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A good host is hard to come by. For shared hosting, StringFoo recommends A2 Hosting. The price vs. feature set can't be beat. In fact, StringFoo.com and its sister sites, StringerSites.com and Lockbox.cc, are all hosted by A2. You can get perfectly adequate LAMP shared server for $3.95/mo.

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Useful Stuff to Web Developers

Lockbox.cc - Secure Password Storage

LockBox is a free, secure repository for all of your sensitive bits of information. Examples include passwords, account log-ins, product serials and more. LockBox can store almost any information you want. How you use it is up to you.

Link: http://lockbox.cc

Free Tools

Code Packer: Packs your JS and CSS

A free online tool that quickly packs your JavaScript and CSS code for optimal download speed.

MyQuery Builder: Visual Query Builder

A free, open source, web-based tool for developers who need a visual tool to build MySQL queries quickly and intuitively.

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Must-Own Programming Books

New to web development? Here are five books that absolutely must be on your bookshelf. I use them so frequently, my copies are dog-eared and coffee-stained. I'm even on my second copy of two of them.

PHP Cookbook

If you bounce between programming languages, and have to dust off the syntax, the PHP Cookbook is a fantastic resource. Well indexed, and exceedingly thorough, this book is a must-have.

Programming PHP

Programming PHP is also a must-have given its in-depth explanation not only of the lexicon and basics, but also its detailed explanations of some more advanced concepts such as object oriented programming, script security, error handling, and performance tuning.

High Performance MySQL

You'll learn more about optimizing MySQL in High Performance MySQL than you ever will from the MySQL manual.

JavaScript - The Definitive Guide

Fat. Definitive. Exhaustive. Terrible if you're human. Fantastic if you're a book. JavaScript - The Definitive Guide is the bible for JavaScript.

JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook

Look, ma! Stupid web tricks! Actually, this is a handy way to get up to speed on DHTML painlessly. Like the indispensable PHP Cookbook, JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook will quickly become your go-to reference for real-world JavaScript.

Links:

News: Best Buy Buys Speakeasy for $97m

March 28th, 2007

Best Buy acquired one of my favorite ISPs for $97 million. Great for the Speakeasy guys! Bad for us. I’ll be taking them off my list of ISPs I recommend to my clients based on Geek Squad’s less-than-stellar performance to date.

Sidenote
One thing that jumped out at me:

In 2006, it had more than 40,000 customers.

This is pure speculation on my part, but there’s no way that figure is right. That would mean that either Best Buy paid over $2,500 per customer, or that number is seriously under-reported.

Sphere: Related Content

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 at 4:32 am and is filed under Recommendations, Reviews . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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