Website for cataloging downloads, knowledge, tutorials etc.

[AdmA]

[ClamsTheCat]

Well a little progress update on the site:

I am finishing up the user upload module at this point. It will be a very complete system including an upload progress bar, upload kb/s and time remaining. It is working great already, and I just need to put some checks in to make sure people do not upload inappropriate filetypes and such. People can then input the description, keywords and other specifics regarding the file they are uploading. Once they are done he submission will sit in a bin and await a virus scan and approval. If all is kosher, the file will be approved and be listed in the database.

After I complete that module, I will finish up the user Q&A module. This will allow people to submit common questions and answers for common BT/BM/HTPC issues. This could vary from a capture card problem to a television issue. The key is to make sure that the questions and answers are complete and well written. I am trying to locate a DHTML rich text editor with a spell checker to make sure people do their best to make intelligent posts. I will then sift through them and approve (and thus post) the well done submissions. I think it will be a trial and error thing at first until I see if people can make inteligible submissions.

It is certainly taking longer than I wanted, but the good news is that it should be worth the wait. I hope that once it is all ready people will do their best to help out with posting content into the system. It will be free, fast and most important ad-free. I think it will be a real boon and make finding donloads simple for newbies and gurus alike.

[AdmA]

Any updates?

[ClamsTheCat]

A few updates:

The site is ready to go on the code/script side. I have been adding content left and right to make sure the database is not blank when I set the site to active. I am having an issue with bandwidth and storage however. I do not think that my server will be able to keep up with the bandwidth and storage space without getting smacked with some overage amounts. It is a dedicated server I rent for hosting several websites which already eat a decent amount of bandwidth.

I am curious if anyone works for a web hosting company or otherwise has any access to a little bit of storage space and monthly bandwidth. If not, if anyone has any reccomendations I am all ears. If anyone knows of any web hosts which offer a reasonably large amount of storage space and bandwidth for a good price please let me know. I do not need to run the scripts or pages from that location, just host the downloads. I would be the only one needing access to the directory hosting the downloads (for upload capability).

If I do not find a solution I may just bite the bullet and rent another service for the downloads specifically and hope I can recoup some of the costs with a paypal donation button.

[cfaslave]

Rather than hosting all of the downloads, could you link to the download on the SS site or forums for many of the downloads?

[ClamsTheCat]

I could, the only problem with that idea is broken links. It seems that when people update plugins etc and they remove the old files, rename files and sometimes remove their downloads all together. The whole point was to make sure we had a place that we could always count on finding the files we needed. I would always make sure to mirror the files on this end as well to ensure a backup. Another issue is not all the files are available from the forums. Some are 3rd party like codecs packs etc.

[collin]

maybe a wiki would be a good idea to consolidate user knowledge and keep it up to date too.

[ClamsTheCat]

That is a good idea collin. I have a lot of experience with Wikipedia but I have never set one up personally. Should not be much harder that setting up and administrating forums though. Need a dedicated couple of people to keep things in line though.

[cfaslave]

Originally Posted by ClamsTheCat

A few updates:

The site is ready to go on the code/script side. I have been adding content left and right to make sure the database is not blank when I set the site to active. I am having an issue with bandwidth and storage however. I do not think that my server will be able to keep up with the bandwidth and storage space without getting smacked with some overage amounts. It is a dedicated server I rent for hosting several websites which already eat a decent amount of bandwidth.

I am curious if anyone works for a web hosting company or otherwise has any access to a little bit of storage space and monthly bandwidth. If not, if anyone has any reccomendations I am all ears. If anyone knows of any web hosts which offer a reasonably large amount of storage space and bandwidth for a good price please let me know. I do not need to run the scripts or pages from that location, just host the downloads. I would be the only one needing access to the directory hosting the downloads (for upload capability).

If I do not find a solution I may just bite the bullet and rent another service for the downloads specifically and hope I can recoup some of the costs with a paypal donation button.

Based on Rakesh's post it looks like SS would help you out on the hosting side of things.

Originally Posted by rakeshagrawal

From the SnapStream side of things, I'd love to see something like this come together. If you wanted us to host it, for example, we'd be glad to do that. And in fact, starting next month, we'll have a bunch of paid-for extra bandwidth that we could dedicate to something like this.

[ClamsTheCat]

bnflaherty of snapstream already gave me a contact for some inexpensive hosting for the downloads. If they were willing to give it up for free than that would be even better. It will get done either way. i am just finalizing it now.

[rakeshagrawal]

clamsthecat, PM me with what you are looking for and I'll see if it's something we can provide. If you're just looking for download space, I believe that we can help you with that.

[cfaslave]

Waiting for content on http://www.beyondhtpc.com/ is like waiting for an update to Beyond Media..... O.k. not really that bad.

Seriously though, what is your planned timeline for the site? Is there anything I/we can do to help with content or anything?

Brent

[ClamsTheCat]

Originally Posted by cfaslave

Waiting for content on http://www.beyondhtpc.com/ is like waiting for an update to Beyond Media..... O.k. not really that bad.

Seriously though, what is your planned timeline for the site? Is there anything I/we can do to help with content or anything?

I am waiting for BTVs QAM support before I will let the site go live...it is a hostage...just kidding, don't take it personally SnapStream ...I promise to name my first born Beyond Fetus to make up for the QAM joke...but I digress...

I could use some help with content eventually, yes cfaslave. I am honestly not too concerned with that right now though. My main concern is finding a place to host the downloads. My server will do just fine for running scripts and serving the pages and whatnot. I will backup the files locally for the time being until I get a stable place to host them. Mainly an issue of bandwidth however.

I found some hosts for reasonable prices but it is just not something I can pay for right now. I also do not want to cover the site in ads, as it goes against the spirit of what I am trying to do. It is not that expensive or anything, but with my first kid on the way and a major home rennovation in progress, I am apprehensive about laying out cash for anything at this point. That is the problem with home remodeling for anyone planning on doing it soon: you plan on spending a certain amount, and you ALWAYS go over. And the diaper costs are going to be...oh God...I don't even want to know!

I have sent PMs to Rakesh when he offered the possibility of SS hosting the files with some extra bandwidth they were expecting. I have yet to hear back from him though. It has been a while so I am assuming that is not going to go anywhere. I am probably going to move forward with the idea that I will probably have to handle the hosting myself.

Once I get some hosting arranged all I have to do is flip a switch so to speak and the site can go live. All I would want to do before that is have a few forum members go through it and test it for me to make sure things are easy to understand and use. And yes, cfaslave, you are on the list.

[rakeshagrawal]

ClamsTheCat, I just needed a reminder. I've put a message into our network admin asking if we can setup an FTP site for your website. I'll let you know as soon as I hear back from him.

[Mamba]

Clams, this sounds like a great idea...look forward to see'n the "go live"...thanks for all your efforts.