Finished overhauling myhometheaterpc.com

[IVB]

I guess I have the zWave angst to thank, but I wanted to make some progress on a long-outstanding task which is to fix my personal website. I opted to use Joomla so I don't have to go months without updating it again; i used notepad to write HTML when I set it up, and not only was that a PITA to write, I don't actually know much HTML so it took me even longer.

I just finished overhauling it, i've now got:
- Screenshots of all my stuff.
- Complete equipment lists with estimated costs, both PC & non-PC, including a newegg wish list
- My architecture diagram
- My wiring suggestions for both AV & HA.
- Level of effort

I'm sure there's other stuff i'll think to write up as time goes on, but at least the staleness is gone.

The URL is myhometheaterpc.com, let me know if you find something wrong or want more info on anything.

 

[drvnbysound]

I guess I have the zWave angst to thank, but I wanted to make some progress on a long-outstanding task which is to fix my personal website. I opted to use Joomla so I don't have to go months without updating it again; i used notepad to write HTML when I set it up, and not only was that a PITA to write, I don't actually know much HTML so it took me even longer.

I just finished overhauling it, i've now got:
- Screenshots of all my stuff.
- Complete equipment lists with estimated costs, both PC & non-PC, including a newegg wish list
- My architecture diagram
- My wiring suggestions for both AV & HA.
- Level of effort

I'm sure there's other stuff i'll think to write up as time goes on, but at least the staleness is gone.

The URL is myhometheaterpc.com, let me know if you find something wrong or want more info on anything.

I would have to agree that looks much better. Since you are not coding HTML now, did you write that in another language or use a web design program that writes the code for you? If so, what did you use?

Are you hosting that from one of your PCs or not? I currently have an older Dell PC that I was thinking about using to host a personal DIY blog site of my own. I know you can make blog entries here, but I feel like I do so many off the wall projects as well, that they dont really "fit" here, and I'd hate to make blog entries on various sites all over the web. I think it would be easier to manage and keep up with if I did one, and linked it in my sig as you have. I certainly dont have time to work on starting that up now, so it wouldnt be any time soon

 

[Monk]

I guess I have the zWave angst to thank, but I wanted to make some progress on a long-outstanding task which is to fix my personal website. I opted to use Joomla so I don't have to go months without updating it again; i used notepad to write HTML when I set it up, and not only was that a PITA to write, I don't actually know much HTML so it took me even longer.

I just finished overhauling it, i've now got:
- Screenshots of all my stuff.
- Complete equipment lists with estimated costs, both PC & non-PC, including a newegg wish list
- My architecture diagram
- My wiring suggestions for both AV & HA.
- Level of effort

I'm sure there's other stuff i'll think to write up as time goes on, but at least the staleness is gone.

The URL is myhometheaterpc.com, let me know if you find something wrong or want more info on anything.

I would have to agree that looks much better. Since you are not coding HTML now, did you write that in another language or use a web design program that writes the code for you? If so, what did you use?

Are you hosting that from one of your PCs or not? I currently have an older Dell PC that I was thinking about using to host a personal DIY blog site of my own. I know you can make blog entries here, but I feel like I do so many off the wall projects as well, that they dont really "fit" here, and I'd hate to make blog entries on various sites all over the web. I think it would be easier to manage and keep up with if I did one, and linked it in my sig as you have. I certainly dont have time to work on starting that up now, so it wouldnt be any time soon

I get a lot of this:

漀猀椀ç€æ¤€æ¼€æ¸€ã¨€æ„€æˆ€çŒ€æ¼€æ°€ç”€ç€æ”€


Some are blank. When viewing the source on the blank pages, I see this and similar:

<STYLE TYPE-"text/css">਀䄀㨀氀椀渀欀 笀挀漀氀漀爀㨀 眀栀椀ç€æ”€ç´€ï¿½
A:visited {color: white}਀㰀⼀匀å€å¤€ä°€ä”€ã¸€â€€ï¿½
<html>਀㰀䤀䴀䜀 匀å€å¤€ä°€ä”€ã´€âˆ€ç€€æ¼€çŒ€æ¤€ç€æ¤€æ¼€æ¸€ã¨€æ„€æˆ€çŒ€æ¼
€æ°€ç”€ç€æ”€ã¬€â€€å€ä¼€å€€ã¨€ã„€ç€€ç €ã¬€â€€ä°€ä”€ä˜€å€ã¨€â€€ã„€ç€€ç €ã¬€â€€æ 
€æ”€æ¤€æœ€æ €ç€ã¨€ã˜€ãœ€ã”€ç€€ç €â€€ã¬€â€€çœ€æ¤€æ€ç€æ €ã¨€ã¤€ã€€ã€€ç€€ç €âˆ€â€
€çŒ€çˆ€æŒ€ã´€âˆ€ç˜€æ°€æ„€æ€çŒ€ç€ç”€æ€æ¤€æ¼€å¼€ç”€ç€€æ¼€çˆ€æ€æ¼€çœ€æ¸€å¼€ã €ã€
€ã€€ç €ã˜€ã€€ã€€å¼€æ°€æ¼€çœ€â¸€æ¨€ç€€æœ€âˆ€ã¬€ã¸€ï¿½


Is it just me?

 

[Digger]

I guess I have the zWave angst to thank, but I wanted to make some progress on a long-outstanding task which is to fix my personal website. I opted to use Joomla so I don't have to go months without updating it again; i used notepad to write HTML when I set it up, and not only was that a PITA to write, I don't actually know much HTML so it took me even longer.

I just finished overhauling it, i've now got:
- Screenshots of all my stuff.
- Complete equipment lists with estimated costs, both PC & non-PC, including a newegg wish list
- My architecture diagram
- My wiring suggestions for both AV & HA.
- Level of effort

I'm sure there's other stuff i'll think to write up as time goes on, but at least the staleness is gone.

The URL is myhometheaterpc.com, let me know if you find something wrong or want more info on anything.

I would have to agree that looks much better. Since you are not coding HTML now, did you write that in another language or use a web design program that writes the code for you? If so, what did you use?

Are you hosting that from one of your PCs or not? I currently have an older Dell PC that I was thinking about using to host a personal DIY blog site of my own. I know you can make blog entries here, but I feel like I do so many off the wall projects as well, that they dont really "fit" here, and I'd hate to make blog entries on various sites all over the web. I think it would be easier to manage and keep up with if I did one, and linked it in my sig as you have. I certainly dont have time to work on starting that up now, so it wouldnt be any time soon

I get a lot of this:

漀猀椀ç€æ¤€æ¼€æ¸€ã¨€æ„€æˆ€çŒ€æ¼€æ°€ç”€ç€æ”€


Some are blank. When viewing the source on the blank pages, I see this and similar:

<STYLE TYPE-"text/css">਀䄀㨀氀椀渀欀 笀挀漀氀漀爀㨀 眀栀椀ç€æ”€ç´€ï¿½
A:visited {color: white}਀㰀⼀匀å€å¤€ä°€ä”€ã¸€â€€ï¿½
<html>਀㰀䤀䴀䜀 匀å€å¤€ä°€ä”€ã´€âˆ€ç€€æ¼€çŒ€æ¤€ç€æ¤€æ¼€æ¸€ã¨€æ„€æˆ€çŒ€ï¿
½
�氀甀ç€æ”€ã¬€â€€å€ä¼€å€€ã¨€ã„€ç€€ç €ã¬€â€€ä°€ä”€ä˜€å€ã¨€â€€ã„€ç€€ç €ã¬€â€
€ï¿½
�攀椀最栀ç€ã¨€ã˜€ãœ€ã”€ç€€ç €â€€ã¬€â€€çœ€æ¤€æ€ç€æ €ã¨€ã¤€ã€€ã€€ç€€ç €âˆ
€ï¿½
�猀爀挀㴀∀瘀氀愀æ€çŒ€ç€ç”€æ€æ¤€æ¼€å¼€ç”€ç€€æ¼€çˆ€æ€æ¼€çœ€æ¸€å¼€ã 
€ï¿½
�　砀㘀　　开氀漀眀⸀樀瀀最∀㬀㸀�


Is it just me?

Dam even IVB outsourced to China.

 

[Monk]

I guess I have the zWave angst to thank, but I wanted to make some progress on a long-outstanding task which is to fix my personal website. I opted to use Joomla so I don't have to go months without updating it again; i used notepad to write HTML when I set it up, and not only was that a PITA to write, I don't actually know much HTML so it took me even longer.

I just finished overhauling it, i've now got:
- Screenshots of all my stuff.
- Complete equipment lists with estimated costs, both PC & non-PC, including a newegg wish list
- My architecture diagram
- My wiring suggestions for both AV & HA.
- Level of effort

I'm sure there's other stuff i'll think to write up as time goes on, but at least the staleness is gone.

The URL is myhometheaterpc.com, let me know if you find something wrong or want more info on anything.

I would have to agree that looks much better. Since you are not coding HTML now, did you write that in another language or use a web design program that writes the code for you? If so, what did you use?

Are you hosting that from one of your PCs or not? I currently have an older Dell PC that I was thinking about using to host a personal DIY blog site of my own. I know you can make blog entries here, but I feel like I do so many off the wall projects as well, that they dont really "fit" here, and I'd hate to make blog entries on various sites all over the web. I think it would be easier to manage and keep up with if I did one, and linked it in my sig as you have. I certainly dont have time to work on starting that up now, so it wouldnt be any time soon

I get a lot of this:

漀猀椀ç€æ¤€æ¼€æ¸€ã¨€æ„€æˆ€çŒ€æ¼€æ°€ç”€ç€æ”€


Some are blank. When viewing the source on the blank pages, I see this and similar:

<STYLE TYPE-"text/css">਀䄀㨀氀椀渀欀 笀挀漀氀漀爀㨀 眀栀椀ç€æ”€ç´€ï¿½
A:visited {color: white}਀㰀⼀匀å€å¤€ä°€ä”€ã¸€â€€ï¿½
<html>਀㰀䤀䴀䜀 匀å€å¤€ä°€ä”€ã´€âˆ€ç€€æ¼€çŒ€æ¤€ç€æ¤€æ¼€æ¸€ã¨€æ„€æˆ€çŒ€ï¿
½
�
�氀甀ç€æ”€ã¬€â€€å€ä¼€å€€ã¨€ã„€ç€€ç €ã¬€â€€ä°€ä”€ä˜€å€ã¨€â€€ã„€ç€€ç €ã¬€ï¿
½
��
�攀椀最栀ç€ã¨€ã˜€ãœ€ã”€ç€€ç €â€€ã¬€â€€çœ€æ¤€æ€ç€æ €ã¨€ã¤€ã€€ã€€ç€€ç €ï¿
½
��
�猀爀挀㴀∀瘀氀愀æ€çŒ€ç€ç”€æ€æ¤€æ¼€å¼€ç”€ç€€æ¼€çˆ€æ€æ¼€çœ€æ¸€å¼€ï¿
½
��
�　砀㘀　　开氀漀眀⸀樀瀀最∀㬀㸀�


Is it just me?

Dam even IVB outsourced to China.

That's funny! OK I reloaded and now see the site correctly.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Looks good but the font is way to small for me, but I'm getting old... h34r:

This does seem to be the in-vouge thing though with a lot of sites these days.

Also, you need a "usefull links" page.

 

[Sokoloff]

Are you hosting that from one of your PCs or not? I currently have an older Dell PC that I was thinking about using to host a personal DIY blog site of my own.

IMO, you can't pay for the electricity to host your own site vs what some of the no-frills shared hosting companies give you.

No affiliation with them, but I've used planetSMB for a couple years now and been very happy with them. I needed asp.net, as I'm a Microsoft weenie, but there are a dozen companies who will sell you low-volume hosting for at/under $10/mo. (I'm on the $4.95 plan at Planet.)

 

[damage]

Are you hosting that from one of your PCs or not? I currently have an older Dell PC that I was thinking about using to host a personal DIY blog site of my own.

IMO, you can't pay for the electricity to host your own site vs what some of the no-frills shared hosting companies give you.

my web server runs off a hacked nslu2 which uses about 5 watts

 

[chairman_bubba]

Very nice site. Congrats.
Aptana Studio is free and is a great development tool for web sites.
I use 1and1 for hosting and its been pretty reliable and inexpensive for over 7 years.

frank

 

[Sokoloff]

Damage: You sir, have just given me a new thing to purchase on Ebay! Thanks!

 

[IVB]

Since you are not coding HTML now, did you write that in another language or use a web design program that writes the code for you? If so, what did you use?

I used Joomla. It's a content management system, that template came with it. All I had to do was populate the pages, pretty dang simple. And, it's done entirely online, so I can do it from any PC with internet access. There's no "client-side" software, the pages are never on my actual laptop.

I'm also using siteground.com for hosting, as they provide Joomla-optimized servers.

Looks good but the font is way to small for me, but I'm getting old... h34r:

This does seem to be the in-vouge thing though with a lot of sites these days.

Try it again, i just enabled the "make font bigger" tool, you'll see it on the top right.

Also, you need a "usefull links" page.

Ok, done.

 

[drvnbysound]

Are you hosting that from one of your PCs or not? I currently have an older Dell PC that I was thinking about using to host a personal DIY blog site of my own.

IMO, you can't pay for the electricity to host your own site vs what some of the no-frills shared hosting companies give you.

No affiliation with them, but I've used planetSMB for a couple years now and been very happy with them. I needed asp.net, as I'm a Microsoft weenie, but there are a dozen companies who will sell you low-volume hosting for at/under $10/mo. (I'm on the $4.95 plan at Planet.)

I follow your electricity statement if you dont already have servers running for other HA stuff. If you already have them running, I dont see it making a difference anyway.

I have paid ~$40/yr for 500MB of server space (only about 150MB of which has actually been used), not counting domain name charges (assuming you are using a custom domain, rather than a free DNS name). Personally, I feel if Ive already got a PC running, which can support MUCH MORE than 500MB of space, why not use it for free, rather than paying for server space elsewhere? Another thing I am looking at is that Photobucket and imageshack have size limitations to your account unless you sign up for their premier accounts - if you have your own server, you are limited to your HDD space of what you want to host - and then link to forums such as this.

Im not talking about trying to develop a full blown site thats going to have thousands of hits a day such as this site, but simply a DIY site or something similar to what IVB has done with his. A site like that, is probably only going to have views from people on this and other forum sites that he links his site in his sig for other members to check out what he has, etc. Thats basically what Im looking to do with a DIY site of my own.

 

[IVB]

I actually have no idea what it takes to host your own website. Wouldn't you need a static IP address, doesn't that cost more than the regular DSL service?

 

[Helheim]

Usually on a home connection your upload speed is limited as well so hosting pictures, vids, large files etc would be slow for people viewing the site.

 

[Sokoloff]

You can use a dyndns type service to get around the dynamic IP address (and most cable companies DHCP addresses aren't all that dynamic, provided you keep your home nailed up to the net 24x7). The limited upstream is still a killer for most users.

It's definitely do-able, but it's so cheap and easy to buy it, that I decided to buy it. (That, and I had a web client who was willing to pay huge markups anyway... )