codonaut

Hey all,

I'm just getting into the wide world of freelancing and am wondering what the best approach is for hosting client's websites. I've been very strongly advised by the lead developer at my company to stay away from hosting client sites on my own vps and to just use shared hosting. His rationale is that there is less maintenance time involved, less client time involved, and you benefit from the host's security instead of having to make sure yours is up to par. On the other hand, hosting on your own server gives you control over the environment, and if you need to change anything then it's much easier than on a shared host. What approach do you recommend taking?

Hey There, I'm currently working fulltime with python web development but have set a goal of working fulltime on freelance projects starting later this year. What I'm really wondering though is if my conception of what working freelance fulltime is like actually fits with the reality of the lifestyle. My ideal workstyle, and one that I hope to be living within a year would have me working about 30 hours a week, and pulling in 30-40k per year(ok, ideally more but I'm trying to keep expectations in check, and I don't need much to live off of). Is it realistic to expect to be able to achieve that within a year given that I'm a recent college grad and new freelancer? Currently I have 2 websites I've built for clients and a mostly empty github profile that I'll be filling out more before the freelance switch. My main concern is the amount of work-- from what I've read many freelancers seem to work MORE than their biweekly check counterparts, not less like I would like. So, are my expecations in line with reality or is freelancing not the silver bullet like I imagine it? By the way, I've read the stories about needy clients, inconsistent payment, and the need to self motivate-- all that I expect(though experiencing it first hand will surely be another matter). Preemptive thank you for the advice-- it will be extremely helpful to me(quitting a job for freelance is scary!)

Looking at the discussion surrounding Google AppEngine it seems a major concern is the future of the platform, especially considering Google's recent axing of popular services. It seems to me that AppEngine has the potential to be more of a money maker than many of the services they cut, but I'm still a little hesitant to use it for new projects. What do you guys think?