wdvlTalk Roundup December 2002

Google Tid-bits

• returns all pages under a given URL
  http://google.com/search?q=allinurl:wdvl.com
• "link:" finds everything that links to this page
  http://google.com/search?q=link:www.wdvl.com
• "site:" restricts your search to a site
  http://google.com/search?q=php+site:wdvl.com
• "filetype:" restricts your search to certain files
  http://google.com/search?q=php+manual+filetype:pdf
• "related:" gives you similar pages to the one you search for
  http://google.com/search?q=related:www.wdvl.com

• Non-pathetic site search, courtesy of Google

<p>Non-pathetic site search, courtesy of Google</p>
<form action="http://www.google.com/search" method="get">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_sitesearch" value="wdvl.com" />
  <input type="text" name="as_q" maxlength="255" /> 
  <input type="submit" name="btnG" value="Google Search" />
</form>

PHP Editors

• UltraEdit for windoze (it's small, fast, and highlights just about any language out there)
  http://www.idmcomp.com
  http://www.ultraedit.com
  
• Quanta for Linux(because you'd have to run wine on Linux to use UltraEdit)
  http://quanta.sourceforge.net
• PHPEdit - a full featured PHP IDE for Windows

Do you have any recommendations of reseller hosting companies that are reliable/cost effective?

• DigiHost
• crystaltech.com
• I host all my clients with Ready Hosting (www.readyhosting.com). Never had a problem with them & any tech problem is resolved with a phone call.
    -ReadyHosting rates depend on how many domains you have
• http://www.sellinternetaccess.com/
  They have several good packages - some are even free. Depends on how far you want to go with it. You can even be your own DNS and have control of your own server if you want.
• I use mavweb.net, and have been happy with them.
• www.venturesonline.com
• http://www.httpme.com
  (rated one of top 3 by hosting resellers on webhostingtalk.com recently)
• forwardweb.com
  Stable as a brick and excellent support.

Any tips on streaming video?

• I tentatively am going to host the video on playstream http://www.playstream.com/
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/26320.html - Real to create a server to run on most O/S's that will stream Windows Media as well as Quick Time/Real etc.
• I've tried ASF Recorder for playing WMA/WMV files on Linux and it works pretty well, it also picks up streams over http and mms so I guess it's possible... its available here: http://free.top.bg/asfrecord/.
• http://www.digitalproducer.com/pages/streaming.htm
• This is a very convoluted subject, but here are the basic facts:
  1. Unless you have an extra server co-located on big pipes you should never consider your own streaming server. Use Playstream, and don't hesitate to tell them that Bill from Metro Encoding said so :)
  2. You don't need a streaming server to deliver Real, Windows Media or QuickTime. They can all be served from a Web Server and made to fast start, i.e. start playing as soon as there is enough buffer to keep up with the download.
  3. Unless you've had a few years practice in digitizing and compressing video, you should get together with a reputable streaming media/encoding firm.