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-started July 10th, 2001 - Y2kk Update (July 11th, 2001) : Not sure why I was determined to write up an update to my web space server yellow pages of last year. According to my counter, no-one visits the old one anyhew. But you see, I'm having a little problem with my old web server right now. Spaceports used to be the of Jolt Cola. They had the best ftp uploading, unlimited space, they would've paid me if people would just click on my banner, and they had a brilliant counter system that would tell me how many unique and total hits I had each day. I would check my site's hits each day during computer class this year. Maybe that's why I did so poorly... But anyhew, the golden age of Spaceports is over. They forced an ugly banner frame onto the bottom of my page. At least that's better than they had before. They used to have another banner frame on the right side of every page too. So I asked all you Y2kk readers out there to just click on my banner - just once a week would be enough. Since I got 300 unique hits a day, 600 total, I thought that maybe if each person would click once a month, that's at least $30 US, and I only needed $20 to get rid of every single banner on my site for an entire year. But that was just a fairy tale. It didn't happen. It's been nearly two weeks since I asked every one to click. Some claimed to have loved my web-site, but even they didn't show they support. In two weeks, I've gotten 2 clicks. That's 20 cents. So either people aren't reading my Y2kk Updates, maybe they're clicking on the wrong banner, or maybe my target audience is just like I was a year ago - too cocky or too lazy to click on a damn banner. I was the same. I let some of the best free sites out there die simply because I didn't click enough... I did click once though. I thought my readers would too. Maybe they are and my server just ain't counting. I don't know. But I'm pretty pissed, because now I'm forced to relocate. I love Spaceports. They've been my home for a year and a half - 2 years if you count http://support.mycrowsoft.com . But I just can't live with that huge banner, and so I have to relocate. I hate myself for doing it, but I have to relocate. What choice do I have? I promised tweaks and dweaks for the broadband impaired, and having a huge banner on the bottom wouldn't exactly help that cause. So that's it. I'm a refugee, and below is a list of the servers I checked out before relocating to Brinkster. But before I go, let me get a little rant off my chest. It's the end of free internet as we know it. The last free internet server in Canada in closing on July 15th, and I'll be internetless for at least half of this month. Free web servers are shutting down left, right and center. Most free services on the net are. And if they aren't shutting down from bankruptcy, they're cutting down on expenses, forcing more banners, anything to stay alive. And we can blame it on the ecnomic slowdown if we want, but I'm not. I'm blaming it on myself, and everyone like me who once saw the internet as our source of freedom. But why was it free? Because of advertisers. You can't afford servers and bandwith without advertisers. And now everything on the net is screwed, simply because we won't click. Advertisers are getting shelling out no sponserships, simply because we won't click. And that free internet we all thought we stood for? It's dying - it's all squishing into some corporate conglomerate, simply because that's the only way the internet can work... because of us. Our sense of freedom is, well... screwing our freedom. And I wasn't pissed about this until... well... until it all happened to me... |
20M Free Web Space - I remember those good ol' days, when 20M was still a wee, small lad. I remember those days when having an address like www.ivanf.20m.com was an amazing feat, worth every bragging right in the world. And then that's when I tried 20M's service... It wasn't as sweet as it sounded. Nonetheless, 20M is one of the biggest free internet servers around these days. Just like the name says, you get 20Mb of free space and you only have to put a banner on top of each page. As annoying as that sounds, it's a small price to pay for their excellent ftp and html uploading.
20Fr - Um... is it me, or is 20Fr exactly the same as 20M above? They have similar names, they both shell out 20M in exchange for their banner, and they both have ftp and html uploading. I should look into it, but 20Fr is probably just an offshoot of 20M. Hell, the domain name you get is almost the same as well. At 20Fr, you'll get something like www.ivanf.20fr.com .
2GlobalMart - Surprisingly, 2Globalmart is not that bad of a provider. I mean, it comes with the standard ftp and html uploads, requires banners, and gives out 20 megs for a domain name like www.ivanf.g2gm.com . But comes in handy here is that 2Globalmart is one of the few free web services that has support for Frontpage2000 uploading. You don't get to see that everyday.
50 Megs - 50 megs is one of those old timer web servers, one that I signed onto long ago but... um... haven't exactly got around to using it yet... Anyhew, you get 50 megs and a domain like www.ivanf.50megs.com in exchange for having their banner up top. 50 megs is not that bad of a deal these days, and it might just coe in handy along with 50Megs' ftp and html uploading services.
9ug - Not bad, not bad at all... 9ug has truly outdone that 50megs company up above by shelling out a whopping 100megs of free space. Hell, if I knew about this company before, I would've signed up right away. Until a few months ago, they didn't even foce you to put up banners on their site. And all of this, plus ftp and html uploading, sounds like a sure fire sweet deal considering tons of free servers out there are getting kicked in the bankruptcy ass. The only problem lies with the address. Maybe it's me, but as short as the domain is, I'd have a hard time remembering www.ivanf.9ug.com . Hell, my classmates can't even remember http://clearasmud.cjb.net properly.
AFreeHome - Never heard of these guys, so I'll be brief. They give out 50MB, but not just in exchange for their banner. You've got to put a link to their homepage or something too, although that shouldn't be that big of a deal. They don't have ftp uploading, so instead they try to fetch some customers with their referral service. I thik I heard somewhere that they'll bribe you with $10US if you can just con one person from Geocities or something into picking up a AFreeHome account. It's not a bad deal, considering you get a decent address like www.afreehome.com/ivanf .
AngelCities - Don't get these guys confused with Angelfire. I did at first, and almost blasted away Angelcities for havinga lousy service... But I'll save that for Angelfire... Anyhew, Angelcities offers 50 MB as long as you put their banner on top. You get a choice of ftp and html uploading, but you'll get stuck with a domain name like www.angelcities.com/losers/ivanf/ or something like that.
AngelFire - Don't get me wrong, it's not like I hate Angelfire. I mean, my Grade 11 ISU is still online on one of Angelfire's servers... It's just that... I hate Angelfire. Sure they give 50 MB of space, but I hate pop-ups, even though my mycrowsoft domain name forces me to have them. And Angelfire forces them on me too, along with mind-numbing domain names like www.angelfire.com/or/ivanf/ or something like that. At least they have ftp uploading now. I remember how slow their html used to go back in my hey days, you know...
Batcave - Hmm... I remember these guys from what seemed like ages ago. Their domain names like www.ivanf.batcave.net... they just ring the bell somehow, in the bell in that bell thing, if you know what I mean... Anyhew, I never signed up with them. But I looked them up, and I think they still give out 20 MB of web space as long as you place their banner up and front. Their ftp and html uploading is good enough, but it's always cool to have a site copier option like they do, just in case you have to... uh... transfer your warez page as quickly as possible...
Bigstep - Bigstep used to be not half bad. They have away 12MB or something, which used to be a lot, and it wasn't all that bad to have an address like www.ivanf.bigstep.com. But I'm not sure anymore if Bigstep is free or not. I think they charge something like $10 a month now for their service, with the banner gone of course. Don't know if that fits right up your alley, but if it does, go take that bigstep or something like that... uh, I think me will keep my bad puns for my download and msn sites, me guess...
Bizhosting - Not really sure why I bothered to post Bizhosting over here. Now I know these guys charge something like $10 a month, but what you get out of it is kinda on the good side. You get ftp and html uploading, 100MB of web-space, no banners, some really good counters and statistics and stuff like that, and an address like ivanf.bizhosting.com .
Bizland - Maybe B is the key letter of the business world or something, because this is the third formerly free web server company that I've listed in a row. Over at Bizland, for $8 a month or something, you get 35MB of free space, ftp and html uploading, and an address like www.ivanf.bizland.com . Bizhosting sounds like a better deal to me, but if yoy want that shorter url, then go ahead and check this old-timer company out.
Bootbox - Now Bootbox looks kind of interesting... It's a free web server that only has ftp uploading, which means a lot of newbies won't be settling here and thus there's more bandwith for the rest of us. They give between 10MB to 35MB free if you take a banner and an address like ivanf.bootbox.com, but if you buy a domain name lke www.ivanf.com from them, you get to get rid of that banner and stuff like that. Sounds like fun, doens't it? I think I'll be checking these guys out... wait, that doesn't sound too good...
Bravenet - It's kind of sad, how the free web world has been reduced to this. How Bravenet now stands as one of the best web servers left out there. They give 20Mb of free space and decent addresses like cowing.mybravenet.com, and they have ftp and html uploading to boot. I haven't tried their ftp yet, but their html uploading is the fastest I've ever used, to tell you the truth. But what has always made Bravenet shine was it's extras and specials. Their site manager is simply incredible, their counters have always worked like a charm, and their e-mail is supposed to be one of the best out there, and the list goes on. It took me a whole year to figure out how to start up a web-site over there. Hell, I had to choose long time ago to put my site on either Spaceports or Bravenet, and I chose Spaceports because I couldn't figure out how to log onto the site manager. But that was because I didn't load pictures... Bravenet is great, but it's really only for the broadband at heart.
Brinkster - Now Brinkster over here is one of my favourites. Vhy? Because I was kicked out of Spaceports since no-one clicked on my banner. Remember? Thanks guys... So I had to relocate to Brinkster, where I got a crappy address like http://www22.brinkster.com/ivanf/ or something like that. But the beauty of this all? No banner ads are required. Sure, I make no money out then, but have I ever brought home a paycheck? Nah. My target audience apparently doesn't really seem to support me... sniff sniff... Anyhew, I got 30MB of web space which is more than enough for me. My only complaint is that there's no ftp support yet, but if that comes in some time or another, brinkster's going on the top of my list for years to come.
Buzzlink - Not sure if these guys are worth mentioning. I mean, they give a whopping 25MB of space which is good enough for me and my lollipop... wait, that doens't sound so nice... well, anyhew, the problems are, they don't have ftp uploading, you're stuck with an ad banner, and they stick with you an address like www.buzzlink.com/somecategorynamethatnoonebutyoucanremember/ivanf .
Crosswinds - Crosswinds has always been one of my favourites. Except they sort of suck now... no, wait. They don't really suck. They just haven't grown really in the past 2 years, and that's the beauty of Crosswinds. They won't please their fans. And vhy? Because they don't want too much traffic. They don't want a bunch of trendy webmaster wannabes flocking in and invading Crosswind's space. No siree. Crosswinds still offers the same, unlimited web space as they did before. But they also offer the same crappy ftp and html uploading as they did before. And they still force upon you those annoying pop-up banners, and I don't think crosswinds will ever change. And that's a good thing, because it's what has kept them alive for so many years.
DigitalAvatar2 - No CGI and ftp uploading... yet this Digital Avatar 2 still remains alive on the internet. Why? Probably thanks to its cool name. But it also has its other perks. It gives 20MB of free space, and a weird address like www.digital-avatar2.com/ivanf . And it least it gives you a choice between having an add banner, a pop-up, or something called a watermark, although I have no clue what that would be.
DomainValet - Hope I spelled this web-address right... Something about that word valet just gives me the creeps... But anyhew, enough with the triple dots I keep writing all over the place. Domain Valet offers ftp uploading only in exchange for a banner on top. They give 20MB of space and an address like www.domainvalet.com/ivanf, so nothing biggy here.
Doteasy - Heh... Doteasy is quite the package. I was thinking of signing up with Doteasy after this whole Spaceports kicking me out thanks to lazy guys who won't click my banner fiasco... I mean, Doteasy seemed like the perfect web server to me. 20MB of space, no banners, blazing ftp uploading, and a hell of a lot of bandwith. Seems like a dream, doesn't it? There's just one catch. You need to buy a domain name from doteasy, otherwise all of the stuff I just mentioned will go bye bye. That fee ain't that bad though. I think we can pay $15 US a year - not per month - per year, for a service and domain name this damn good?
Dreamwater - 50 MB of space and an address like www.dreamwater.com/ivanf . They've got ftp and html uploading, and the only fault they seem to have is the enforcement of that little banner at the top of each page. Still, it's a lot of space if you need if you need it.
EasySpace - Now here's one of those old-timers that I've grown to loathe and love. Easyspace was one of the first to give out a whopping 25MB of free space. I give them credit for that. Easyspace was one of the first to give both ftp and html uploading. I'll give them that. They were even one of the first to give short, little addresses like www.ivanf.members.easyspace.com or something like that, which used to be short in the old school days of ancient geocities. Easyspace even has Frontpage2000 support, which most free servers still don't have. But they've got two main problems: that ugly banner on every page, and their very slow service and support. I've got respect for them, but it's about time they upgraded their servers.
Egao - Not much to say about these guys. 50MB of space is impressive, but addresses like www.egao.com/somecategoryname/ivanf, ad banners, and only html uploading are not exactly what I'd call impressive.
Envy - Envy was another one of those companies that I've would've been proud to host my website on after that whole Bay of Spaceports fiasco. I'm not sure about now, but they used to not force you to have any banners on your site. They gave 20MB of space out and short addresses like www.ivanf.envy.nu. My only gripe is that they only have html uploading support, just like that Brinkster that I'm on top of right now... sounds like fun, doesn't it?...
eWebCity - No need to report about eWebCity. Just learned that this was what Brinkster used to call themselves.
Fiberia - 11 MB of space and ftp uploading is pretty decent, even in this day and age. The main problem is that they have worse than an ad banner - they have an ad frame that you just can't seem to get rid of. The positive side of this all is that when you sign up with Fiberia, you can use their cool name in addresses like www.home.fiberia.com/ivanf .
Fortunecities - Why won't Fortunecities just roll over and die? Does my account even still exist over there? I used to forward all my e-mails over there, sipmly because none of my hacker friends would've guessed that I'd be stupid enough to use my account over at fcmail. And then what? Fcmail deletes me account. I lost over a year of e-mails over there, and I still can't find them today. Hell, I had a lot of good memories over there - cherished ones about burning my flesh off in Chemistry class. And hell, I want those e-mails back!... But anyhew, the still give out 100MB of space and crappy ftp and html uploading in exchange for massive ad banners, ugly addresses like www.fortunecities.com/somecategorythatevenIcantremember/666, and your soul. So sign right up. I was stupid enough to back in my, uh, stupidier days...
Freedom2Surf - I might look into freedom2surf one of these days. Not only do they have ftp and html uploading, not only do they give 20MB and short addresses like www.ivanf.f2s.com, but they don't require you to show any advertisements at all. And they seem to have counters and stats set up too, and that seems to be right up my alley.
Freeservers - Don't know if my site is still on Freeservers. Might be worth checking one of these days... But if I remember correctly, I had an address like www.ivanf.8m.com, which wasn't that half bad. They had both ftp and html uploading, although I don't think I ever was able to log onto their ftp service. And all this and 20MB of space in exchange for their banner. Wasn't bad, and it was great for the time. It's just ho-hum now, though.
Freewebsites - Freewebsites is another one of those places that I was thinking of being reborn into. They offered me 50MB of space, a cool address like www.ivanf.freewebsites.com, both ftp and html uploading, and all this without the need for a banner. I think I'll stick with Brinkster for now, but that ftp service does look a bit tempting...
FreeWebSpaceInc - Not really interested in this fish in the, uh, fish. I mean, sure it gives 20MB of space and an address like www.ivanf.fws1.com. It's even got that ftp and html uploading that we all know and love. But nothing really seperates this guy from the rest since they still force upon us slaves some ad banners up and front. I've got nothing against these guys. They're great for beginners, but not great for my web-site.
Freeyellow - What can I say about FreeYellow that I haven't said in the past 4 or so years? How long have these guts been up anyhew? I remember the wars that went on before, between Fortunecities, the pre-Yahoo Geocities, and the little David that could, FreeYellow. I'm not even sure how Freeyellow is able to stand to this day. I used to get so pissed at them, because they had so little bandwith that you could never download anything off of their servers... Well, 4 or 5 years have passed and now it's the 22nd century... uh, I mean 21st century... Anyhew, they still give out 12MB of space, they still have ftp and html uploading, and they still have awful addresses like www.freeyellow.com/members/somecategoryorarea/ivanf , but hey, it's all okay dokay. I mean, don't sign up to FreeYellow for the service. Sign up for the memories. Sign up to be part of history.
FWS1 - Just another name for Free Web Space Inc, so nothing new here.
GalaxyHit - Not a very good web-space choice over here. Sure they give 20MB of space, addresses like www.ivanf.galaxyhit.com, and they even have ftp and html uploading. But they only let you upload a max of 512K of data a day, and even though I rarely upload more than 100K a day, I'd still hate to have a limit imposed on the so-called freedom of the internet, and blah blah blah... you know, all that Matrix crap that people believe for some odd reason.
Geocities - No... Geocities was so close to dying... And then that Yahoo.com had to sweep in and save the goddam day... Geocities' servers were being run down. They were almost ready to shut off their 15Mb free webspace days. I was so close... I hated their ftp and html uploading. I hated the damn addresses they gave me, like www.geocities.com/ivanf or something like that. Geocities was a dying meglomith or however you spell it, and I would dance on it's grave when it, well, graved over or something like that. But it never died. It was saved. Spared by that vile company I never liked in the first place... Yahoo.com, that cancer that sticks to the roof of your mouth... And there was only one cool thing about that merger. That little Yahoo ad is annoying, but it ain't a very bad idea. You can close it at any time, and it doesn't take you away from the web-page like a pop-up does. But still... I can't stand staring at Yahoo in the morning... so I justt turned javascript off, and welcome y'all to the world of IvanF...
Geosoft - 15MB of space ain't bad, and neither is an address like www.geosoft.org/ivanf. And since they only have ftp uploading, that means more bandwith for us non-ftp-deprived or whatever you want to call us. But still, that ad banner is still there. It's up to you to care or not.
Homestead - People used to love Homestead. They used to chant it's name in the streets... I was not one of them. As you can tell, me c'est not a happy, Homestead camper. My brother used to house his web-site on that server way back when he had dreams of having his own metal band. His dreams were crushed, partially because of this Homestead evil thingy. Some people on the internet asked them to post their music in RealMedia streaming format. I converted their songs to that format, then tried to upload it to their site. It didn't work. Not sure what was wrong back then, but you could never link probably to that file... That problem is fixed now, but it's too late for my little brother's band that could. And I still hate Homestead, even though they give 8MB free and short addresses like www.ivanf.homestead.com. Wh ydo I hate it so? Because they force ad frames on you, and because the sound of their name hurts my teeth. It always has. And I'm using a fork and spoon to make sure it always will...
Hypermart - Hypermart's been in this business for a long time, and they've been adapting and changing with the times for a long, uh, time... They now give 50MB of space, has ftp and html uploading, and still give lollipop addresses like www.ivanf.hypermart.net. Not too shabby. But you're still stuck with an ad banner or a pop-up thingy. At least you've got a choice. Just not sure how they implement this choice.
LiveUniverse - Only 10Mb of space, only html uploading, and all this with a banner. Doesn't sound so pleasant. But keep in mind this place is called LiveUniverse, because it wasn't really meant to be a web-host. It's meant to be a, uh, live universe... Anyhew, it's got a bunch of extra stuff like chat rooms and messenging and crap like that which really hurts the gums of my teeth. But hey, if that's what you like, go have a live universe by, uh, signing up with live universe...
Microworld - Uggh... Only problem with this place is that it reminds me too much of Microsoft... still... it is rather tempthing... It gives 50MB of space, it's got that ftp uploading that I so very much love, it gives you unlimited bandwith, and a cool address like www.ivanf.microworld.com that'll really look cool with my mycrowsoft redirection address. And all this without the need for a banner. Hell, I don't care if I have to be a Microsoft lover to sign up with these guys... Then again, maybe I should start thinking over what my mouth is blurting out... can't be a traitor to what I've always believed in... Oh, wait. So Microworld is just like Microsoft: a cheater. They force you to pay a set-up fee. Don't know if it's one-time or yearly, or even monthly, but... hey, still... ftp uploading and no banners... hmm... uh, time to slap my head silly and wake up to the cold reality that is... Microsoft...
NBCi - Hmm... Xoom still ain't dead... They look dead. They sound dead. They just ain't dead. But my account over there... now that's dead. Hell, it wasn't ever alive. I signed up like fifteen times there, and not once did my account go through. Maybe I can blame fcmail for that, or maybe I'll just blame Xoom. They somehow knew I wsa a bad apple, and screwed me over with their worm... wait... did that sound right to you?... Anyhew, they're now called NBCi, but not sure why. They still give unlimited space in exchange for pop-up banners and your bloody soul and spirit. This doens't sound so bad, except the ads don't stop there. You get an NBCi ad frame at the top of each of your pages too. Sounds like fun, does it? I've gotta correct myself from earlier. Xoom doesn't look dead. It just looks like it's tits have been sucked bone dry and are about to fall off. Simply put, don't you think?
Netcolony - Not much going for Netcolony. They give 100MB of whopping space, but stick you with just html uploading, ad banners, and addresses like www.netcolony.com/somecategorythatIhatebecauseIkeepspellingcategorywrong/ivanf . I guess this place is good for newbies, though. It's supposed to have a decent EZ web-builder or something like that.
Netfirms - Netfirms looks like a dandy, although the stats don't show it. They give a decent 25MB of space, but only have html uploading and force banners at the top of each page. They do give cool addresses like www.ivanf/netfirms.com, which I think is pretty creative for this day and age. But nothing seems spectacular. So why am I giving them credit? Because they have two things going for them: some of the best CGI support out of all free servers and MS Frontpage support. Not sure if Netfirms still gives out free space to non-businesses, though. But if they still do cater to the mass public, they might be worth a try.
Nettaxi - No, wait, scratch that out. Xoom ain't my most hated company. Nettaxi is. After my Fortunecity e-mail account went down under with Atlantis, I took refuge with Nettaxi. Got my account going, set up my web-site, and started using their e-mail service for a while. Big mistake. They deleted my account for reasons I still don't know. All my e-mails... dozens of important e-mails... gone... just like that... in 60 seconds flat... I don't care if they give 25MB of space because their bandwith sucked. I don't care about their ftp uploading anymore, because I could barely get into their servers. And their addresses still suck today. What was I stuck with back then? I forget, but something crappy like www.nettaxi.com/citizens/ivanf or something like that.
Ourfamily - Not bad, not bad at all. 20MB is decent, don't you think? And addresses like www.ivanf.ourfamily.com aren't that bad besides being sappy, are they? They've got both ftp and html uploading too, but that's not what I like about them. They still force upon you those banners, but unlike most places, they let you pick the place where you want to put them. Stick them at the bottom of the page for all you care. That's what I like, and that's what I miss most about Spaceports. The freedom, I guess.
Pagelaunch - 50MB of space and addresses like www.ivanf.pagelaunch.com. Kinda standard these days, and the html only uploading doesn't help that much either. Not in my blue book, anyhew. And they force a pretty huge banner on you, I've heard. But I've only heard. Too lazy to type in that address, turn pictures on in my browser, flip to those hot links, and take a gander at myself... uh, wait, I mean a gander for myself... yeah, that's what I meant...
Portland - NO!!! Damon Stoudamire! How could you do this to me?... weep weep... He was my hero, you know. I live in Toronto, and I loved basketball during those times. I even tried playing that sport in the summer, even though my tiny little fingers wouldn't let me dripple that ball, or whatever you call that drippling thing... Anyhew, I have this strong sense of loyalty, and even though I understand why Damon would want to leave for Portland, I still can't accept it. He's an average joe there. He was a superstar here that put 115% into every single, damn game. He's now with his family in Portland, and he's booed every time he comes back to Toronto. I just hope he's appreciated there as much as he was here... Anyhew, this web-server isn't about that Portland in the states. It's from some British place with happy, little teeth. They give decent addresses out like ivanf.port5.com, with ftp uploading and 15MB of space. Pretty decent. And all this with no need for a banner. Not bad. Might just sign up with these Brits over here, just to feel a little closer to that little Damon of mine... he was a NBA basketball player, if you haven't caught on yet...
Rootsweb - Unlimited space... not half bad. Don't see hat around the corner every morning. I mean, that along with the ftp and html uploading makes up for the crappy addresses like www.rootsweb.com/somecategoryorsomethingcheesylikethat/ivanf . Still, they do have that untidy banner thingy, which me and my homees or however you spell that don't seem to like very much...
SitePalace - Crap. Only 7MB of space and you still have to have pop-ups or ad banners? And you don't even get ftp uploading? Don't know why these guys are still standing, but I'll take a guess. Seems like they have two pluses: short addresses like www.sitepalace.com/ivanf, and a hell of a lot of bandwith because how many webmasters today would be enticed by 7MB of webspace?
Spaceports - Oh blessed Garden of Eden, how could I have been kicked out of the most beloved Garden of Eden out of all... uh... Garden of Edens?... Anyhew, I'll stop rambling for now. Spaceports used to be the best. When I joined, they forced you to have ad banners but you could place it anywhere on your page. Not only that, but you made ten cents every time someone clicked on your banner. You get 500 clicks and you get a free domain name, no questions asked. Not too shabby, considering they had the best ftp uploading I've ever seen not to mention unlimited space to anyone out of the warez community. That was the golden age... Then came the bronze age. They were going bankrupt, so they forced us to place banners near the top of every page. That was okay... wasn't happy, but it was okay. At least they improved their service to blunt their knife in the back. Their CGI was vastly improved, and they started a brilliant counter service that logged the hits on every single one of your pages. That was the bronze age... Now comes the Dark Ages, where they force ad banners at the top of your page and ad frames on the bottom. But still... I love Spaceports, more than even, well, Spaceports. And I was even willing to pay that $20US a year just to remove all those banners from my sites... But my credit card thingy flopped out, as many of you know. And, well... that's all she wrote... I wsa a Castaway... I'm sorry, Wilson... I'm so sorry...
SPHosting - It ain't ironic, but it's pretty ironic, don't you think? The next web host next to Spaceports on this list turns out to be one of the best. Who would've thunk? They shell out 35MB of space, addresses like www.ivanf.sphosting.com, nice page counters, and all this for no ad banners. The problem? No ftp uploading. Don't know if I can forgive them for that, but I can love them for their customer support. Everyone I know that has stayed on SPHosting... Well, they love the service, but in my heart, nothing can ever replace my beloved Spaceports... And besides, I just signed up with SPHosting, and, um... maybe they're pulling a Spaceports, but now they seem to have pop-ups everywhere...
Spree - Oh lovely... You've gotta love Spree. I always have. You see, they don't just require a banner up at the top of each page. They also stick one to you at the bottom in its own frame or something like that. They don't even have ftp uploading, but they do give away unlimited space. And they are a part of history - they were the first site to give free, unlimited space away, me thinks. Just not sure if they fixed their bandwith problems, that's all.
Stormpages - I don't know why, but I like Stormpages. They force banners on you, but I still like them. Go figure. Maybe it's because they give away 50MB free. Maybe because they give away cute, adorable addresses like www.stormpages.com/ivanf, or maybe it's because they have both ftp and html uploading thingies. But wait... just thought up what makes Stormpages my favourite show and tell toy for the week. It's because they give unlimited bandwith, and it was pretty damn fast bandwith. I kept my Star Trek Armada mods on this server, and the downloads worked like a charm. Brought tears to me eyes, you know... and oh, don't get me started on that tear gas... Don't ever get me started on that tear gas...
Stormloader - Banner on top, 20MB space, only html uploading, and addresses like www.ivanf.stormloader.com. There. Happy now? Good. Now I can start on that tear gas... I won't talk about how a bunch of my classmates went up to Quebec a few months ago to protest against that NAFTA thing or something like that, but I will talk about my brush with happiness with them. I keep forgetting to write this up in one of my Y2kk Updates, so I might as well do it right now. I donate money to charity each year. I wanted to donate every cent I earned from this website, and I did: all zero cents of it, thanks to you lovely readers out there... So this year, I forgot to donate my money around Easter, so I decided to donate some money for the Walkathon or something like that. The problem was, one of my friends who had gone to Quebec sort of stared at me and got myself to join the Walkathon myself. I just followed behind them all as they talked about how it's wrong to kill fish or something like that. The group even invited me to some lake-side dance thing, which I declined. I believe in their cause. Not sure if I agree with them... That was a bit harsh to say. Just hope none of them are ever bored enough to check out my free web space server info stuff... But there was one good thing that happened that day. As I was leaving for that walkathon thing, one of my friends in that class, the one that is purely capitalist, looked up at me. You see, I'm neither capitalist, nor socialist/communist, yet I am. Maybe I'll explain that one day... And since I make myself out to be a capitalist most of my day, it was sure as hell funny to see my capitalist friend looking up at me in awe as I strode out that room...
TheGlobe - Anyhew, back to reality. The globe gives 25MB of space, accessible through either ftp or html, and gives an address like www.members.theglobe.com/ivanf which ain't that half bad. The problems that's plagued TheGlobe since they started up like 4 or so years ago? Those banners. They take up bandwith. And that's problem number 2: they have no bandwith. Everything you download off of them seems to download slow as hell.
Topcities - Not sure why I'm a fan of Topcities anyhew. I always used to visit their site but I never signed on. Maybe I'm just getting nostaligic or however you spell that word... I've had good memories with this topcities site that gives around 150MB of space free to anyone who'll put up their banner. They've got both ftp and html uploading, and addresses like www.ivanf.topcities.com. There doesn't really seem to be anything special besides that 150MB thing, yet something about Topcities just gives me such a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. I guess it's because the name is so cool. Why? Because it brings to mind these cherished memories: "top" reminds me of "top", and "cities" reminds me of "cities". Fascinating, isn't it?
Tripod - ACK! Damn you tripod! I forget why, but damn you tripod! I have some vendetta against them, but I sort of forget why. Maybe because they're so popular... Oh yes, now I remember. I go by four names on the internet: wraptor, cowing, ivanf, and rabbitattack. Back when tripod was new, I was using only the first two. And what pissed me off was how there were so many people on tripod, that those first two names of mine were already taken. And what? No-one ever took my names. That's why I chose them! I chose "wraptor" as my Geocities name because I was a huge fan of the Toronto Raptors back then, and my brother was obessess with Jurassic Park. And I chose "cowing" because I wanted to be on the cows' good side when the took over the world! And yet someone else got to be the Raptor's best friend. Someone else got to get on the cow's good side... And I blame Tripod for all my misfortunate since... I don't care about their 50MB of space. I don't care about their pop-up ads, or their ftp and html uploading, or even that they have Frontpage2000 support. I don't even care that they actually replaced their crappy addresses of the past with ones like ivanf.tripod.com. Heck, I'm still mad at them for deleting my account. After my first two names were taken, I was forced to use the name "ivanf" for my account. That was the first time I've ever used my real name on the internet... And rabbitattack? How'd I get that name? I'm sure I've already told you a dozen times, but it was because of a girl I had a crush on back in early Grade 12. One day she asked me if I was the one who believed the cows would invade the planet. And instead of honestly answering, I joked that the rabbits were coming, the rabbits were coming, and pointed at the window. She looked at me funny - asked if she was missing some literary reference or something, and strangely, she was right... And after she moved to Seattle, I was obsessed enough to find her e-mail address and write her a note, and the e-mail address I set up that day was the first time I've ever used the name "rabbitattack". Brings tears to them eyes, doesn't it?
V3 Space - 100MB of space and ftp uploading and addresses like www.v3space.com/ivanf in exchange for banners or pop-ups. V3 isn't all that bad. Good for experienced wannabes, I guess, like me. But I'm too lazy to sign up with them right about now.
VirtualAvenue - Just like V3 above, Virtual thingy over here has ftp uploading and gives a lot of space, although 50MB ain't the same as 100MB. The problem? They don't just force upon you some banners. You get stuck with some pop-ups as well.
Virtue - These guys might be worth a look. Only 5.5MB of space, but you won't get stuck with an ad banner then. There's only html uploading, but at least you won't get stuck with an ad banner then. And if you want more space, put a banner on and they'll upgrade you to some more space or something like that.
Webjump -
Webnow -
Webprovider -
ZeroCatch -
ZeroGolf -