AceTheHost

Archive for May, 2008

Web hosting provider DreamHost has recently given its customers the rather unusual advice of choosing Google’s Gmail (mail.google.com) over its own email service, telling them that “it’s something Google…can do better.”

DreamHost currently hosts more than 700k websites and is suggesting that all of their customers switch to use Gmail for their email needs instead of DreamHosts’ mail servers. DreamHost will continue to support its existing email servers but for new setups and current customers, they are encourage to make the switch. More than half of their support requests and tickets dealt with email, which is part of why this change is being made.

I had been searching for a cpanel web hosting company that would work best for me. I came across this company called McKremie that seems to have it all. Packages start at just $9.95 per month and you receive 5000 MB of disk space, 1000 GB of data transfer, unlimited mysql databases, and best of all, it uses cpanel. If you are looking for more disk space, you can purchase their Business plan for only $5 more per month ($14.95/month) and you get 3 times as much space (15000 MB).

If you are unsure about what they can offer you, they even offer a demo available. After checking it out myself, I am happy to say that I was very pleased as to what was offered for the plans they have. Another plus that is provided to you is the use of SSH access. I know of other companies that only provide this if you purchase a dedicated server. So having SSH access at only $9.95 or $14.95 is highly beneficial.

To add to all of this, you receive 24/7 phone and email support. This is practically unheard of especially when you can get the plans for the prices McKremie charges. Most places make you pay $100+ a month to have 24/7 support. Check it out and setup a plan. You have nothing to lose especially since they have a 30-day money back guarantee.

Tucows Inc. (TSX:TC, AMEX: TCX) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program of up to $10 million for the repurchase of its common stock. Tucows has also filed a notice of intention with the Toronto Stock Exchange (”TSX”) to make a normal course issuer bid through the facilities of the TSX. Tucows will have the option to repurchase its shares of common stock either through the facilities of the TSX or the American Stock Exchange.

The notice filed with the TSX provides that Tucows may, during the twelve-month period commencing May 12, 2008, repurchase up to 6,361,769 shares of its common stock, which amount represents approximately 10% of the public float of Tucows. For purposes of any repurchases made on the TSX, Tucows may only purchase up to a maximum of 4,188 shares in any daily trading session, which number represents 25% of the average daily trading volume on the TSX over the six month period ending April 30, 2008, unless the block purchase exception is relied upon. As of May 7, 2008 there were 73,888,542 common shares outstanding. All shares purchased by Tucows under the normal course issuer bid will be cancelled.

The timing and exact number of common shares purchased will be at Tucows’ discretion and will depend on market conditions and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Subject to applicable securities laws and stock exchange rules, all purchases will occur through the open market and may be in large block purchases. Tucows does not intend to purchase its shares from its management team or other insiders.

During Tucows’ previous stock buyback program which ended on February 15, 2008, Tucows repurchased 2,616,600 common shares. (more…)

Web hosting provider Hosted Solutions (hostedsolutions.com) announced on Monday that it has signed a multi-year contract with sales tax compliance service provider Tax Technology Services (certcapture.com).

Under the agreement, Hosted Solutions says it will provide TTS with a “comprehensive solution,” including dedicated servers, managed firewall, monitoring and redundant Internet services.

According to its recent press release, TTS provides an online-based service called CertCapture for companies that pay taxes in multiple states. TTS says “the application enables them to manage and track their Sales Tax Exemption Certificates by scanning and mapping them to a specialized online database for review and analysis, protecting them in the event of an audit.”

“TTS has truly developed an industry changing solution that enables large enterprises with multi-state operations to easily digitize and store tax related certificates that have been fully vetted by qualified tax professionals without investing in software, hardware or IT support,” says Brian Baker, VP of sales with Hosted Solutions. “We are proud to play a critical role in their success and growth by providing a secure, reliable and robust online environment for their customers to store and report critical information to state tax professionals around the country.”

Founded in 2001 and based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Hosted Solutions says it offers “high quality data center and managed hosting services,” and operates facilities in Charlotte, Raleigh and Cary, NC as well as in Boston.

Last month, theWHIR reported that Hosted Solutions has been acquired by media and communications private equity firm ABRY Partners for $140 million.

Source: http://www.thewhir.com/marketwatch/050508_TTS_Partners_with_Hosted_Solutions.cfm