We have just received notice that our billing software provider will be performing maintenance and updates on one of their servers tomorrow morning. This will not affect the servers/services you lease through FastServers, however it could potentially affect you ability to log into or perform tasks in your Pentagon account while the maintenance is being performed.

The maintenance is scheduled for tomorrow - Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 - from 8:00 AM EDT (12:00 UTC) to 9:00 AM EDT (13:00 UTC). Efforts will be made to minimize downtime during this maintenance window.

If you have an emergency based support request and are unable to log into your Pentagon account to submit a support ticket during the scheduled maintenance time please call our support team at 1-866-753-3278. If you have non-emergency questions/issues during the scheduled maintenance time and cannot log into your Pentagon account please try logging in again after 9:00 AM EDT.

Thank you for your time.

It's very easy to write a blog and put a link to that publication. (Sorry, i'm not that shameful, at least this week). That would be a way to capitalize on the listing. I could title it “JOE’S MAGAZINE Recommends FastServers for Managed Servers!” Sure would look nice, but it wouldn’t exactly be true. I could also just put the link in this blog and state that we were listed. That wouldn’t be bad either. Then again, the other companies we play with in the space were listed as well, so i’d be calling just as much attention to them. Overall, it would be missing the point. The best thing is to leave it alone. Especially if it’s a negative comment.

We’ve been in business a long time. We have some people who love us to death. Others, well..they might not wish us well. It’s the nature of doing business. When you have thousands of customers, its impossible for everyone to be happy. There are some people who will call or email us and express their displeasure. There are some who will signify their displeasure with their wallet…they’ll just go somewhere else. And there are those who will go into the public domain and let their voices be heard. In all cases, as much as you want/try to help, you may not prevent any of those situations from happening.

For those familiar with this industry, there are publications and forums dedicated to discussions on every aspect of hosting. And if you do read them, you see people who will profess their displeasure with a host (just as much as others promote a host they love). So what if the opposite happened..we get listed as one of the worst providers? Leave it alone.

Years back, would I engage people who I felt that “flamed” us on a board, or in an email? I might. Did it help? On the very rarest occasion, yes. Partly because I got my aggressions of the day out of my system. Partly because I felt good about standing up for my hosting family. But did it help my company? More often than not, it didn’t help at all. There were the times that literally threw kerosene on the fire (nothing like have someone call your CEO and add you to their list of issues). There are times that I’d try to help, but unfortunately the situation is too far gone for any multitude of reasons. And is it really beneficial to scold a customer who rants about how lousy you treat them, even if they didn’t pay their bill? Or stretches the truth about the situation that occurred? Not one bit.

In the end, what’s best is to work with every client, every day and treat them like you’d like to be treated when you buy something. Give them value for the price and support the product. And if you do that, things have a tendency to take care of themselves. And who knows, maybe those nice passing mentions will keep coming.

In just a few short years, Firefox has reached this lofty number which by all indications, will continue to grow at a rapid clip. Some experts are touting a 10 to 12% gouging of Microsoft’s share of the browser market in the past couple of years with slow but steady growth each year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this trend continue in the near future, especially with Netscape Navigator joining the other unsupported, no longer patched software on the Isle of Misfit Apps as of the first of this month. It turned out to be advantageous for Mozilla that AOL, after trashing and crashing Navigator, would finally burn the project, leaving Firefox (and the true spirit of the project) to fill in the gap.

I remember the first time I was introduced to Firefox through a friend. Right away the quick and easy install surprised me. I’d gotten so used to the sweaty palmed marathon sessions attempting to download and install previous versions of IE over a 56K dial up connection that I stocked up on provisions, bolted the doors, and hunkered down for a wasted weekend. Heaven forbid that I would forget to disable call waiting and get that connection breaking telemarketing call 4 hours into the download. With Firefox, I was back to wasting time on the Internet with my new browser within minutes.

There’s still a healthy debate about which browser is better. I’m sure that will go on for some time to come. Below are a couple of comparisons that I ran across while researching this post:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10442_7-6656808-2.html?tag=btn

http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/01/firefox_vs_internet_explorer.html

When I came to work for FastServers.Net, my laptop was set up with Firefox. It is by far the browser of choice with my coworkers. I have had very few issues with it and enjoy the easy add-ons and plug-ins that are available. In a very short time the little blue “e” on my desktop was sitting there, lonely and abandoned...so lonesome, it could cry. From what I’m seeing, Firefox is TCB, man…TCB.

My love of New Orleans started back in ’88 when I was invited to fly down to the Crescent City for Mardi Gras. My best friend, Tim W. Brown, called me one blustery January day and told me that in a few weeks, he was driving down to New Orleans during Carnival to visit Kim, a good friend from grad school who was down there teaching at UNO. Kim had embraced the whole “Southern Hospitality” thing and her place had become known as the “Kim-on-Inn” due to her exceptional generosity and willingness to put people up at her apartment for Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras or whenever someone wanted to visit. So of course, she was fine with Tim inviting me down as well. Tim suggested I fly down the Sunday before Fat Tuesday and ride back with him to Chicago during the first days of Lent, tired, reticent and thoroughly debauched.

Now mind you, this was my first “real” vacation. I had never been on a plane before and had never been farther than the states bordering Illinois since I was two years old. Lately, I had been working two jobs for a while, one job or the other (or often both) every single day. I was really ready for a vacation. New Orleans fit the bill and it sure delivered. Within hours of arriving, I was hooked on the whole scene, especially since Kim was such a terrific host. She got us to great spots to watch the best parades (having friends that live along the parade route is key), great places to hang out, and great, not-to-miss places like Jean Lafitte’s, Pat O’Brien’s, and the Voodoo Museum. She also made sure we had the gumbo at Coop’s, a muffuletta sandwich from Central Grocery and in honor of A Confederacy of Dunces, the occasional Lucky Dog to keep us going.

A while after I got back from New Orleans, I discovered a Red Beans recipe in one of my cookbooks and started perfecting my Cajun cooking.

STATE'S EXHIBIT "A" (( HAWT ))

On a subsequent trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in ‘95, Tim and I packed the trunk with crawfish, boudin, and oysters to take back North. I wanted to share our New Orleans culinary haul with friends, so even though it was the Sunday following Fat Tuesday…the Inaugural Mardi Gras Brunch was born. The annual event soon grew to include around 70 of my closest friends stopping by on a Sunday afternoon to have Hurricanes, Abita, Blackened Voodoo Lager and my spread of Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, Crawfish Pie, Shrimp Creole, and of course, King Cake. Even with the help of my girlfriend Michele and our cat Nefertiti (acting as executive chef and watching the proceedings from her bar stool) it still took about three days to prepare the spread for the brunch. With that much food, I didn’t have enough room to store it all in the refrigerator. But thanks to the wonderful Chicago winters, I had a deep freeze/cooler as big as my whole back yard. I would just pop everything in a cooler on the back porch.

So you can see I had gotten experienced at putting together some New Orleans fare for a large number of people. The gumbo and red beans would be a piece of (king) cake. I had time because the Mardi Gras brunch wasn’t happening this year since Easter (and thus Fat Tuesday) is as early as it could possibly be and the normal date was in conflict with some type of football game. Besides, I felt that I had just barely survived the holidays with my mind and liver intact. I just couldn’t pull it together this early. Cooking a Fat Tuesday Lunch for the great FastServers.Net crew would help keep my Cajun cooking chops sharp.

Sunday was spent cooking up a storm with big pots of gumbo and beans on the stove. Once they cooled, I did my usual back porch fridge thing, setting the pots in the snow. I get a call from home while at work on Monday:

Michele: “What did you do with the gumbo?”
Me: “It’s out on the back porch in the pots.”
Michele: “Did you tape the lids shut?”
Me: “No, I didn’t think it was necessary.”
Michele: “What about the opossums.”
Me: “Opossums don’t like gumbo.”
Michele: “I’m going to tape down the lids anyway.”
Me: “Knock yourself out.”

Monday night I got everything together to take down to the office the next morning. I assembled the utensils, the chafing dishes, the burners, and the King Cake together and ready to go. I then transferred the gumbo and red beans to aluminum pans that will fit into the steam table, sealed them up with the aluminum lids and returned them to my outdoor refrigeration unit.

Timeline of the horrendous crime:

24:00, Monday – I retire for what I hope to be a great night’s sleep
04:00, Tuesday – The cat is spazzing out, running up and down the stairs…usually a sign that she’s got an empty food bowl and wants to make us pay by waking us up. I check and see that she’s got provisions. Maybe it's a full moon.
05:00, Tuesday – More cat shenanigans. This is getting old. She finally calms down.
07:30, Tuesday – I get up and discover…we’ve been robbed and vandalized.

You guessed it...opossums do like gumbo. The little robbers ripped back the lid and stuck their little marsupial faces in it. There were a bunch of tracks leading from the back of the yard up the steps and right to the ripped up and poked lid. I like how they used my hard work in shoveling out a path as their little gumbo freeway.

STATE'S EXHIBIT "B" (( PWN3D ))

I picked up the pan and walked back into the kitchen. I stood, watery-eyed and sniffing a bit, and then dumped all that hard work and great gumbo down the sink under the “I told you so” gaze of Michele and the “I heard 'em snackin' last night. I tried to alert you, you idiot” look from the cat. Luckily, our little bandits didn’t seem to care for the red beans, so at least half of the Mardi Gras lunch was safe and without desecration; all was not lost. It turned out to be another good Fat Tuesday celebration at FastServers.Net (and a healthy one as well). So after all, we could say, “Laissez les bon temps roulez!”

The FastServers’ team has great camaraderie but the baseball season definitely makes FastServers’ employees choose sides… FastServers’ President Ian Andrusyk and VP of HR Jara Andrusyk root for the Minnesota Twins, Chief Technical Officer Travis Schaffner is a Cardinals fan, Director of Business Development Mark Luptak is a Blue Jays fan, Account Rep Mo Kabre and Tech Team Member Nick Shredders are KC Royals fans, Director of Inside Sales Steven Anderson and Tech Team Member Greg Kuiper root for Chicago's south side White Sox. As for myself, I root for the 1907 – 1908, back to back World Series champion, Chicago Cubs. Although other Chicago teams haven’t fared well this year, could this be the year that Cubs return to the World Series? Not likely as most sports books have them at 12/1 but what the hell do they know, the New York Giants were 12 point underdogs.

The last time I wrote a blog post I predicted that the Chicago Bears would win the Super Bowl (we all know how that turned out) so I won’t go that far for the Cubs but I will say that they will win the National League Central. Other prognostications include the following playoff teams…

National League:
West - Diamondbacks
Central - Cubs
East - Mets
Wild Card – Dodgers

American League:
West - Mariners
Central - Tigers
East –Red Sox
Wild Card - Indians

I apologize to those FastServers employees whose teams aren’t listed, better luck next year.

In any event, enjoy the last few weeks of winter because baseball season is just around the corner. Get your office fantasy team started and get ready for another great season!

Behold: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22504312/

Now Gilbert is a somewhat opinionated guy when it comes to this stuff. Somewhat in the way Rush Limbaugh is opinionated when the name “Clinton” is brought up. For entertainment purposes I’ve copied and pasted a post from his personal blog with about 30 edits to bring it up to FCC standards, Enjoy!

I was going to save my response to this article by Gene Marks (who has to be the most misguided scribe in the history of journalism) for the company blog, but found myself unable to coagulate my thoughts into words that would be acceptable for company fodder.

Never mind the fact that Gene's [insert word that refers to lack of intelligence] seems to know what an RSS feed is, but didn't get the memo that there's such a thing as an RSS Reader to read the 'endless stream of meaningless items displayed in an overly large browser window' , this editorial is a shining example of the attitude that just [bleep] kills small businesses. But just for fun, here's a few other gems that this whiny little [word referring to a lesser man] doled out:

"Let's face it: You're not going to eliminate spam in your business."

"But I do know the current group of antivirus software applications don't do the job for small businesses." (NOTE-I have a gut feeling Gene's small business is a conduit...no, gateway for any and all sql worms)

"If you don't have something new to say each day, no one's going to bother to stop by and check out your blog. It'll be, like, so lame. And if you do have something to say, just be careful you don't give away too much information."

"I forked over a bunch of dough to a firm in California that promised to get my company's name on "all the major search engines" when someone was looking for products that we sell. How did they plan to do this? I'm still not really sure, but it had something to do with spiders, black hats, and link farms."

"Mobile applications will be a great thing someday. Just like hovercrafts, telepods, and renewable energy. "

Well Gene, don't ya feel better now that you got that off your chest? Now excuse me while I build a mobile gadget for my clients that integrates with the RSS feed. Since most of 'em found me on Google because I optimized my site for a few choice long tail words, I want to preserve the niche as much as possible.

I could go on, as this article literally reads like a giant punchline. I'll say this much, the way your customers find you on the internet has and will continue to evolve. The way you communicate with them will change which is demonstratable. This is just plain disinformation by and large.

Seriously, go manage a Wendys or something and leave the discourse on web marketing to the grown folks you [negative description of said author].

With just a few minutes left on the schedule, a visitor came knocking at 175 W. Jackson Blvd. (that's our Chicago address). He didn't have a white beard, a red coat, nor did he carry a bag full of gifts, rather he was looking for a managed hosting solution and a proposal for a dedicated server. Without a moments notice the Sales Team did what was natural and sat down with this potential client to discuss their needs.

Having current customers, new potential clients, and vendors visit us is quite the norm, but rarely do we have walk-ins and never have we had one on the eve of a major holiday. It was a warm welcome and a pleasant surprise for everyone.

For those of you that live in the Chicago land area and have last minute shopping to do, I wanted to let you know we are open until 3PM and a group of happy joyful Managed Hosting Specialist awaits your visit. You will be required to knock in order to gain access, but with just 3 hours left you have plenty of time to make sure your holiday gifts can include a Linux dedicated server or even a fully managed cluster solution!

Here are a few tips for maximizing your dedicated shopping experience with FastServers.Net.

1.) We don't officially have gift cards, however we will accept pre-payment and provide you with a fully loaded "account" credit for your future purchases.

2.) Gift wrapping is not possible - this will introduce a fire hazard in our data center. However if you want a picture of your server we will be glad to superimpose a digital image and email it to you.

3.) Delivery of all items sold will take place on Wednesday or Thursday of this week, our NOC and deployment team will have tomorrow off.

4.) A dedicated server makes a great stocking stuffer! While you won't be able to actually put the server in the stocking, I will personally make sure you have a picture to present (see Tip 2).

With that said for more holiday cheer please don't hesitate to read the first and original post from our CEO. With that said, please keep in the holiday spirit when rating both BLOG Posts, while we don't expect 10's --> 8 or higher is appreciated!

First, there's an incredible amount of political jockeying that goes on internally - who gets the cards, who gets the wine baskets - wait, do we offend someone by sending out wine? Uh oh, Chanukah was earlier this year. That means for some of our customers, cards will be arriving too late anyway. Wow, is it easier from a customer relations standpoint just to disregard this season altogether?!

Next, there's that obnoxious un-written rule that says on an executive level anything I need to get wrapped up by year's end better be done by Dec 21th. Post this magical date, we enter the "dead zone" that seems to exist until a few days into January while every decision maker and C-level exec is on their extended Holiday trip. Despite this dead-zone, it never fails that some overly obsessive individual has a pressing need to get something done on the 26th, or even worse, on New Year's Eve day!

So somewhere in all this we've got to reward what I consider to be the most deserving staff in the managed hosting industry. Okay, so that means planning a party. Try getting 45 people, all with family or friends to agree on a single date. Not happening. So which conflicts do we chalk up to "tough luck," and which do we make accommodations for? While we're on the topic of 45 in agreeance, let's we talk about the venue for the event. Sorry Mark, Hanna Montana concert is out this year, hate to disappoint the girls.

It is at this point that I'll perform the least stressful task assigned to me by wishing everybody a wonderful holiday season, and all the best for 2008!

The Wi-Fi Smart Rabbit. Looks silly, but this rabbit won’t multiply. Instead, it will monitor your RSS feeds and read your email aloud.

Need a managed dedicated server? Give us a look. (ED NOTE: Shameless plug)

Back Up Pal. This is a clever device that backs up your cell phone data. This accessory will backup and transfer phone numbers and contact information between multiple phones. So no worries next time you leave your Crackberry in your pants and send it through the wash.

Solar Powered Bag. Make that geek look chic and get them environmentally minded at the same time.

The 20 Questions Ball. So you are waiting for a kernel to compile. Wanna mess with your head? Grab the ball and play 20 Questions.

Floppy Disk CD-R’s. Little bit of a nostalgia trip. Guess ya have to store the CD’s in something.

Mimobots. Need a USB drive for that Star Wars fan. Look no further.

And what is yours truly looking for underneath the tree this year? Well, I’m known to be hard to buy for, but this caught my eye. I’m hoping it plays the theme to Match Game ’75.

Happy Gift Hunting!

November 2006 Proworkflow Interview

Q2: What's your take on the buzz around Web 2.0 and how has it impacted ProWorkFlow?
Personally I think there is far too much hype surrounding the subject. I've written a lot about Web 2.0 on my personal blog http://www.julian101.com. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on the issue, but I see Web 2.0 as a new phase of web applications. Better usability, better use of technology, tools like AJAX improving user interaction, more community focus, user led solutions etc.
However some people see Web 2.0 as simply big buttons, cutesy roundy interfaces and ridiculously simplistic odd little applications. Whatever we deem it to be, there is a change occurring in the applications market and some great new tools appearing (and some terrible ones :-).

Q3: What new features to your software have been added in the last 12 months?
Too many to list (about 50+ key features) but the main product features added are: Timeline (Gantt-like), Staff Workload Report, Calendar, Project Forum, More Reports.

Q4: Does ProWorkFlow classify itself as "Software as a Service"?
Absolutely. ProWorkflow (developed by www.proactivesoftware.com) is a great example of what Software As A Service (SaaS) should be. Automated signups and trial systems, low inertia (low touch) sales process, hosted delivery, monthly rental, all backups and server maintenance is managed for customers, automatic billing etc. It’s ‘Software’ delivered as a ‘Service’. And to provide true service, A SaaS provider needs to have many systems and processes in place behind the scenes to ensure reliable and fast access to the solution.

Q5: The last time we spoke you were working on an 'Enterprise' project, what are the results of that project?
The Enterprise release is the fully hierarchal release of ProWorkflow which includes teams, roles, divisions etc and is designed for 100-1000+ staff. It’s being user by a small number of companys currently. One of the known names on this release is Fossil USA who run a large design team (100+ users) on ProWorkflow Enterprise. It’s working out great for them and they’ve managed thousands of projects through the solution.
We haven’t really pushed this release too hard as the core ProWorkflow product is the current focus. Enterprise is an offering we mention to only the companies that require this level of control.

Q6: You stated one of your biggest challenges was "assembling a team and infrastructure in order to scale up the operation". What steps have you taken in the last 12 months to meet that challenge?
We’ve taken on sales support staff and another developer – still a tight team but don’t need to scale the people up too much further for a few more months... In regards to infrastructure, we keep finding ways to tune servers and automate processes, so the operation runs smoothly. And when our servers and processes run smoothly, so does the solution for the customer.
In the past 12 months we’ve put in more subscription servers (at FastServers), increased backup frequency and tightened security further. Everything we do with processes and technology is to make the solution a solid consistent offering for the customer.

Q7: Tell us who is using your software and what problem they are solving by adopting it into their organization?
Firstly, the main problem people solve with ProWorkflow is managing staff efficiency and having a management overview. The ProWorkflow solution helps customers business to ‘Run Smoother’...

Regarding customers, there’s plenty, and probably a lot you haven’t heard of, but a few more common names would be: Fossil, MySpace, Fox, Air New Zealand, Thomas Jefferson University, JuiceTV, Vital Music and a lot more.

The solution is used by many different industries such as education, military, banks, legal, manufacturing etc... although the two main ones would be creative’s (Design Studios and agencies) and IT businesses (Web developers).

Q8: What is the New Billing System and what features does it boast?
This isn’t actually a feature in the application, rather the new Billing System is a comprehensive tool we built to manage customer account payments. The old billing solution we used was slow and clunky and difficult for customers so we built our own. So now, a customer can keep a credit card (and backups) on file with us, and be charged for their account monthly, automatically. In addition they can view invoices and download statements all from the Client Area on the ProWorkflow website. It’s a much better solution for both us and the customers.

Q9: Does ProWorkFlow focus on Vertical or Generic Business Applications, and why?
Well! It’s interesting that you ask that question as I have just (a week ago) written a blog post on that subject. Here it is: http://julian101.com/2007/11/saas-vertical-vs-generic-business-applications/
Although the ProWorkflow solution does have plenty of users in many vertical industries, we try to keep the solution generic as many industries have fundamentally the same workflow issues. Many companies need to manage projects, tasks, time and staff.
If we targeted only one vertical market, ie: Advertising Agencies, we’d miss out on a lot of opportunity. At last count, ProWorkflow was used in over 100 different industries so I don’t see any reason to focus on a particular vertical at this stage.

Q10: What can we look forward to in the next 12 months?
Heaps! And frequent releases! The team are working hard on version 6.0+ which is due out in Q1, 2008. This includes about 50 new features and numerous enhancements such as an incredibly flexible Reports Builder, Recurring Tasks, Statuses, Organizational chart, Internal Projects, new Alerts system, full Team, Group & Division Hierarchy, Web 2.0 Interface overhaul, AJAX, an API and a lot more.
There will also be a strong focus on usability and speed. And yes we have some further tricks up our sleeve...

Q11: Do you have any additional comments you would like to provide about your company or software?
Other than “Your business could be losing more than the cost of the ProWorkflow solution through inefficiency”? (shameless plug!)

My main comment would be, try the solution for free you’ve got nothing to lose and could gain a great deal if the solution delivers what it promises. And with the servers on FastServers.Net robust platform, you can rest assured your data will be safe.

Though I’m not the biggest fan of holidays, I’m looking forward to seeing the in-laws and my own family. It’s gotten to the point where we’re all so busy that the holidays are the mainstay for seeing them again and catching up. Sure, it means some marathon driving over the course of the next couple of days, but it’s by no means unbearable (must…fight…crankiness). A couple of hours drive (thankfully not in a car that breaks down twice a week as in the "old days") and we’re sitting around the table talking, laughing, eating and celebrating what this holiday is really all about. It’s all good.

This year there’s the stock things for which to be thankful. Everyone has been healthy. My father has had the opportunity to enjoy his retirement by moving into a new home and doing some traveling. My mother and I spent a rare weekend together…just us…traveling to Wabash, Indiana (I’m thankful she’s finally used to my driving…or maybe I’ve slowed down) to tour our ancestor James Ford’s historic home. Our “cousins” at the home were extremely hospitable and welcoming. It was a great time spent.

Personally, I’m thankful for hooking up with a bunch of new found friends in Old Town School of Folk Music’s Proto Punk Ensemble. For the first time ever, I realized a long-time dream of playing and singing in front of an audience. (I’m thankful no one tossed rotten fruit). I even got to embarrass myself with my Iggy Pop impression. Like everything else…it’s ended up on Youtube. I’m happy (and thankful) to finally have that creative outlet. It’s gotten me to think about getting a band put together again (I think some people would be thankful if I didn’t). It’s never too late…

Finally, I have to say that I’m thankful that I work with a bunch of great people here at FastServers.Net. I enjoy every day here in the fast-paced, constantly changing world of dedicated servers. It’s no wonder that I was more nervous leaving my interview than arriving for it. I knew that this company was special and I wanted to be a part of it. It sounds hokey I know, but it’s true.

Well, time for myself and some coworkers to be thankful that someone put yeast, hops, and grain together. Everyone have a safe, wonderful Thanksgiving. Cheers!

Ultra-Guard Suite is our new security package specifically designed to greatly enhance the safety of your data. It includes many functions, including a software firewall, brute-force detection, web server protection, and overall system security tightening. We've been working hard on this package for awhile now, and I'm excited to see it in action. I hope everyone's as excited as myself, because we're going to start pushing it out next week. Hackers beware, your days are numbered... in single digits!