I’ve been looking for a good, solid web hosting provider for a new project of mine, and so I’ve spent a lot of time visiting the websites of various providers. However, one thing has been bugging me: is there some sort of unspoken agreement among the world’s hosting providers that states that their websites must look like total ass?
No matter how many websites I visit, I see many of the same elements time and again. To name but a few:
The more these websites, which all look like the results of a marketing department run amok, try to impress me, the more it feels like they’re actually trying to pull one over on me. Like they’re trying to distract me with glitz and glam so I won’t notice something’s amiss (their deals are too good to be true, their customer service sucks, the Web is full of their customers’ horror stories, etc.). That impression is driven even further home by the fact that it’s next to impossible to find even the simplest, most basic information about their services, systems, and capabilities. Really, how hard is it to tell a prospective client what version(s) of PHP you support?
When I finally find a hosting provider like SegPub or TextDrive or even Tilted, one whose website doesn’t feel like a glorified coupon, they’ve already got a point or two in their favor simply on the strength of their websites’ design. Their designs aren’t packed with flava, but they are simple, well-structured, and elegant by comparison—and those seemingly little things can (and do) go a long way towards impressing prospective clients.
These hosts might even be considerably more expensive (maybe charging more than $2/month for hosting means they can afford a decent designer). But the fact that I can find what I need to know without having to wade through base marketing spiels and cheap stock photography means that I’m this much closer to pulling out the credit card.
Have some extra cash lying around? Then you could do far, far worse than spending it on the latest from July Skies and Epic45: Where The Days Go and Slides, respectively. Both are now available to order from Make Mine Music (though I’m sure such fine mailorder shops as Darla and Tonevendor will be carrying them soon enough).
This is the funniest thing I’ve seen all week: Stephen Colbert pokes fun at “Good Morning America” and “The Today Show” for their (condescending) comments about his show. The whole clip is great, but the two-minute mark is when the true pwning really begins. Via
Caul‘s latest album, Apophasis, is now available in its entirety as a free download from Dark Winter. I’m downloading it right now, but I think I’ll wait until it’s dark out so as to have to proper setting for the disc.
Twitch, as always, is a purveyor of good news. This time around, the news is that the line-up for the Midnight Madness program at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival has been announced. Which is doubly cool because the line-up in years past was about the last thing announced. The films are:
I am a little disappointed that there’s no kung fu/action hijinks this time around (i.e. Dragon Tiger Gate or City Of Violence). However, Midnight Madness is just a slice of the festival, so who knows what will turn up elsewhere. Besides, getting to see The Host in a crowded theatre in the wee hours of the morning makes up for an awful lot.
I’m also intrigued by Princess, an uber-violent Dutch animation about a former priest out to avenge the death of his sister; Severance looks like a nice bit of twisted, blood-soaked fun; and Borat looks to be the perfect amount of silliness to offset all of the artsy-fartsy stuff I’ll be inundated with throughout the festival.
In other festival-related news, we ordered our coupon books this morning. Which means that Christmas comes early this year. August 30, to be exact. That’s when the lovely FedEx delivery person will arrive with our early registration package, complete with full-color festival program. That night, I’ll likely be a giddy little schoolgirl, poring over the program and making my picks (much to my wife’s chagrin).
The State is coming to DVD. I think this calls for some muppet and some pudding! Ahhhhhh yeah…
It looks like fans of serious, thought-provoking science-fiction will have cause to celebrate in the coming months. Several genre films are in the pipeline that, from all acounts, put the emphasis more on ideas than CGI, on characters and story than explosions and hackneyed dialog.
First is Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain, which I’ve written about before. The new trailer was released today, and I’m even more intrigued and excited. While parts of it look like it ties into some cliched territory, and some of the dialog in the trailer has me wondering just where the film is heading philosophically, I’m no less entranced by the scope of the film, which looks even more epic than before. (If you can, make sure you watch the trailer in HD.)
Second is Children Of Men, the new film from Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). If the recently-released trailer is any indication, this looks like it could be a solid post-apocalyptic tale set in the not-too-distant future where women are no longer capable of bearing children.
Clive Owen, who is always worth watching, plays a former activist tasked with guarding a woman who is miraculously pregnant, and may be the salvation of the species. Of course, this being a post-apocalytpic world and all, he’s got to content with violent, bloodythirsty crowds, and so on.
Of course, these being trailers, who knows for sure. But these, along with A Scanner Darkly (which I’ve yet to see, maybe this weekend), does give me some hope that good, visionary, hard-edged sci-fi a la Blade Runner hasn’t totally died out in today’s post-Star Wars market.
The Fountain comes out October 13th, 2006. Children Of Men comes out September 29th, 2006.
Straight interviews Shapes And Sizes. Nice to know I’m not the only one who riffs on the band’s press photo as a way to possibly explain their music.
Mark Steiner offers up a little visual preview of Shiira 2.0 (which is still very much in development), and it’s looking good. I don’t use Shiira as much as I once did, but I certainly have a soft spot for the little browser (my reviews are here and here), and I’m glad to see that development is continuing to forge ahead. Not only do the new features look solid, but the Shiira might also be the best-looking browser on the market (I lurve the new tabs design).
“Starry Night” is a 6-minute improv piece by Beirut-based musician and artist Mazen Kerbaj that incorporates the sounds of the recent conflict—including bombs shattering the silence. More art and music can be found at his blog.
Opus is a website masquerading as a blog masquerading as a webzine. It’s where I (that’d be Jason Morehead) write about music, movies, art, web design, religion, family, and whatever else happens to interest me at the time. More...
Not sure where to start? Then check out this revolving hand-picked list of some of my favorite articles and reviews.
