DreamHostApps

kaptitsky · 15 Feb 2011, 11:38 AM

Anyone else signed up for DreamHost Apps, http://dreamhostapps.com/ ?

It's free, and supposed to be a sampler kind of thing, for people who don't need high power hosting.

They will give you a free subdomain @DreamHosters.com, work with a domain you own (just point the name servers) or sell you a domain for $10 a year.

You get Google Apps to host mail, but you can also host a basic install of WordPress and/or Drupal and/or ZenPhoto and/or MediaWiki and/or PHP BB. It's basic -- no FTP access, no plugin install, etc -- but it works. And they keep it updated.

It's a great free way to try out Google Apps with their domain, or just get another 50 Gmail e-mail addresses.

I'm not a huge fan of Google Sites as a webhost, so this, which gives you the Apps backend and one or more open source frontends is kind of interesting.

Dreamhost is well reviewed for a big shared host.

I might go with WordPress.com domain hosting for $15/year (plus the domain name) if I just wanted WordPress MU and Google Apps, but for free, DreamHost Apps is pretty nice.

aleinss · 24 Feb 2011, 11:16 AM

I was on Dreamhost for a few years and then one day the server I was on had major problems. It is a simple text based web site with a Wordpress blog with very low traffic. The problems went on for a week with no resolution, so I pulled up the "stakes" and transferred my site over to Sharkspace. Not only is the server lightning fast, I've never had a day of downtime since I moved.

You get what you pay for: Dreamhost resources seem oversold.

xmailer · 8 Apr 2011, 03:56 AM

"For the record", it appears that Google Apps isn't available for free with a subdomain from this service.

Shortly after this thread first appeared, I signed up for the free account using a free DreamHosters.com subdomain, whereupon I received a number of email messages about the various services (supposedly) available with the account, including information about setting up Google Apps with the subdomain. Although it's been a bit too long now to recall all the details very precisely, when I was unable to successfully verify the (sub)domain with Google Apps, I contacted Dreamhosters support, and after a number of messages back and forth with the support person, in which he suggested at least a couple possible alternative methods of verifying the subdomain, this exchange eventually culminated in the following revelation:

Quote:

So sorry Robert! I just realized, there's a big issue. Additional
CNAME/TXT (any DNS record really) can't be added to the free
.dreamhosters.com sub-domains. I can only do this for you with a regular,
top-level domain name that you register. I'm sorry for not realizing this
sooner.

Please let me know if you'd like to register one and have me set that TXT
record manually for it so that you can use Gmail/Google Apps with it.

Thanks for your patience!

So, if this isn't available with the free subdomain accounts without buying a domain of one's own from them, why do they send you the information purporting to instruct how to set the subdomain account up with Google Apps upon registration? Of course, if I'm planning to buy my own domain, why would I need a subdomain account with them to set it up with Google Apps? If this isn't an out and out bait and switch, it might at least appear that one hand doesn't know what the other is doing re their supposedly free accounts.

In any case, just in case anyone else may later stumble on this now somewhat dated thread, I just thought I'd point out that this is not a way to try Google Apps "for free" after all, thereby possibly sparing anyone else the time and trouble of jumping through all the hoops I had to, as it turned out, for nothing.

I do have a freely-obtained Google Apps account with a subdomain which I obtained somewhat before this thread appeared, which I "inherited" when the otherinbox.com service abandoned its original webmail interface (which was pretty horrible, in my experience, although it did have an autoforwarding option obviating the need to login to it regularly, which is how I used it), giving existing users instructions for transferring their otherinbox.com/oib.com subdomains to Google Apps. Of course, the disadvantage is that, in not actually owning the (sub)domain myself, I will lose access to my Apps account whenever the Otherinbox folks might decide to "revoke" my use of it. (Offhand I don't know whether this service is currently open for new registrations or not.)

kaptitsky · 8 Apr 2011, 05:53 AM

I do have Google Apps, including Gmail, on the subdomain that I have hosted under dreamhosters.com.

So something has changed, somewhere.

I'll take a look.

xmailer · 8 Apr 2011, 06:28 AM

Thanks, I'll be interested if you learn anything. I guess I could try going back to my thus-far "dormant" subdomain account and try again if/when I may get the time, although as far as I know I may be pretty much at a dead end with getting any further help with it from their "support." Of course, I wasn't really expecting to get any help from them with a free account anyway.

kaptitsky · 8 Apr 2011, 07:57 AM

I registered a new subdomain, and yes, Google Apps appears broken.

It has a field for adding a CNAME for verification of the domain, but Google now wants a TXT, and the requisite string will not be added.

Someone else has found the problem.

http://discussion.dreamhost.com/thread-129363.html

It looks to me like DreamhostApps is now an orphan project, one they don't want to take down, but don't want to work on, either.

Sorry.

xmailer · 8 Apr 2011, 08:02 AM

I appreciate your checking into it. While, as I said, it's been awhile, that sounds like it could be exactly the same issue I experienced, as best I can now recall.

kaptitsky · 6 May 2011, 08:37 PM

It turns out that if you use the trick posted here:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/...4151eef4&hl=en

Quote:

Got the CNAME verification page !!

Thanks to AgentEccks for his pointers on getting to 'the page with the dropdown' :-)

By adding a domain alias, you do have the option to verify domain alias ownership via CNAME records.
However I needed to do this on the main domain, not the alias.

Now the domain alias verification URL is:
https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/yourdomain.com/VerifyAliasOwnership?alias=youralias.com

I tried changing some parameters on this URL. Change "VerifyAliasOwnership" to "VerifyOwnership"
and change "alias=" to "domain=" and this is what you get

https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/YOURDOMAIN.COM/VerifyOwnership?domain=YOURDOMAIN.COM

Now you have the nice little dropdown asking if you'd like to verify your primary domain with a CNAME record =)

You can get Google Apps to give you the authentication key needed for the DreamHost Apps control panel CNAME verification and, while it took a while, it worked.

Do it before May 10 to get 50 users on Apps; after that, it's 10 users and then you pay.

xmailer · 7 May 2011, 04:38 AM

Thanks for the update and the "warning" about the somewhat drastic reduction in the number of users.coming for the free version of Apps.

In fact, I had already received an email from Google apprising me of this coming change, since I had already had one Google Apps account with a subdomain, opened shortly before attempting to open the one for the Dreamhosters subdomain, as a few months ago the Otherinbox service discontinued its own webmail interface, issuing instructions for those users who wished to continue using the subdomain addressing with their domain to set their subdomains up with Google Apps, which I managed to successfully muddle through the details of with my myname.otherinbox.com (or myname.oib.com) subdomain.

Of course, perhaps the biggest shortcoming in the case of using an Apps account through either a dreamhosters.com or otherinbox.com subdomain is that, in not actual owning the primary domains, I could lose the use of these subdomains, and therewith my Apps accounts, any time the actual domain owners may decide to revoke my use of their subdomains for any reason. Which is one reason I wanted to open the Apps account with Dreamhosters, since at least that could give me a backup Apps account in the event of losing the use of either, for the same use, which is probably mainly for the catch-all addressing with filtering for "spam control" purposes. A use which won't be affected by the reduction in the number of users, as long as Google doesn't eliminate the catch-all addressing option as well. But of course, it would still be nice to have the option to have up to 50 users (I believe I thus far have only 5 users registered with the otherinbox.com subdomain, all of them my own user accounts, with no other "real" users).

Anyway, thanks again for this update. which I'll be trying to take advantage of as soon as I can make the time and have had enough coffee to feel up to again dealing with the "geeky" details of setting it up.

xmailer · 8 May 2011, 09:43 AM

Well, I've started the process, at least I think I understood and followed it right. Will see what happens.

BTW, kaptitsky, are you by chance "the damn OP"

who started the thread on this in the Dreamhost forum on April 11th? It sort of looks like it.

Anyway, thanks again. Will report here on success or failure of the authentication.

kaptitsky · 11 May 2011, 11:07 AM

DreamHost support has said that Google Apps for subdomains will not be supported in the future, even if we got it to work now.

Oh, well.

Xmailer, check yr PM.

xmailer · 12 May 2011, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaptitsky

DreamHost support has said that Google Apps for subdomains will not be supported in the future, even if we got it to work now.

Oh, well.

So I noticed from their subsequent response, which I wasn't sure whether to bother responding to, although it would be tempting to accuse them of a "bait and switch" ploy -- which it may not have been intended to be, but the net effect of leaving it more or less orphaned while continuing to advertise the free Dreamhosters accounts as including Google Apps with no formal mention of their expectation of dropping it could certainly easily at least give that impression. As if I would need to use their service for anything if I wanted to buy a domain for use with Google Apps.

But thanks for all your help anyway, which has helped inspire me to getting around to seeking other alternatives.

Quote:

Xmailer, check yr PM.

Got it, thanks. I just have to delete a few older PMs to make room to reply. (Although I don't send or receive many PMs here, after almost 9 years at this forum they start to pile up, and the storage limit for simple text PMs here has begun to seem almost primitive at a time when multi-GB email boxes have long since become common.)

**Shelded** · 17 May 2011, 02:39 AM

Is Google Calendar also not going to work?

kaptitsky · 17 May 2011, 02:48 AM

It's unclear.

It sounds like only new installations of Google Apps will be affected, but that isn't clear. I'm hoping current installs stay working.

If Apps works, all of Apps should work, including calendar.

**Shelded** · 17 May 2011, 02:55 AM

Thanks. I really am more interested in the calendar than the apps in general.

Psssst... does DH limit me to trying one of the listed apps? I am certainly interested in a small wiki or forum, too. Somehow I have never located a free forum to play with.

15 Feb 2011, 11:38 AM	#1
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	DreamHostApps Anyone else signed up for DreamHost Apps, http://dreamhostapps.com/ ? It's free, and supposed to be a sampler kind of thing, for people who don't need high power hosting. They will give you a free subdomain @DreamHosters.com, work with a domain you own (just point the name servers) or sell you a domain for $10 a year. You get Google Apps to host mail, but you can also host a basic install of WordPress and/or Drupal and/or ZenPhoto and/or MediaWiki and/or PHP BB. It's basic -- no FTP access, no plugin install, etc -- but it works. And they keep it updated. It's a great free way to try out Google Apps with their domain, or just get another 50 Gmail e-mail addresses. I'm not a huge fan of Google Sites as a webhost, so this, which gives you the Apps backend and one or more open source frontends is kind of interesting. Dreamhost is well reviewed for a big shared host. I might go with WordPress.com domain hosting for $15/year (plus the domain name) if I just wanted WordPress MU and Google Apps, but for free, DreamHost Apps is pretty nice.

24 Feb 2011, 11:16 AM	#2
aleinss Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 71	I was on Dreamhost for a few years and then one day the server I was on had major problems. It is a simple text based web site with a Wordpress blog with very low traffic. The problems went on for a week with no resolution, so I pulled up the "stakes" and transferred my site over to Sharkspace. Not only is the server lightning fast, I've never had a day of downtime since I moved. You get what you pay for: Dreamhost resources seem oversold.

8 Apr 2011, 05:53 AM	#4
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	I do have Google Apps, including Gmail, on the subdomain that I have hosted under dreamhosters.com. So something has changed, somewhere. I'll take a look.

8 Apr 2011, 06:28 AM	#5
xmailer Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: USA Posts: 5,485	Thanks, I'll be interested if you learn anything. I guess I could try going back to my thus-far "dormant" subdomain account and try again if/when I may get the time, although as far as I know I may be pretty much at a dead end with getting any further help with it from their "support." Of course, I wasn't really expecting to get any help from them with a free account anyway.

8 Apr 2011, 07:57 AM	#6
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	I registered a new subdomain, and yes, Google Apps appears broken. It has a field for adding a CNAME for verification of the domain, but Google now wants a TXT, and the requisite string will not be added. Someone else has found the problem. http://discussion.dreamhost.com/thread-129363.html It looks to me like DreamhostApps is now an orphan project, one they don't want to take down, but don't want to work on, either. Sorry.

8 Apr 2011, 08:02 AM	#7
xmailer Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: USA Posts: 5,485	I appreciate your checking into it. While, as I said, it's been awhile, that sounds like it could be exactly the same issue I experienced, as best I can now recall.

7 May 2011, 04:38 AM	#9
xmailer Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: USA Posts: 5,485	Thanks for the update and the "warning" about the somewhat drastic reduction in the number of users.coming for the free version of Apps. In fact, I had already received an email from Google apprising me of this coming change, since I had already had one Google Apps account with a subdomain, opened shortly before attempting to open the one for the Dreamhosters subdomain, as a few months ago the Otherinbox service discontinued its own webmail interface, issuing instructions for those users who wished to continue using the subdomain addressing with their domain to set their subdomains up with Google Apps, which I managed to successfully muddle through the details of with my myname.otherinbox.com (or myname.oib.com) subdomain. Of course, perhaps the biggest shortcoming in the case of using an Apps account through either a dreamhosters.com or otherinbox.com subdomain is that, in not actual owning the primary domains, I could lose the use of these subdomains, and therewith my Apps accounts, any time the actual domain owners may decide to revoke my use of their subdomains for any reason. Which is one reason I wanted to open the Apps account with Dreamhosters, since at least that could give me a backup Apps account in the event of losing the use of either, for the same use, which is probably mainly for the catch-all addressing with filtering for "spam control" purposes. A use which won't be affected by the reduction in the number of users, as long as Google doesn't eliminate the catch-all addressing option as well. But of course, it would still be nice to have the option to have up to 50 users (I believe I thus far have only 5 users registered with the otherinbox.com subdomain, all of them my own user accounts, with no other "real" users). Anyway, thanks again for this update. which I'll be trying to take advantage of as soon as I can make the time and have had enough coffee to feel up to again dealing with the "geeky" details of setting it up.

8 May 2011, 09:43 AM	#10
xmailer Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: USA Posts: 5,485	Well, I've started the process, at least I think I understood and followed it right. Will see what happens. BTW, kaptitsky, are you by chance "the damn OP" who started the thread on this in the Dreamhost forum on April 11th? It sort of looks like it. Anyway, thanks again. Will report here on success or failure of the authentication.

11 May 2011, 11:07 AM	#11
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	DreamHost support has said that Google Apps for subdomains will not be supported in the future, even if we got it to work now. Oh, well. Xmailer, check yr PM.

17 May 2011, 02:39 AM	#13
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	Is Google Calendar also not going to work?

17 May 2011, 02:48 AM	#14
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	It's unclear. It sounds like only new installations of Google Apps will be affected, but that isn't clear. I'm hoping current installs stay working. If Apps works, all of Apps should work, including calendar.

17 May 2011, 02:55 AM	#15
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	Thanks. I really am more interested in the calendar than the apps in general. Psssst... does DH limit me to trying one of the listed apps? I am certainly interested in a small wiki or forum, too. Somehow I have never located a free forum to play with.