cPanel/WHM 11.25 code name Accellerated 2 is out and there are some nice new features and cosmetic changes to note.

• Improved security features such as security tokens and cPHulk upgrades.
• Enhanced IMAP support for mobile devices.
• Optimized Apache update and restart services.
• Cleaner and more streamlined interface in WHM and cPanel to allow for quicker loading and faster use.

I know for the longest time that customers have asked to be able to edit their own DNS. Before this could only be done by our staff. The new version of cPanel puts that control in your own hands. Careful to play with it though as you can mess up your  site too if your not sure how to use it then I suggest you don’t.

Bellow you can see some of the screen shots of the new features and changes to WHM/cPanel.

All these new updates will be pushed out over the next few weeks to all our shared servers.

If you have a dedicated server and wish to upgrade yourself login via root to ssh and type /scripts/upcp –force.

The best way that you can capitalize on social media and social networking is to integrate the various networks into one another. That’s why so many people decide to provide links to their LinkedIn accounts on their Facebook accounts and why they choose to send out a quick update on Twitter if they just uploaded a new video on YouTube. In like manner, you may want to find the best way to integrate Twitter on your blog.

There are many options in this arena. One of the newest to join this foray is the Twitter Goodies Plugin by Arpit Shah. Instead of creating a static text update in the sidebar of your blog that only loads once, the Twitter Goodies Plugin creates a dynamic widget in your sidebar that refreshes automatically. This way, the entire page does not need to be reloaded in order for your latest tweets to be displayed.

Further still, readers of your blog will find that when they hover the mouse pointer over any of your displayed tweets, a “reply” link will show up that will automatically redirect them (in a new window) to the Twitter website to reply to your tweet. Other highlights include the embedding of user avatars and the ability to specify the width and height of the Twitter Goodies WordPress plugin.

For more information and to download the plugin, check out the official page at Crunchmeme.com.

I was shopping at Home Depot for a sander on the weekend. I looked at them all for a good 30 minutes. There was no clear measurement of how to tell which one was better. There was an expensive one, a cheap one and a mid priced one. There was no measurement to judge vibrations per second, there was no measure of them at all. I ended up leaving the store with a sanding block because it was the only one I really understood in the end.

On the drive home it made me start to wonder.

In a recent poll you our visitors and customers said that hosting is a commodity.

Has hosting become a commodity where there is no distinguishable way to tell which one is better. It use to be who had the best support and up time. The stronger servers get the easier it for hosts to achieve high up time and all hosts provide 24/7 support. Instead of it being a service it moved to who had the most space and bandwidth. That model is called overselling. I have explained that before on this blog if your not familiar with that model. If you notice most hosts these days have unlimited space, unlimited bandwidth and unlimited domains. In essence there is no way to distinguish between hosts again. So where does that leave the customer?

I don’t really have any answers to that question. When I was searching for a sander I was confused. Maybe potential hosting customers are confused too.

I am left wondering if our model is out dated and if we need to test models of hosting.

I think we should do several controlled tests of some various models of hosting.

Overselling Model

We will put together 1 server which we will host 100 unlimited space, bandwidth and domain account. The packages will cost $214.80 ($8.95/month) for 24 months or $119.40 ($9.95/month) for 12 months.  I will be interested to see how long the server stays online and how long it will take to sell 100 accounts.

High Paying Affiliates

The 2nd model will be based off another trend where more hosts are paying $65 or more per customer lead. This is a lot of money to pay out but again perhaps we can increase sign-ups by paying out more. This model will be controlled again on 1 server. We will create an overselling package for the affiliates to sell in the $149.40 a year range. We will then pay affiliates $88 after 30 days if a customer is still with us. Again it will be interesting to see how well this model works if at all.

What do you think? Any model you think we should try? Which one do you think will work or not work?

Many people will tell you that you should separate your personal relationships from your professional relationships. That may sound like a good idea, but you may soon discover that some of your best customers and business associates can also become some of your best friends. What do you do then?

Well, when things are going well, these hybrid relationships will probably create very minimal and rare problems. It’ll be business as usual during the week and then you can be “just friends” on the weekends when you go to watch a movie or go out for a drink. However, how should you handle the situation if either the personal or professional side of the relationship goes sour?

In an ideal world, you should be able to continue with the half that is still “functional” without having the “problem” relationship interfere. Speaking for myself, I used to write for a couple of friends and the business side ultimately didn’t work out in the end. Thankfully, I was able to maintain a good personal relationship with both of these men without having an adverse effect on my freelance writing. No harm, no foul, and we are able to continue conversing without our past business relationship being an issue.

Will this be able to work out in every scenario? Probably not, but you should do what you can to salvage the healthy relationship even if either the personal or professional side goes sour. The lines can easily become blurred, so always proceed with caution and forethought.

You’ve got your BlackBerry to handle e-mail on the go. You have your iPod to entertain you during those long drives to the office. You have your digital camera to snap shots with colleagues and business associates. There’s a good chance that you have a lot of cords dangling in every which direction off your desk, so wouldn’t you like to get that mess in order?

The PowerStation Cable Organizer could be just the ticket. In essence, it acts as a relatively simple power strip that can charge up to three devices at a time. The difference is that the lengthy cables can be tied up and hidden underneath the lid. This way, just the business end of the charging cable is exposed and you’re only running a single power cord into a wall outlet.

The top of the PowerStation also comes with adjustable dividers with rubber bumpers that lock in place, so your electronic devices can be properly stowed in place while they are being charged as well. As an added bonus, you’ll also find a number of free cable ties to help with internal cable management.

Find the PowerStation Cable Organizer on ThinkGeek for $19.99.

We have lots to be thankful for here. We want to wish you and your loved one’s a Happy Thanksgiving. Take the time to say thank you to those whom you are grateful to.

I wanted to say Thank You to all our customers, blog visitors, staff, friends and family. It is because of all of you that we are here today.