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HSPHERE.US is So Good You Will Forget Their Name!
| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-19-2006, 01:05 AM |
| So Good You Will Forget Their Name!
Today I received a bill for services from a guy I spoke to on the phone a couple of years ago (so he could hold my hand through my HSPHERE virginty loss). I moved my OLD Ensim accounts over there AND I wanted to play with his sitebuilder.
I have NO IDEA how I found him. I think his site had a pretty photo of a chameleon with a red flower or something (I went in through his template site)
His name is Jeffery Kilonsky. He owns a few hosting companies. ONE is http://www.grouphosting.com/ and http://hspheretemplates.com/index.php and http://hsphere.us/
I have had a few accounts there for a couple of years.
Started with 6 month contract.
I spoke to him at setup.
I emailed him when I screwed up my own log on and he gave exact instructions.
He emailed me to inform me the server would be down for 30 minutes on a particular date.
He billed me. Reduced the fee because I had over estimated my needs and over purchased.
He emailed me a "FORM EMAIL" to apologize for a disruption in service of under six hours because of the datacenter along with how upset he was at that data center. and offered a credit.
I received another semi-annual bill.
He emailed me to inform me the server would be down for 60 minutes for upgrades.
I received another semi-annual bill.
I received another semi-annual bill. I paid a year up front.
I asked him if he ever intended to offer WHM/CPanel hosting....and in under five minutes came his reply:
Nope probably not. Hsphere is my life
Jeffery
Oh well...no hope of good, cheap, reliable Cpanel reseller hosting!
http://www.grouphosting.com/ and http://hspheretemplates.com/index.php and http://hsphere.us/
I believe it is a TRIBUTE if a reseller can buy from you and then forget you until they see the bill in six or 12 months.
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| Posted by GroupHosting, 05-19-2006, 08:06 AM |
| Thank You. I have been a long time watcher of these forums.
It is good to see a great client like you posting about us. Have a great weekend.
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| Posted by PremiumHost, 05-19-2006, 09:11 AM |
| Don't really understand what's going on here.
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| Posted by Lubby, 05-19-2006, 09:12 AM |
| ohiocommonsense, can you please submit a report or helpdesk ticket or PM me with what domain you have hosted with them, then we can validate your review. PS: Glad you are enjoying your hosting services with them.
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| Posted by Lubby, 05-19-2006, 09:13 AM |
| It looks to be a review of a company by a satisfied customer. I know its uncommon around here.
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| Posted by 2Macs Jim, 05-19-2006, 02:04 PM |
| That's fantastic! Your right Lubby, it is uncommon around here. Very refreshing to hear someone being that happy with their host! Nice job GroupHosting!
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-19-2006, 02:07 PM |
| Well now...I do not even remember who all is over there (when things are trouble free it is so easy to forget if you use automated billing or paypal subscription) ...HOWEVER I know one gateway in is through
http://webarama.us/
and it was NOT the FIRST one I got. I do have some custom DNS over there. Let me check for you.
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-19-2006, 02:15 PM |
| Here we go...(I posted elsewhere about sending some hard drives for data recovery to India) I got a whois on myself:
Registered through: GoDaddy.com (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: WEBARAMA.US
Created on: 08-Jan-03
Expires on: 08-Jan-07
Last Updated on: 17-Dec-05
I think the first one was webpig.com or something I no longer own.
I have been over there LONGER than I thought. 3 years and 5 months...
It is a shame I do not prefer HSPERE or I would buy MORE from Jeffrey Kilonsky at
hspere.us or grouphosting.com.
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-19-2006, 02:23 PM |
| I never generated a trouble ticket over there so I cannot provide one. NO JOKE!
I can generate one and we can time Jeffrey if you want. Hehehe...he will lose his mind, as when the server went down he was so ANGRY at the datacenter, apparently he has some OCD issues surrounding keeping hspere.us and grouphosting.com up and running.
The guy is so good he read me whining about losing my hard drives (maybe even here, I do not know HOW he knew) but he resent my logon and pass for primary account.
He writes add ons for HSPERE and makes these really high quality templates
( very PRETTY! )and skins and stuff for HSPHERE and gives away FREE his older versions over here:
http://hspheretemplates.com/free.php
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| Posted by 2Macs Jim, 05-19-2006, 02:54 PM |
| It's funny you mentioned OCD, there was a verrrrry long post about that on here. I think most business owners weighed in and said they thought they had it also.
That's great about him offering his older templates like that. He's either a really nice guy or a very bored person! Doesn't sound like the later though.
Great about your host and keep us all updated over time.
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| Posted by GroupHosting, 05-19-2006, 02:59 PM |
| Your right I think I do have OCD
I am nice and boring guy, so the best of both worlds, haha.
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| Posted by Energizer Bunny, 05-19-2006, 03:00 PM |
| Oh well i wonder how i can get my clients to post also . Strange thing that only few clients get time to post good reviews about hosts,and most post only when they are burned by some company.
Well grouphosting is new to me, never heard of them before.
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| Posted by cartika-andrew, 05-19-2006, 03:41 PM |
| Great to hear about your experiences. Jeffery is a great guy and I am sure you will countinue to be happy with your service there.
I dont know about bored, but, he is certainly a nice guy. I think we have pretty much every template/add-on Jeffery sells for hsphere (hspheretemplates.com) - as well as having hired him for several hsphere customizations/etc over the years.
Personally, I VERY highly recommend his companies to anyone !
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-19-2006, 11:05 PM |
| does such an animal even exist?
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| Posted by Aussie Bob, 05-19-2006, 11:40 PM |
| Only in myth and legend.
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| Posted by WO-Jacob, 05-20-2006, 02:53 AM |
| What is that... something about pick any two?
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-20-2006, 09:03 AM |
| That, and the fact that (at least as of the H-Sphere 2.5.1 release) cPanel development has fallen so far behind that H-Sphere is poised to take over as the market leader in the hosting industry (we're already starting to see the shift on WHT - as evidenced by this thread) .
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| Posted by net, 05-20-2006, 09:12 AM |
| Hmmm, you are beginning to convert me mripguru :-)
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-20-2006, 09:26 AM |
| checks another mod off the list*
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| Posted by 2Macs Jim, 05-20-2006, 09:28 AM |
| As far as I'm concerned H-Sphere is superior! The market leader, that might take a little doing but, it does seem to be on it's way.
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-20-2006, 09:50 AM |
| I agree with you on both points .
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| Posted by Lubby, 05-20-2006, 09:52 AM |
| Well I am glad to hear that the hosts offering HSphere think that HSphere is the way of the future. How let's see who thinks Plesk is the way of the future? **Calls on all Plesk hosts**
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| Posted by Aussie Bob, 05-20-2006, 10:11 AM |
| There's plenty of sunshine out there for all the control panels. No one control panel will ever dominate in an industry so hugely fragmented. On WHT, H-Sphere would have a loooooooooooooong way to go, to catch up to the cpanel numbers. I doubt it's possible that it ever would. Just about every dedicated server supplier out there bundles cpanel as pretty much standard.
Like I said, plenty of sunshine for everyone to enjoy.
There's no best control panel. There's only the control panel that's best for you.
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-20-2006, 10:25 AM |
| Plesk, I would say, is H-Sphere's true natural rival, especially with the 8.0 release. I think the SWsoft team have a good product in Plesk 8.0.
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-20-2006, 10:42 AM |
| While I agree with there being plenty of sunshine for all control panels - that's not my point .
In terms of pure innovation, I haven't seen cPanel "stir the waters" with any new features for quite awhile whereas H-Sphere has brought us a whole set of new services to offer as well as vast improvements over it's previous incarnation (2.4.x).
While I agree with you that H-Sphere on WHT has a ways to go - I think that it's inevitable that cPanel has started to lose it's market share to H-Sphere as sites get more database intensive, more bandwidth intensive, etc. as the Internet goes into it's senior citizenship days .
With regards to dedicated server providers offering cPanel as "standard" - you are correct, most of them do and I doubt that's going to change. However, I think that as more consumers realize the true power of H-Sphere, the industry is going to shift as well - maybe not to H-Sphere exclusively, but it's not going to name cPanel as king anymore.
Overall, H-Sphere reduces the workload of a single employee by quite a bit by automating the billing and management aspects of each account - which is for the most part the common issues faced by cPanel hosts (upgrading accounts, doing billing, chasing after non-paying customers, etc.) thus offering a lower TCO and a higher ROI per customer/server.
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| Posted by Aussie Bob, 05-20-2006, 10:52 AM |
| See, that's what I like, having the billing and helpdesk separate from the control panel software. There's a safety in isolation, in not tying up all those aspects of your business with the one piece of software.
I like the bit of manual legwork in billing (upgrades, late payers etc) and like not having everything automated. But that's what works for me, and what I like. It's not everyone's cup of tea.
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-20-2006, 10:59 AM |
| Actually, you can "turn off" the helpdesk in H-Sphere and not use it (we actually have a mod that redirects to our Cerberus install) - so the helpdesk isn't as integrated as you think .
BTW, I'm sure it can be fun when you have a small number of accounts to manage - but, it gets tedious when you get into the thousands of accounts, even hundreds.
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-20-2006, 04:38 PM |
| I really wish I loved HSPHERE. I DO NOT because in part, it can run a web designer out of business with the free, easy to use, built in web builder.Also the number of control panels per dollar is LOW for a reseller.
I do love HSPHERE.US and GROUPHOSTING.COM
With CPANEL I can disable any of the webbuilders (Soholaunch, Template Express, RV SITEBUILDER, ClickBe! or whatever).
Just like the free builder I disable from my Enom reseller.
And the free hosting/web builder from my WILD WEST GODADDY reseller.
I am looking at LUBBY's http://www.budgetreseller.com/
as well as KGIII choice http://www.allreseller.com/ because he terrorized their support department
see this thread:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=514303
However KGBIII picked a one year old company...I want a more ESTABLISHED host I think, but that KGBIII REALLY was very selective in his evaluation. I called him ABUSIVE towards support in that thread which mentions getting drunk, anonymizing your IP, and asking any question under the sun for weeks on end...the thread is too funny.
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-20-2006, 11:03 PM |
| Actually, you can turn that off in the plan - and then it won't show up in the end-users control panel, at all.
See my previous comment - I'm sure Jeffery will confirm this.
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-20-2006, 11:59 PM |
| Oh my GAWD...I will have to figure out how to generate a trouble ticket, or maybe I will just email or telephone him.
Everyone KNOWS Hsphere has the good webbuilder and I think Jeffrey has even added extra templates and I know he has a buttload of extra little graphics because I have got some to use in my other dreamweaver sites.
I do usually PHOTOSHOP or use that HEMERA series of photo clip art.
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| Posted by Aussie Bob, 05-21-2006, 12:15 AM |
| I loved managing httpme's billing (when I owned it and after) and the client base was 4 figures in size. It was a snap, but I'm hands on and like getting in there. There's also the added benefit of interacting with clients on such a level (creates a connection etc) and not relying on automation for such instances.
But each to his own.
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-21-2006, 12:18 AM |
| Well now, the answer to how long it takes Jeffrey at hspheretemplates.com or grouphosting.com can be answered(remember someone of importance asked for a trouble ticket and since I do not know how to use the ticket system I emailed him. )
IT TAKES UNDER FIVE MINUTES FOR A QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED ON A SATURDAY NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT.(red emphasis/bold added by me)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: OHIOCOMMONSENSE@aol.com [mailto:OHIOCOMMONSENSE@aol.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2006 11:55:13 P.M.Eastern Daylight Time
To: jeffery@grouphosting.com; jeffery@hspheretemplates.com
Subject: web builder
How can it be turned off...
In a message dated 5/20/2006 11:59:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jeffery@grouphosting.com writes:
Turn off site studio?
Go you to your reseller admin section.
Go to info > Plans menu item.
Edit the plan you want it turned off on.
SiteStudio (uncheck the include box.)
Hope that helps.
Jeffery
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited by ohiocommonsense; 05-21-2006 at 12:23 AM.
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| Posted by Yash-JH, 05-21-2006, 12:43 AM |
| cPanel will always be ahead of HSphere because of better marketing from them. Its bunded with most low-cost dedicated packages and its cheap to setup.
On the other hand, HSphere requires ideally 4 or 5 servers for a proper cluster setup.. And the initial licensing cost is much higher than the low-monthly cost cPanel offers.
But if I were to judge a control panel purely on the number of features and automation... HSphere truly doesn't have a competitor right now. I agree that Plesk rather than cPanel comes closer to HSphere in terms of features
However... when it comes to the world of competitive hosting... how your sell and wrap your hosting product can be more important than the substance The host's reputation and whether the needs of a client's are fulfilled would matter more than the control panel
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-21-2006, 12:56 AM |
| I am OLD and sort of set in my ways.
I autobill or set up PAYPAL subscription payments for clients, HOWEVER I seldom if ever logon to my control center (I say EMAIL me or telephone for support even) so I ask Jeffrey at grouphosting.com I be billed personally by personal email reminder to pay, but I will calculate what I owe and then PAYPAL it to the hosting reseller's email.
My other host assertivehost.com/accuburst.com/polaristar.com had trouble getting the PAYPAL processor to work at their place (of course they would!) In fact they have still NOT located all the files they LOST during their "transitioning phase! And I regularly ask them to find my stuff...still no backups received!
Good old TOM and his kinfolk at tomsyer.net(that I loved the hosting at and wish he were back) sent precalculated paypal invoices, click link to paypal logon screen to pay pre-calculated invoice, which I of course, double checked amounts on anyway.
Chris at exaltedhosting dot com is now http://globaldc.com/ took paypal and invoiced. His support was SUPERIOR but he ran Ensim only once upon a time
Freeboost.com used to set you up (even in advance of mail in) and send paypal link as well as a printable, mail in invoice.
As a resller I ALWAYS autobill or use paypal subscription or invoice. Unless the client is local, or coming here to Columbus to stay at my dump of a studio on the OSU Campus(I live elsewhere) for the project duration (oh yes indeed-I let them come stay and assist/learn-I swear to God), and then I take CASH, Bank Check or Money Order.
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-21-2006, 01:10 AM |
| What about that HELM, ENSIM and PLESK? Are there more than HSPHERE, CPanel, Helm, Ensim(does it exist still?) and Plesk (does it exist?).
I remember some old host (Nasty old EMPIRESERVER out of Canada-they were really good but dropped off the face of the earth and scr*wed me out of $$) had something called "X-CONTROLLER" where the RESELLER CONTROL PANEL IS (Like WHM CONTROL PANEL)that let me pick which end user panel I wanted to issue clients.
Does that "X-CONTROLLER" still exist? I liked being able to put one client on Ensim, one on Plesk, one on Cpanel. If it does exist, who runs it?
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| Posted by Aussie Bob, 05-21-2006, 02:27 AM |
| Pretty much the same way Windows got its stranglehold on the market, by being bundled with new PCs.
Yes, Cpanel is cheap per mth, if you get your server with someone who has the bulk cpanel buy. But you can buy yearly cpanel licences for around $350.00/yr/server.
Cpanel does have a LOT of features, and I've never been short on a feature, using cpanel. Everything I need is there. It would be interesting to compare h-sphere's features with cpanel's features, item by item.
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| Posted by Yash-JH, 05-21-2006, 03:05 AM |
| End-user wise... cPanel and HSphere are well-matched I never referred to end-user features.
The difference comes in the reseller and administrative platforms. Hsphere is multi-tiered and clustered. It's not uncommon for resellers to have their accounts scaled over 20 or 30 servers... If one server goes down, probably 10% of their business would be impacted. You have different levels of account access for support operators, administrators and end-users. It's possible to move end-user accounts between servers with the click of a mouse, and zero-downtime.. This is very useful when you are managing load on servers.. HSphere allows you to sell VPS, dedicated servers, MS Exchange, Cold Fusion, Windows/ASP.NET, etc.
cPanel has its place in the market.. so has does HSphere. To each his own
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| Posted by ohiocommonsense, 05-21-2006, 03:07 AM |
| I see your point. I HATED Windows and multitasked under Quarterdeck's DESQview right through X...but Windows it became with 98SE and Pentium MMX...
They do say SH*T always floats to the top...don't they?
I like the Cpanel...more or less I guess. I generally design in Dreamweaver, so many features are lost on me. The Fantastico is a nice selling feature, though.
Maybe I will buy a HELM or NEW PLESK reseller to try out/play with on Ebay...Any feedback on them?
I wish I recalled how I found the hsphere.us...It is very nice and well supported.
I think we were working on a sitebuilder and wanted to try theirs (hsphere.us). I know people who made a site in the hsphere.us demo, saved the pages, and posted then elsewhere....Hahaha! Cheapskates!
This sitebuilder is really free, and meant to be:
http://www.sitemonster.net/
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| Posted by Yash-JH, 05-21-2006, 03:19 AM |
| That is still cheaper
It's not uncommon for HSphere hosts to pay 5 times that figure per server
But that is not an advantage of course, but a disadvantage of Hsphere.
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-21-2006, 05:43 AM |
| Actually, cPanel.net sells 'em for $1500/year - not sure where your getting $350/year from.
Edit: woops - that was for a lifetime license ($1225.00) - yearly license is $450 (list price)
Last edited by mripguru; 05-21-2006 at 05:57 AM.
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| Posted by mripguru, 05-21-2006, 05:55 AM |
| Actually, I see it as advantage as "kiddie hosts" for the lack of a better term don't have the finances needed to have a proper hsphere install/setup so it's usually limited to the hosting companies that usually are well financed (and by that same coin, are usually well run).
Also, you have to remember that those H-Sphere licenses are spread out across multiple servers - not just 1 in the case of cPanel.
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| Posted by IHSL, 05-21-2006, 10:19 AM |
| As it should be. Any control panel can work when the right company is managing it. The hosting providers reputation and offerings should be the first thing a customer looks at. cPanel is a useless piece of software when in the wrong hands, as is H-Sphere, Plesk, Helm, etc.
When a provider puts too much emphasis on marketing the software they are using as opposed to their own service and features, it speaks volumes about the company. I've seen some companies that barely mention their own services and features, instead just praising the control panel software. Big mistake.
Simon
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