Thorpeland Photography

Techie Time

Okay, for those of you who have no interest in internet tech talk... leave now. (waiting...) Alright, they are gone. So the rest of you who have stayed to read on must be somewhat curious about what I have to say this week! Ok here's the situation: you have an program such as a web server, ftp server, chat app, web cam, VOIP app and you need a static IP address but your stupid ISP wants to nail you another $10 to $20 a month per IP. Pay it? Yeah right. There are services out there on the far reaches of this here internet that offer you the ability to bind your DHCP address to a domain name for all humans and non-humans to use. What this means is you just give out your domain name and let the program do the rest. No need to worry about a constantly changing IP address. And best of all... its FREE. Yup, the four letter word we all love. Two sites to check out off hand are www.selfhost.com and www.no-ip.com. Both offer free sign up and use. The selfhost site even offers a list of "freeware" to make use of your new found static life. So, if you know what your doing this can open up an all new world for home pc usefulness. Be sure to check it out!
On a similar note, craig and I tested these services recently while doing some online gaming. At the same time we got to test another great program called Haxial Netfone. If you need a cross platform voice, in-game program be sure to give www.haxial.com a look. The program is called Netfone, so you have to dig around in their downloads for it. The program works great for Mac and PC's. You can use it as a regular netphone or as background program to talk to your teamates during multiplayer matches. When used in combination with the selfhost or No-IP sites, all who call you only need to know your domain name, not an ever changing IP address. So let DNS do the walking!