls. At the time that’s all I needed it for. Then I added a text messaging plan… and then the ability to check emails - the last two worked but the little phone wasn’t really good at doing anything other than the original purpose - make calls. I tried to get it to connect to google maps… I only tried once, it was a major pain and really didn’t work.
When my brother showed me his iPhone a few months ago, and I saw how cool it was, I definitely had gadget envy. The touch screen wasn’t as confusing as it looked on demo videos. The keyboard I found easier to use than I expected (and WAY easier than txt msg with only 13 buttons). My cell phone plan is up and quite frankly I’m unimpressed with any of the new Verizon phones…
So I was just wondering for anyone who stops by here - if you have an iPhone - do you like it? Why? Can you just throw it in your pocket easily enough? I use a PC - how does it do for syncing with the PC? Where do you store your address book - how well does it sync with the iPhone?
I was able to stop by the Wordpress meetup here in Utah and finally got to meet The Matt! After “knowing” him online for many years. (By the way, it probably goes without saying - but Matt is a very cool guy. It was really nice talking to him, and I really liked listening to his thoughts, ideas, and plans for Wordpress. As introverted as I am, and as difficult as it was to *get out of the house* LOL - I’m really glad I got up there to meet him) In talking to him, he suggested I really needed to get Scripty into some current social networking trends - like Digg - Yeah, I know. This site, as clearly apparent from the default template, has sadly been victim to my ever expanding freelance work. But with the snow storm that rolled through here, and nothing else to do this morning - I finally got DiggBadger installed. So now my posts can be dugg if you feel so inclined…
