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7 factors to consider when choosing a reliable web hosting

Long gone are the days when you only had to consider bandwidth and disk storage when deciding on the right web hosting service. Today you have to adopt a comprehensive analysis of the service provider and the perks available when deciding on the right web host for your website. At the same time, you should note that different hosting service providers are differently suited to host varied types of sites. However, there are some common yet highly essential factors you must consider before committing to a service provider. Here are eight: Server Reliability, Uptime Scores, and Security Weak servers and unstable network connections can often push your site offline. This not only denies you possible viewership or sales for an e-commerce store but also leads to low rankings on search engines like Google and Yahoo. Banking on a hosting company with reputable uptime scores, preferably above 99.5 percent is, therefore, key to your site’s success. Avoid companies that report an annual uptime score below 99 percent. In addition to making sure your site and data are accessible at all times, it’s also important to make sure you have a trusted and secure hosting solution as well. Customer Service How effective and speedy is the company in providing support for technical problems? Try to choose a host that offers live support to their clients, 24/7. Also look for those who offer chat support, as well as social media visibility as opposed to email and support tickets. Give priority to companies with an in-house customer support department. They have a better grasp of the company operation compared to outsourced customer support service. Availability Of Site Backups The current wave of cyber threats like ransomware is no longer solely directed to finance websites. It has seen an increased number of general websites being targeted by these online extortionists. Such acts often result in irreparable damages like the destruction or replacement of your site’s index.php file. Similarly, you might also experience severe server or local hard disk failures. It, therefore, becomes important that you only engage a host service provider that offers regular web data backup. Registration And Maintenance Costs The web hosting industry ordinarily offers attractive hosting deals during signup and even for your first payment. However, the renewal charges often more than triple. Are they avoidable? Only if you hope to jump from one hosting service provider with discounted sign-up rates to another after every two years. To avoid the surprise bill effect at the end of the discount period, check the renewal charges for your preferred package. Your shared hosting plan likely won’t last forever, and you may find your site soon grow and demand a VPS or dedicated hosting service. Consider such costs for upgrades and host changes when choosing your provider. Ability To Add Domains With growth comes diversification. While you may be starting with a single website and domain name, you will soon realize the need for multiple websites, domains, and subdomains in popularizing your site. Therefore, before signing up with a particular service provider, consider their different packages, paying keen attention to whether they allow for the running of multiple websites on a single web hosting account. Find out the cost of the unlimited website and subdomain packages and compare it to the rest of the industry players. In short, take the time to choose a web host that provides different service plans that allows you to add new domains that allow you to scale over time. Account Limitations Every hosting company has a set of terms of engagement whose violation results in extra charges, temporal or permanent discontinuation of your hosting service. For instance, did you know that some hosting providers prohibit the use of excessive amounts of CPU to run computationally intensive and scripts exceeding two seconds on their servers? Either of these actions can see you charged extra or your site pulled down indefinitely and without a refund. Take time to go through these terms and only sign up for the service if you intend to abide by their dictates. Most importantly, avoid companies without clear terms of engagement arguing that account limitation and suspension decisions are at the discretion of the company’s management. E-Commerce And Email Options You stand to receive more feedback and even subscriber conversions if you have your email linked to your website’s domain name. In this case, when looking for the right web hosting company, chose one that provides email hosting for your website’s primary email. In the past, most individuals identified the right hosting company with the amount of disk space and bandwidth that it provided. The perception of what is more important has now shifted to affordability. However, if you seek to run and continuously grow your site into the foreseeable future, consider adopting a comprehensive approach to identifying a suitable web host provider by looking at all the factors acting upon the optimal functionality of your website.
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Who invented vaping? The history of vaping

The history of vaping can be traced back to the early 1960s when a scientist named Herbert Gilbert patented a “smokeless non-tobacco cigarette,” which heated a flavored nicotine solution to produce vapor instead of smoke. However, this invention did not gain widespread commercial success and was largely forgotten until the 1990s, when a Chinese pharmacist named Hon Lik developed a similar concept using ultrasonic technology. In 2003, Hon Lik’s company, Ruyan, began marketing the first commercially successful electronic cigarette, known as the “e-cigarette.” The device used a battery to heat a nicotine solution, which was then inhaled as a vapor. The e-cigarette quickly gained popularity as a safer alternative to traditional smoking, and the vaping industry has grown rapidly ever since. Over the past two decades, vaping technology has continued to evolve and improve. With the development of more advanced devices and a wider variety of e-liquids, vaping has also become a cultural phenomenon, with a growing community of “vapers” and an increasing number of vape shops and events. However, the safety and health effects of vaping are still being studied. There is ongoing debate and controversy about the risks and benefits of vaping compared to smoking. Nevertheless, vaping remains a popular and rapidly growing industry and is likely to continue to evolve and change in the years to come.
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Basic Features of Free Web Hosting

Looking for a free web hosting solution is an imperative decision. Try to identify a reliable web host can be a daunting task especially with so many service providers and options available nowadays. Throw in the feature sheets and promises, the task can be that much more intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be. Let’s take a look at some of the most common features a good free web hosting provider should offer: Disk Space and Bandwidth Disk space refers to the amount of storage space assigned to you by the free web hosting provider. This space will be used to store your website files, including text, images, audio, etc. files you use for your website. Bandwidth refers to the amount of traffic that is allowed to access and leave your website. Access means every time a visitor types in your website name in their browser. Leave means every time a visitor receives something from your website, whether it be viewing a photo, listening to an audio clip, or downloading a file. For example, if your website has a lot of graphics (ie. photographs) then you will require higher storage and greater bandwidth. Website Creator and FTP If this is your first website and you have limited or no scripting experience, then look for a free web hosting provider that offers a free website creating an application where you can create your website simply by choosing a template and adding in your own text and images. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is the protocol for transferring your website files from your computer to your free web hosting server or vice versa. This allows you to upload your finished website files (including images and other multimedia files) from your computer to your service provider’s server. It also allows you to download your files from your web hosting server back to your computer. A good free web hosting provider should offer 24/7 unrestricted FTP access. Email Yes, your free web hosting provider should provide you with email services – so that you can set up @yourdomain.com email accounts. In addition to a webmail interface (so you can log in and manage your emails using your web browser), the email service should also include POP3 and SMTP access so you can set up and access your @yourdomain.com emails using your mobile devices. Support and Uptime You should always choose a free web hosting service with free, reliable telephone and email support. While no host can offer a 100% guaranteed uptime (think problems out of their control, ie. city power outage), they should provide “just-in-case” measures to limit website and email downtime to a minimum. These measures may include 24/7 server and network monitoring, redundant hardware and network configurations, and onsite backup power supply. While you might not completely understand the technicalities of these, look to see if your free web hosting provider has these listed somewhere on their website. If not, ask them about it. Pricing If you’re looking for a free web hosting provider, then you should expect to pay absolutely nothing for all the basic features listed above. You shouldn’t have to compromise pricing with banner ads. Any free web hosting provider that forces ads on your website is a no-no.
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What is Bitcoin and how does it work?

What Is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created in January 2009. It follows the ideas set out in a whitepaper by the mysterious and pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. The identity of the person or persons who created the technology is still a mystery. Bitcoin offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and, unlike government-issued currencies, it is operated by a decentralized authority. Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency. There are no physical bitcoins, only balances kept on a public ledger that everyone has transparent access to. All bitcoin transactions are verified by a massive amount of computing power. Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any banks or governments, nor are individual bitcoins valuable as a commodity. Despite it not being legal tender, Bitcoin is very popular and has triggered the launch of hundreds of other cryptocurrencies, collectively referred to as altcoins. Bitcoin is commonly abbreviated as “BTC.” Understanding Bitcoin The bitcoin system is a collection of computers (also referred to as “nodes” or “miners”) that all run bitcoin’s code and store its blockchain. Metaphorically, a blockchain can be thought of as a collection of blocks. In each block is a collection of transactions. Because all the computers running the blockchain has the same list of blocks and transactions, and can transparently see these new blocks being filled with new bitcoin transactions, no one can cheat the system. Anyone, whether they run a bitcoin “node” or not, can see these transactions occurring live. In order to achieve a nefarious act, a bad actor would need to operate 51% of the computing power that makes up bitcoin. Bitcoin has around 12,000 nodes, as of January 2021, and this number is growing, making such an attack quite unlikely. But in the event that an attack was to happen, the bitcoin miners—the people who take part in the bitcoin network with their computer—would likely fork to a new blockchain making the effort the bad actor put forth to achieve the attack a waste. Balances of bitcoin tokens are kept using public and private “keys,” which are long strings of numbers and letters linked through the mathematical encryption algorithm that was used to create them. The public key (comparable to a bank account number) serves as the address which is published to the world and to which others may send bitcoins. The private key (comparable to an ATM PIN) is meant to be a guarded secret and only used to authorize bitcoin transmissions. Bitcoin keys should not be confused with a bitcoin wallet, which is a physical or digital device that facilitates the trading of bitcoin and allows users to track ownership of coins. The term “wallet” is a bit misleading, as bitcoin’s decentralized nature means that it is never stored “in” a wallet, but rather decentrally on a blockchain. Peer-to-Peer Technology Bitcoin is one of the first digital currencies to use peer-to-peer technology to facilitate instant payments. The independent individuals and companies who own the governing computing power and participate in the bitcoin network—bitcoin “miners”—are in charge of processing the transactions on the blockchain and are motivated by rewards (the release of new bitcoin) and transaction fees paid in bitcoin. These miners can be thought of as the decentralized authority enforcing the credibility of the bitcoin network. New bitcoin is released to the miners at a fixed, but periodically declining rate. There are only 21 million bitcoin that can be mined in total. As of January 30, 2021, there are approximately 18,614,806 bitcoin in existence and 2,385,193 bitcoin left to be mined. In this way, bitcoin other cryptocurrencies operate differently from fiat currency; in centralized banking systems, currency is released at a rate matching the growth in goods; this system is intended to maintain price stability. A decentralized system, like bitcoin, sets the release rate ahead of time and according to an algorithm. Bitcoin Mining Bitcoin mining is the process by which bitcoins are released into circulation. Generally, mining requires the solving of computationally difficult puzzles in order to discover a new block, which is added to the blockchain. Bitcoin mining adds and verifies transaction records across the network. For adding blocks to the blockchain, miners are rewarded with a few bitcoins; the reward is halved every 210,000 blocks. The block reward was 50 new bitcoins in 2009. On May 11th, 2020, the third halving occurred, bringing the reward for each block discovery down to 6.25 bitcoins. A variety of hardware can be used to mine bitcoin. However, some yield higher rewards than others. Certain computer chips, called Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), and more advanced processing units, like Graphic Processing Units (GPUs), can achieve more rewards. These elaborate mining processors are known as “mining rigs.” One bitcoin is divisible to eight decimal places (100 millionths of one bitcoin), and this smallest unit is referred to as a Satoshi. If necessary, and if the participating miners accept the change, bitcoin could eventually be made divisible to even more decimal places. History of Bitcoin 18.08.2008: The domain name bitcoin.org is registered. Today, at least, this domain is “WhoisGuard Protected,” meaning the identity of the person who registered it is not public information. 31.10.2008: A person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto makes an announcement on the Cryptography Mailing list at metzdowd.com: “I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party. This now-famous whitepaper published on bitcoin.org, entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” would become the Magna Carta for how Bitcoin operates today. 03.01.2009: The first Bitcoin block is mined, Block 0. This is also known as the “genesis block” and contains the text: “The Times 03.01.2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks,” perhaps as proof that the block was mined on or after that date, and perhaps also as relevant political commentary. 08.01.2009: The first version of the bitcoin software is announced on the Cryptography Mailing list. 09.01.2009: Block 1 is mined, and bitcoin mining >>Read more
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Moment the Ever Given crashed into the Suez Canal is caught on video

Human error may have caused the Ever Given cargo carrier to crash into the banks of the Suez Canal rather than strong winds, authorities revealed today. Osama Rabie, Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority chief, confirmed that ‘strong winds and weather factors were not the main reasons’ for the ship’s grounding in the busy waterway five days ago. Instead, he said there may have been ‘technical or human errors’ which led to the crash. Maritime tracking technology has simulated the moment the Ever Given cargo carrier lurched into the banks of the Suez Canal when it ran aground on March 23. Two attempts to dislodge the 1,300ft-long container ship – and reopen the critical global trade route – will be made today after efforts yesterday failed. The Panama-flagged vessel, which is as long as the Empire State building, has been wedged since Tuesday and caused tailbacks of around 280 ships floating in and outside the single-lane Egyptian waterway. High winds were understood to have blown the ship across the narrow canal, that runs between Africa and the Sinai Peninsula and facilitates 12 per cent of international shipping, but Mr Rabie today confirmed this was not the main reason for the crash. A video from Vessel Finder recreating the crash by using the ship’s onboard tracker shows the moment it veered to port before suddenly going hard to starboard and hitting the banks. It ran aground about 3.7 miles north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez, and forced boats astern to grind to a halt. Captains appear to be banking on the ship being freed soon and are anchoring outside the Suez rather than going around the Cape of Good Hope, which could add days onto their journeys and even expose them to piracy. The Panama-flagged vessel, which is as long as the Empire State building, has been wedged since Tuesday and caused tailbacks of around 280 ships floating in and outside the single-lane waterway in Egypt Workers were dredging the banks and sea floor near the vessel’s bow to try to get it afloat again as the high tide starts to go out Plans were being drawn up to pump water from interior spaces of the vessel to lighten the load, and two more tugs should arrive by Sunday to join others already trying to move the massive ship. An official at the Suez Canal Authority said they were planning to make at least two attempts today to free the vessel when the tide drops. He said the timing hinges on the tide. At least 10 tugboats have already been deployed to assist in refloating the vessel, according to Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, which owns the container ship. Shoei Kisen President Yukito Higaki told a news conference at company headquarters in Imabari in western Japan that workers were also dredging the banks and sea floor near the vessel’s bow to try to get it afloat again. He said in a statement today that the company was considering removing containers to lighten the vessel if refloating efforts fail, but that this would be tricky. An approach was made by President Joe Biden, who said yesterday: ‘We have equipment and capacity that most countries don’t have and we’re seeing what we can do and what help we can be.’ That the White House stands ready to assist stresses how essential the Suez Canal is to the smooth functioning of global trade, and companies and governments are already warning of delays to goods arriving from Asia. Analysts say an estimated £290million worth of trade is being held up every hour the ship remains wedged across the canal. The backlog of vessels could stress European ports and the international supply of containers, already strained by the coronavirus pandemic, according to IHS Markit, a business research group. It said 49 container ships were scheduled to pass through the canal in the week since the Ever Given became lodged. Ikea has warned of delays to supplies, which will mainly affect goods from Asia such as electricals and furniture. The canal provides the shortest possible route for ships travelling between Asia and Europe, with the only alternative being to sail around the Cape of Good Hope – adding 14 days and 5,000 nautical miles to the journey A huge container ship blocking the Suez Canal is threatening to delay shipments to the UK, with electronics, clothes, furniture and toys all likely to be affected Some vessels began changing course and dozens of ships were still en route to the waterway, according to the data firm Refinitiv. A prolonged closure of the crucial waterway would cause delays in the global shipment chain. It is is particularly crucial for transporting oil. The closure could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Middle East. Apparently anticipating long delays, the owners of the stuck vessel diverted a sister ship, the Ever Greet, on a course around Africa instead. Others also are being diverted. The liquid natural gas carrier Pan Americas changed course in the mid-Atlantic, now aiming south to go around the southern tip of Africa, according to satellite data from MarineTraffic.com. The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which operates in the Red Sea, say a number of shipping companies have reached out to them in the last two days about security in the region amid fears they could be attacked. Zhao Qing-feng, office manager of the China Shipowners’ Association in Shanghai, told the Financial Times that vessels choosing to go the African route will have to take on additional security staff to ensure they are safe. Meanwhile Willy Lin, chair of the Hong Kong Shippers’ Council, said an international coalition of naval warships might have to be brought in to protect cargo vessels if the crisis drags out. The Ever Given was involved in an accident in northern Germany in 2019, when it ran into a small ferry moored on the Elbe River in Hamburg. No passengers were on the ferry at the time and there were no injuries, but it was seriously damaged. >>Read more
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