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[The_Man_Of_Steel]

I would need my brother to explain it to me, so I could clearly explain it to the folks on this thread...but I am using my own computer as a server

 

While it might be saving you money, your also much, much more likely to be a target for -script kiddies, cyberpunks, and crackers. If you don't have the right security, then your an easy target. Another disadvantage is having to keep your computer on at all times, and when your not around to monitor hard drive acess...

 

Granted there are some upfront costs

 

Yep, like Microsoft Server 2000 for example, which is NOT cheap or inexpensive by any stretch of the imagination. There might be other alternative software, but I personally wouldn't use anything other than brand name software. One of my reasons is that MicroSoft is going to be around for a long time, while competing companies will go out of business or be sold out to other companies. For a couple of years I used the Zip program called "ZipMagic". Ontrack sold the rights/license to Aladdin, and the program will not receive any further updates, and Aladdin has decided to replace it with their program "Stuff-It".

 

Another up front cost that is essential (for security reasons) to any computer acting as a server is a hardware firewall. I've recently found out that hardware firewalls/routers for cable connections are relatively inexpensive. A nice hardware firewall/router will run around $60 - $99 depending on the number of ports and where a person buys one.

 

While, I'm going to be purchasing a router/hardware firewall in the near future, I don't have any plans on purchasing the necessary software to make my computer a server any time soon.

 

QUESTION: Are there any EXTRA ISP costs with using your computer as a server?

[joe_collector]

The Flintstones #1 (and #2) auction I saw wasn't a BIN and sat there for 7 full days I believe. I'm not really a cartoon freak, and since I saw some regulars already bidding (cha-ching!) I just said screw it and moved on.

 

Then later I see that puppy ended at $21.50, I almost died:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2160239857

[Darthdiesel]

You are much better at watching these things more than I! nice catch!

[Lockjaw]

No extra costs (as far as my ISP is concerned). I am so not worried about security...my brother is paid the big bucks to do IT work for Safeway's corporate HQ (and he is extremely vigilant about computer security), and my father...well, let's just say that the military fournd he was extremely useful to them for his computer knowledge/skills...he got to hang at NORAD back in the days when mainframes (a specialty of his) took up entire city blocks

 

Yeah...I guess I forgot to mention that before you can make your computer a server it helps to have a router, have your own domain name, have the appropriate software installed, and to make sure things do not go south on you in a hurry, an uninterrupted power source (I think that is what they are called) to keep things running if there is a total energy blackout.

 

BUT, if you already have the router, the UPS, etc., than you can purchase a domain name for as little as $35 a year, and for another $10 there is a means on the web (my brother set me up, so I do not know the specifics of what he did/downloaded to allow me to be my own server) to allow your computer to be the one that continually hosts your pics. The biggest drawback is that if my DSL goes wonky on me, or there is a prolonged power-outage, or I need to turn the computer off for one reason or another, well...then people will be staring at a big blank spot where a picture should be...in that case, can you say

 

However, to host as many pictures as I have on my computer, and plan to use in my auctions...I would be fleeced if I had to pay someone on the web for storage space (and I like that my pictures do not dissappear after the auction ends if someone clicks on my auction during a completed item search...I hate it when I click on a completed item and I get a big red X where the picture used to be). I suspect it would cost me at least 120-240 a year if I went that route (ouch).

 

I like to thint that after less than 18 months, if, and I grant this is a big if because not everyone practically makes a living off of their ebay auctions, you put enough pictures, and create enough auctions, than the cost of turning your computer into a server starts to balance out, and after a few years I would imagine that if your ebay business/on-line business was going strong...you would notice a definite savings.

 

I, like everyone else who no longer has to use Ebay's picture services, LOVE that I have several auctions running with 6-7 large pics that only cost me 30 cents versus a $1.30 listing fee (all those dollars I save every week are going to add up fast).

 

Have a Great Weekend

Christopher H.