A New Home on the Web

I completed the move of our website to a new ISP host over this weekend - the third home it has occupied since its inception April 17, 1996 sharing a server operated by OnRamp in Markham, Ontario. On April 12, 2001 we went live on a shared server at Easyhosting (Look TV) using our new domain name. 

The latest move was prompted by cost and feature considerations. I first discovered A2 Hosting in February 2008, while helping an “accidental client” move and transform his wholesale site to a modern database-driven service. This new site is hosted by A2. I was introduced to A2’s service and features during the time I spent adding customized bits of code to my client’s site. We went live in March of last year and I continued to make small changes into the summer.  

This time, with the PHSC, I was moving a live site making it important to get all the bits and pieces organized and executed in the correct order to avoid any loss of access. Using a temporary URL, I uploaded a copy of the 358 megabytes of files that make up our website. After verifying a random sample of pages, I changed our nameservers at CIRA , completing the switchover in minutes. 

My last step was to establish our email address on the new mail server and point it to my prime address. We still have a bit of our web presence at Easyhosting - they continue to be our domain name registrar.

A Different Bend

One of the problems with my beloved Sony F828 and similar cameras is the degree of distortion at the extremes of the zoom. This is quite obvious with straight objects in the picture. DXO Labs in Europe have a clever solution. They calculate the distorted light path and reverse it in software. The EXIF data in the shot gives the program the necessary data. The program works with selected cameras and lenses - including mine. The program has a number of other adjustments as well and works with Lightroom and Photoshop. The improvement in the image is astonishing. The program allows fast before/after comparisons as you adjust various parameters - the default settings work great. Once the adjustments are selected, you initiate processing to apply the changes to the actual file. Worth a peek at the 14 day free trial.