MadJeff 3 Posted September 23, 2003 As many of you have noticed, I've been conspicuously absent the last 3 weeks or so. Besides the fact that I've just plain been swamped with real life lately, to put it bluntly, I was burnt out on the site and needed a break. Fates and Mudd valiantly kept up with things as best they could, and for that I thank them. Great job guys! So, now I'm rested and refreshed and ready to tackle some hurdles this fall, and I thought I would let you guys in on some of the things we have in store for you in the coming months. So grab your favorite beverage and read on.... Staff Additions To start with, we have a new staff member to announce! Mr. Clark has graciously offered his time and expertise and is taking on the new role of TacSim editor/moderator here at Biohaz. We will be expanding our sim coverage into some other areas besides flight, since public demand for this has been so great. I also hope to make another staff announcement in the next few days in another area, so stay tuned for that. Previews/Reviews The LOMAC Preview has been a big hit, and we plan to start doing a LOT more of these types of previews/reviews in the future. I don't know about you, but I tend to get tired of all the quick one-page shallow reviews I see at so many game sites anymore, so we are going to be doing something a little different. You'll find that we tend to be a pretty blunt group of individuals that don't pull punches, so you can rest assured that we will dig deeper and really tell you the pros and cons of whatever we are looking at. I want Biohaz to be know for it's fair and honest product reviews. So as a result, you'll find a lot more in-depth articles on upcoming and newly released sim software and hardware soon. We enjoy doing them for you as much as you enjoy reading them! With that in mind, some of the upcoming reviews that will be rolling off the line in the upcoming days and weeks are a great look at Flight Simulator 2004 by Seawolf, my long-shelved but updated TrackIR review, Part 2 & 3 of our LOMAC preview, and a few other ones that are getting the finishing touches, such as Fates America's Army 2.0 preview. We also have some great new hardware reviews in the pipe. We have a bunch of requests in the pipe and some great stuff on the way thanks to Mudd, and plan on covering a lot more sim-related hardware such as HOTAS, VidCards and more. Sim News Coverage Now that our staff has grown to the point that I don't have to try and cover everything, we should start getting a lot more daily news, but I would still like to bring on a couple of people that handle the newsdesk. This would involve browsing the various newgroups and sites and posting sim-related news. If this is something you would be interested in helping out with please drop me a note at madjeff AT biohazcentral DOT com (fix the email address before you send please) and let me know. Of course, anyone can submit news items, so this is a call to ALL users out there, if you see something newsworthy that others want to know about, by all means PLEASE submit it via the link to the left! Site Issues My #1 concern at the moment is site stability. Our current host TurboWeb is just not cutting it anymore. They've been a very supportive webhost in the past, but unfortunately in this case I think it's a case of growing too big too fast. That, combined with our ever-increasing bandwidth requirements means it's time for a move. So, with that in mind, we are currently searching for a new webhost. If anyone knows a good provider please let me know. Findinga host is easy as there are a million of them, findinga good reliable one is another matter entirely. =) I'm currently looking for a package in the 75-100Gb a month range that can handle *nix sites (no Windows-only hosts). Also, keep in mind this site is supported at the moment out of my pocket, so I cannot afford $100 bucks a month sort of thing either. With that in mind, I'm going to post a PayPal link on the site in the next few days to go along with the CafePress stuff. I've stated from Day 1 that I will NOT beg for money from users, nor will I turn Biohaz into a subscription site. I'll shut the site down before I go that route. Also, I will not plaster ads all over the site. I will however start doing a few unobtrusive ads for products that we have personally tested and approved of to help with bandwidth costs. This is a hobby to me and not a business. However, I won't turn away money. =) If you guys feel we are worth helping out with bandwidth costs, drop us whatever you feel you can spare, or support us through Cafepress. I'll be adding more designs and merchandise in the store over the next few months, so that's another way you can help out. But you won't get any guilt-trips or beg-athons from me on this. =) Site Redesign This one's been in the works all summer. I've been evaluating all the different CMS packages out there trying to find one that will suit Biohaz's growth and layout needs. Now that the additional staff is taking a lot of the load off me, I can start focusing on the technical aspects of the site and get this place cleaned up. The current PostNuke site is too cluttered and is too busy visual-wise. Most of this work will be behind the scenes, but I just wanted everyone to know that there will be site reconstruction in the near future. Instead of doing it all behind the scenes and unveiling the finished product, I want the end users involved with a lot of the decision-making on the new layout, so stay tuned for this in the near future. Well, that's just a quick look at some of the great things the Biohaz crew are working on. All of us are really excited on the ideas and work starting to be put forth and hope you guys like the new changes as well. MadJeff Site Owner/Admin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scout_51 0 Posted September 23, 2003 nice on your break,yep we all do need that here and there.... [With that in mind, I'm going to post a PayPal link on the site in the next few days to go along with the CafePress stuff. I've stated from Day 1 that I will NOT beg for money from users, nor will I turn Biohaz into a subscription site] Very good attitude,is there any way to set it up Other than paypal,Im not very comfortable with that,however would like some way of helping out in the $ department...maybe credit card?... if not maybe a p.o box adress,maybe money orders to biohaz or something such Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MadJeff 3 Posted September 23, 2003 Sure, we can do just about anything. Money Order direct to me would be fine as well, just contact me PM and I'll get you an address to send it to. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
navychief 1 Posted September 23, 2003 Hey MJ I agree with Scout51 about wanting to contribute. I too, don't have much use for PayPal, but the money order route would be fine, if credit card payment is not available through some other avenue. I visit your site many times a day, and I really enjoy the atmosphere on it. So many knowledgeable, and friendly folks! I have nothing but good things to say about Bio Hazard Central! I have learned a great deal about flight simming from your site, and I will be more than happy to contribute to it. Navychief Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snapple2993 0 Posted September 24, 2003 As I've said before, this is the only sim/game site that I come to. There is just no reason to put up with some of "those" people on other boards. It's always nice to know that you can post almost anything, and get a conversation going, and not have it turn into a flame. And its also nice to know that if one is not knowledgeable on aspects of a particular sim, that they can ask a question and not be made to feel like an idiot for asking. I've got a T-Shirt and Sim fuel container, and am waiting on a UBWH T-shirt, but I'm sure I can find some spare dough to throw at my most frequented website. I'm against required payments (gives me an anti democratic feeling... paying for a voice), but I am all for donations, and people should be happy to give what they can. If I can, then anybody can! Again thanks for having a killer website! Cheers, Mr. Saffell X.O. Pukin' Puppies Edit: MJ, do you take personal checks?... that 2 bucks for a money order can feed a poor college kid for a day Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Schizo Posted September 24, 2003 Let me know where to send it and I 'll help too, for all the same reasons all ready posted. Schiz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
