Hi everyone,

I just watched Irreversible and I do feel the adverse effects of doing so. As such I decided to post something about this somewhat great movie.
So let’s roll.

The movie starts backwards, so you’ll start the session by reading the credits. Fun stuff. The problem is when the reel actually starts. Like I said, it was purposely compiled backwards, so the start is actually the end of the story. You will see Marcus (Vincent Cassel) seeking revenge for the rape of his girlfriend Alex (Monica Belucci).

The beginning of the reel is then relatively disgusting, with sexual explicit gay scenes all around and brutality at its best, especially when you see

Pierre (Albert Dupontel) crushing a man’s face with a fire extinguisher.

In the Cannes Festival, 200 people were reported to have left the movie during the first 20 minutes. So prepare yourself to press the STOP button on your DVD player. You’ll want to do it.

Short detailed summary:
A couple truly in love. Alex and Marcus prepare themselves for a party, and you actually see them just like a normal couple. She suspects that she is pregnant (you’ll find this out later), and brings up the suspicion to her boyfriend Marcus, who tries not to think to much about it without a confirmation (just like every other man).

They will then go to the party, where Marcus consumes a large amount of cocaine. Devastated with that situation, Alex leaves the party on her own and makes her way back home, walking to the subway through a dark, strobe-lighted passage. As she goes through it, she spots a man (Le Tenia) hitting and yelling at prostitute. She tries to walk away from the situation, but he does not let walk away from the scene, as she had obviously seen the hitting. He decides then to rape her on the same passage. Le Tenia is a homossexual, hence he did force her brutally to have anal sex. (You will watch this scene completely unlike other movies. You will watch it from the beginning to the end without skipping violence or the act itself!) Once he finished his job, you’ll see Alex in deep shock, trembling all around and trying to escape from the scene. Le Tenia decides to not let her do that without violently almost beating her to death. Alex enters a coma state, completely disfigured by Le Tenia’s punches and several kicks on her face.

You will then see Marcus (remember this is all backwards!) getting out of the party with Pierre (Alex’s ex-boyfriend) with a 1,5L bottle of water, typical of a junkie. Marcus apparently didn’t care much for Alex and had let her go home devastated by his behavior on the party. As soon as Marcus walks down the street he will see an ambulance. As every other people around, he gets closer to see what happened. He then sees nurses getting Alex to the ambulance completely disfigured and in a coma. Marcus panics and then 2 other guys from the neighborhood convince him to get revenge, and offer help to track down the man who did it in exchange of money. Marcus accepts the offer and his road to revenge starts at this point. The 2 men tell him that they have found a purse on the passage with an ID Card belonging to “Guillermo Nuñez”. They find out that this was actually a transvestite prostitute, and that he was actually the one being beaten up by Le Tenia on the passage, as Alex as going through it. Guillermo (aka Concha interpreted by Jara-Millo) tells them the name of the man they are looking for: Le Tenia. He also tells them were to find him: at “Rectum”, a gay S&M club in Paris.

As they search for this location, Marcus reveals himself a newly changed man: A total animal seeking for revenge. This portraits very well how a man can react to such event and was criticized by many cinema critics, however Noé stated that it just had to be “as realistic as possible”. You’ll see Marcus in a mix of complete despair and anger, virtually hitting everything on his way to find the criminal while Pierre (a Philosophy teacher, Marcus friend and Alex’s ex-boyfriend) constantly tries to calm him down. Finally when Marcus enters the bar (”Rectum”) he starts to ask everyone he sees about Le Tenia. He accidentally found his boyfriend masturbating (anal) on the corner (this scene is really disgusting). He then starts to beat up this guy, as he was trying to get into something with Marcus and was not providing him any kind of relevant information about the whereabouts of Le Tenia. Then suddently Marcus spots 2 guys on a corner and asks them if they knew Le Tenia. Ironically, one of them as Le Tenia (tip for identifying him: He is sniffing Poppers, which he did also while raping Alex, while the other one didn’t appear to be addict to it). One of those 2 men walk away when asked who was Tenia, and Marcus identifies him as being the one. He then starts to beat him, but fell down after a punch and pushing of the same individual and falls down. The same guy profits from that to break Marcus’ right arm and tries to rape him in front of the nasty gay S&M croud (no one moved a single finger to help Marcus there).

Then Pierre, who was with Marcus all the time reaches for a fire extinguisher and bashes this man, until he is dead with no face at all (you actually see this skull - it’s a very realistic and not recommended scene for people with a weak stomach).

Pierre is then arrested and is sentenced to 10 years in prison, Marcus is taken to the hospital and apparently survives everything - so does Alex.

My opinion:
In my honest opinion, the victim of the whole story is Pierre. Not only he loses his girlfriend which he loves unconditionally to a younger and drug-addicted friend, but he is also the one that ultimately revenges her and takes 10 years of his life imprisioned due to Marcus’ lack of care with Alex (Marcus can be considered guilty by letting Alex walk out of the party all alone, in those streets of Paris - especially during the night).

What I believe that will ultimately get you frustrated is: Pierre didn’t kill the right man.
Le Tenia was actually the guy standing on the left side of the guy that Marcus started the fight with. After this guy is dead, you can actually see Le Tenia laughing. So justice wasn’t done anyway; and Pierre gets the sentence; while Marcus was the one that insisted on it and gets away with a broken arm.

This is a very interesting story based on REALITY, not on Hollywood dreams. Things do not always end as they should.
So, to conclude this, the facts are below.

Facts:

• Marcus can be blamed for letting Alex walk out alone.
• Alex should not try to walk away by herself on that kind of neighborhood.
• Pierre lost his girlfriend to Marcus and he is still the one doing something about it, paying 10 years of his life for the same fact.
• Once Alex left, Pierre tried to get Marcus to look out for her, which he did but it was too late. In the end Pierre appeared to be a more appropriate man for Alex.
• Pierre didn’t kill the right man. Le Tenia watched his friend dying for him and didn’t move a finger neither. Instead, he was smiling. (this was the most frustrating fact for me)

I think everyone can learn a lot with this movie. Even me!
The streets are always plenty of this kind of animals, especially at night. Never let your girlfriend walk out on you like that during the night. For girls, the message is the same: never walk out alone during the night, especially on dangerous neighborhoods.

Movie cover:

Click on the image to download the full-sized cover.

Special Thanks:
Thanks to João Soares (Hash_Gordon) for recommending the movie!

Vicodin as been extremely popularized with the help of the sitcom “House M.D.“.

Vicodin is a painkiller or analgesic (an opioid one), containing mostly Hydrocodone and paracetamol (acetaminophen). Most of the pills will have imprinted either “Vicodin ES”, “M357″, “Vicodin HP” or just “Vicodin” (if generic).

Vicodin isn’t unique in any way; in fact it shares characteristics with many other pills both in chemistry and even its shape.
One of the most similar drugs is “Lorcet”. Pictures of both pills bellow.

Side Effects of Vicodin:

“Weak breathing, seizures, clammy skin, severe weakness, dizziness, hyperventilation, unconsciousness, yellowing of eyes or skin, unusual fatigue, bleeding, bruising, constipation, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, muscle twitches, sweating, itching, tinnitus, hearing loss, decreased urination, and decreased sex drive. [4] Vicodin (in terms of hydrocodone) also has depressant effects on the central nervous system. [5] However, some of the less mundane effects can be desirable effects that are sought after by some. Those effects include euphoria and drowsiness, as well as slowing of the pulse.[6] Vicodin has also been linked to causing stomach ulcers, although this is assumed to be due to the addition of other non-narcotic analgesics to hydrocodone preparations (e.g., APAP, aspirin, ibuprofen).”

Overdose symptoms:

Those are actually serious. An overdose of Vicodin can lead you to come or death.
Full symptom list below:

Symptoms of a Vicodin overdose may include slow breathing, coma, dizziness, weakness, seizures, cold and clammy skin, loss of consciousness, confusion, constricted pupils, tiredness, nausea, vomiting, blueing of the tongue, and diaphoresis; an overdose may lead to death.

Source: Wikipedia.org

A good way to put Fox nervous would be to ask them to make Dr. House starting to take Lorcet instead It would do the same trick.
I wonder if they got paid for that. Well, probably not! As per Hugh Laurie, Vicodin as actually an idea from the director, who had to take them for long period of time.

And for the fans of House M.D., here’s the Vicodin Song!

Interesting Lyrics:

i’ve got vicodin
do you want to come over
i know it’s a long drive
from malibu
i got a pocket full of pills
and not one lover
and i’m feeling so bad
and so good
i don’t know what to do….

And to finish the cycle for those who don’t know House M.D. and the doctor’s funny addiction, here’s a video that couldn’t explain it better!

Till next time, later!

You guessed it. I’m a Celiac. And like 100% (I dare to say 100%) of all Celiacs, I have been misdiagnosed half a dozen of times.
Today it’s the liver, tomorrow it’s the mind (yeah I was called hypochondriac indirectly once too, so has been almost every Celiac from what I hear everyday), then it’s the gut, then it can be IBS, then it might be Chron’s Disease… arg!

My advice to the doctors: STOP IT. Stop trying to prove you know something and start listening to people. Accept your mistakes and start looking at your patients CORRECTLY before daring to diagnose something you aren’t even sure the person has got! I am so tired of hearing these stories, really! It’s frustrating. How incompetent can a doctor be?

Today I met a new Celiac (a 25 year old girl), she has been diagnosed IBS by 3 doctors in a row. She didn’t even have half the symptoms of it.
Celiac disease screening was completely “out of question” because according to her doctor she didn’t present “enough symptoms” for it. He even said that it could be due to her hormones… Lovely! Let’s blame your gender for it!

She started a gluten-free diet just right after that answer - how many of us did?
Guess what, within not even 2 weeks she was almost symptom free. Now how cool is that?
Irritability gone, behavioral changes gone, indigestion symptoms <almost> gone, anxiety greatly reduced.

Let’s hope that one day we can actually do something about these doctors. As one portuguese politician said a few weeks ago on a TV show (unrelated to this but I loved this phrase and really gotta quote it):

• “I believe people have to learn.”

Doctors really should start to take more responsibility for their patients. I cannot emphasize this enough. Most of them have the real luxury of even prescribing you totally incorrect medication and still get away with it. This is totally unacceptable, especially in the EU and the US!

But who am I to say this? I am a recently-diagnosed Celiac, who has been treated for 3 different conditions for the past 3 or 4 years.
It all started when I was 14 or so - triggered by H. Pylori - which unfortunately for me was an excuse for all doctors to prescribe me antacids for too long.

Today I know that I could have got 2 or 3 diseases from antiacid abuse (glad to say I only took them when I really needed it). I was clever and feel blessed for it now.

Let’s start to do something about, urgently - please!
Help to spread the word!

Sites of particular interest on this disease:

• Celiac.com
• Celiac Disease Foundation
• Mayo Clinic
• Family Doctor
• MedLine Plus (US National Library of Medicine)
• WrongDiagnosis.com

Thanks!

Depending on how much time you spent typing, the keyboard will be a pal on your everyday’s life, so you always have to pick one that not only is durable, but also comfortable for your hands and fingers. The same thing goes for mice, but I’ll add an article on that later on.

Now, let’s suppose you’re someone like me (a keyboard killer) and probably replace it once a year, or twice a year on extreme cases?
You need an affordable, yet resistant keyboard to survive the millions-a-day-keystrokes usage, right?

My choice is definitely made: Microsoft’s Digital Media Keyboard.

This is an OEM keyboard, which will bring your cost down by at least 40% if not more.
I got the first Digital Media Keyboard when I was living back in Ourém, Portugal. This was at the time the keyboard I chosen to accompany my new PC.
While I had of course multiple keyboards available there, I got this one because not only it was pretty cheap (€ 32,00) but it appeared to be the most resistant out of the rest (Note: I had a few Logitech OEM and Shine Keyboards on the shelf as well).

A few days ago the day has come: the keyboard was completely damned. You have no idea how much my keyboards suffer! Cigarette ash, food particles, everything goes in! I also dropped a cup of water accidentally over it while I was on the phone with Carlos Caneja, which really made me shop for another one.

Now, I had and still have another keyboard at home, which I bought at the time for my ex-girlfriend. This is a silent keyboard from iOne.
Scorpius-P16 or SC-P16. Here’s how it looks like:

This keyboard is really really silent. But it sucks for multiple reasons. I have no idea who had the brilliant idea of adding those buttons on top of the arrow keys, but who did it should have been fired by now. This is the worst place ever to place those keys on. I remember I had to work on a keyboard from Genius with the same problem and this was really terrible. I’d shutdown the computer every now and then, always accidentally of course. So iOne failed on this particularly. Especially because… look at the top buttons, the ones on the silver part of the keyboard. There was more then enough space to integrate these dangerous buttons there, so why dragging them there?

I use the arrow keys a lot, and I also use (unlike most people) the Insert/Delete, Home/End, PageUp/PageDown columns often.
So this isn’t definitely a keyboard for me or for another person who relies on those columns.

Anyways, I still trusted my gut and just purchased another Digital Media Keyboard from Microsoft. And you know what? I don’t think I will ever change my mind. The layout is very intuitive, the shortcuts are VERY well placed (such as the calculator and session lock buttons on the right). Contrarily to iOne’s SC-P16, all these shortcuts were cleverly placed on areas that it’s almost impossible to accidentally touch them.

The customizable shortcut buttons (those on the top) are very useful. Especially if, like me, you use lots of programs at the same time and open/close them often. Want an example? NotePad. That’s my number 1 shortcut right there. Photoshop is the 2nd and LiveWriter is the 3rd. I don’t really remember the other 2, but that just means I don’t need them often.

Here’s how my old keyboard was after 1 year and half of service:

Really! That’s not dirt by the way, that is how all keyboard end up on my hands. It’s burned. That’s due to sweat and use! Look at the space bar, compare it with the one below - ouch!

And here’s the new one - same model of course:

Well, so my recommendation obviously goes to Microsoft. Get one and you won’t be disappointed at all.
Imagine how that iOne keyboard would end if it had the use of my MS Digital Media Keyboard? It would be way worse, I am sure!

It will stay on my shelf though, might be needed for this or that!

Many web hosts converted or will convert to phpSUEXEC, mainly because phpSUEXEC is much more secure that the regular php being served with apache has API.

If you’re currently using the "regular php", a  few changes may be required on your website’s configuration files (.htaccess).

Every php_flag command in your .htaccess file will have to removed and moved to a new file with the name "php.ini", which you will have to create in your site’s public root folder.

For example:
.htaccess command » php_flag register_globals on
php.ini command » register_globals=on

The file php.ini will handle all the extra settings you need to set in php. It’s pretty much your own custom php configuration file.
So, basically you will have to move every command on .htaccess that starts with php_flag to the new php.ini configuration file.

Differences between phpsuexec and "regular php":
When using the common PHP installation on a webserver, php runs as "nobody" (just like apache) and it doesn’t require the execute flag to be enabled.

The problem on this is that if mod_openbasedir is not installed (every host has this nowadays), every user will be able to read your php files because everyone is virtually sharing the same username (nobody).

As most of you already know, PHP Files are not meant to be read, but parsed, and that is where the problem resides. PHP Files have to be parsed, otherwise everyone who is able to read your php file will see settings that you would probably want to keep private, such as your MySQL username and password.

PHPSUEXEC eliminates this security concern because it requires php to be run as the file owner’s username. (for example: andre)
This will also make system administors’ lives easier because they can now directly monitor the usernames running php, as such it becomes easier to track overload causes, etc.

This is not everything it does, though. phpSUEXEC is also here to fix file ownership issues; which is a common issue on a few Content Management Systems such as Joomla or even the popular blog platform: WordPress.

It will also add security to your files as you can use permissions such as 600 or 700 on them and your visitors will still be able to access them (parsed) in their browsers.

A system compiled with phpSUEXEC will also refuse to serve any pages that are at security risk, for example with 777 as permissions. (this will trigger an Internal Server Error)

Troubleshooting Internal Server Errors (Error 500):
Everytime an internal server error occurs, an entry will be added to your Error Log in cPanel. (cPanel »» Error Log).
This will usually give you a clue on where the error is coming from. In most cases it will be either a permission problem (for security’s sake) or a then invalid command in your .htaccess configuration file (remember that all commands started by php_value have to be migrated to your new php.ini configuration file).

Directories that need to be written onto will no longer require 777 as permissions and phpSUEXEC will also refuse to write or read on directories insecure with such permissions. You will have to keep their permission settings as 755.

To simplify it, just keep in mind that you shouldn’t have a file or folder with world-writeable permissions (777), because you no longer need to.

MIME Types:
If you added a Mimetype to the system in order to run parse html files as php scripts (using AddType as a .htaccess command), you will have to replace it with an ApacheHandler instead. Just replace "AddType" by "AddHandler" and you should be good to go!

QuickStart for impatient users:
Technically, phpSUEXEC will make sure your files and directories abide by the following security restrictions:

• User executing the wrapper is a valid user on the webserver.
• The command that the request tries to execute cannot contain a / (must be clean).
• The command being executed must reside under the user’s website’s document root (wwwroot or public_html depending on the system).
• The current working directory must not be world-writeable.
• The command being executed cannot be a symlink (again for security’s sake).
• The command being executed cannot be a setuid or setgid program, these will be ignored.
• The target UID and GID must be a valid user or/and group on the webserver.
• The UID and GID, must match file/directory ownership.

Protecting your php.ini file:
You can set php.ini’s permissions to 600. This will make sure no one will be able to read it through a browser, while the configuration file will still work for you.

If you’re using cPanel and find your statistics stuck, there are 2 scripts that will help you getting rid of the issue.
In order to update all your server’s bandwidth and other statistics, type the following command:

• /scripts/runlogs now

In order to update the bandwidth and web statistics for a specific username, type:

• /scripts/runweblogs <username>

Pretty easy, eh?

Ok, I’m ready for tons of comments bashing this post and here’s why:
Some people just ignore how browsers behave and lost their sense of productivity/practicality.
Others just say “Heck, if W3C approves it, I’ll do it”

Well, this is not the best way to think about YOUR site.

I started to use CSS-P for a long time and I do know how to use it correctly.
However let’s face it: it’s not worth it.

I lose at least the double of time on CSS-P and its div tags compared to the time I take to design a site using tables.
I know, tables are “not supposed” to be used on design: So what?

Give me a good reason not to use them. That’s like saying that fire wasn’t made to light up cigarettes. It’s insane.
I found a great page explaining why the so-called <div> tags should not be used:

http://www.decloak.com/Dev/CSSTables/CSS_Tables_01.aspx

I will probably use them again sometime in the future: Whenever Microsoft complies. Until then I won’t spend 1 more hour on CSS based layouts. It’s just insane doing so.

Even on the site you are on, I had to start removing divs. All because of IE.
And in terms of practicality… tables are equally positioned on every browser. So don’t tell me divs are the standard. They will become a standard whenever all browsers have an equalized way to show them. PERIOD.

That’s all for today

Webalizer is compiled with cPanel and sometimes, non-native english speakers like me forget about this and will use a non-english user to run Webalizer for the first time. Huge mistake. Webalizer will be compiled with the language that the user has set to be the default.

It can be Spanish, Portuguese even Russian. And all your clients will have to deal with this.
Not anymore. After trying to fix this for months, I am sharing the solution I wanted to be available online but couldn’t find: The webalizer binary and the english language file for it.

Instructions:
1) Backup your original webalizer binary and language file by running the following commands on a root shell:

• mv /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/webalizer /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/webalizer.backup
• mv /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/english/webalizer /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/english/webalizer.backup

2) Then you’ll need to get the english binary and language file (I have those prepared for you, so don’t worry).
Run the following commands:

• cd /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/
• wget http://www.andrefaca.com/non-deletable-files/andrefaca.com/files/webalizer-binary.zip
• unzip webalizer-binary.zip
• chmod 0755 webalizer
• cd /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/bin/english
• wget http://www.andrefaca.com/non-deletable-files/andrefaca.com/files/webalizer-english.zip
• unzip webalizer-english.zip
• chmod 0755 webalizer

3) Now it’s time to run webalizer:

• /scripts/runlogsnow

Note: You should allow the runlogsnow script a few hours to run, depending on how many domains you have. If you want to just test it out on an account, you can instead use the command:

• /scripts/runweblogs

That’s it! Your webalizer is now in english! Now tell me how cool is that

Celiac Disease (or Celiac Sprue) is a digestive condition that damages the small intestin and ultimately interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. Hence, Celiac Disease is a very serious condition, despite everything you heard until now.
It can lead to very serious conditions such as Cancer and it can also damage all parts of your body depending on the vitamin deficiencies you get due to the disease. On my particular case the neurologic system was the worst part. This was of course, due to Iron Deficieny. (Of course this varies from individual to individual)

Surprisingly enough all caused by Gluten.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats.

Putting this into simple terms, the auto-immune system will attack the small intestine as soon as gluten is detected on your system.
This is why Celiac Disease is cataloged under the auto-immune diseases list. The damage is not caused by gluten itself, it’s caused by the auto-immune system - gluten just triggers the reaction. It’s pretty much like poison for Celiacs.

How does this happen?
The villi, finger-like or hair-like protrusion following the small intestine become flat. As such, no nutrients are absorbed; and typically the Celiac individual may temporarily develop intolerances to other proteins, such as Lactose.

Usually, after the villi has returned to its normal shape, the side-effect intolerances will fade away.

Symptoms of an untreated Celiac Disease:

• Irritability
  Can be mild or extreme in a few cases depending on your life style. If you’re already an easy-to-irritate person, then you’d probably fall on the “extreme” section. Stress-management techniques can be highly effective on reducing irritability. Remember to relax every now and then, you deserve it, and it will payoff!
• Depression
  Also can be mild or extreme. Suicidal thoughts might also scare your mind every now and then especially if you have no idea what’s wrong with you (which can be the primary cause of your depression…frustration)
• Trembling
  WATCH OUT FOR THIS. Great sign of this. I had this myself, on the right leg constantly. I used to thought it was due to work 8 hours on a desk (don’t ask me why). In reality this is just your body telling you that something’s not right. Even though this is a “physical” thing, it’s neurological because you do it without even noticing it. It comes right off your brain.
• Fatigue
  Megan from YouTube described this as “the pregnant-like nap in the afternoon”. I guess I cannot find anything better to describe it. I’m sure you will start noticing that you sleep a lot more then everyone else.
• Dermatitis Herpetiformis (Skin rash that will never go away)
  Dermatitis Herpetiformis is itself also caused by gluten and it’s merely a reaction of your skin to it. As you start your gluten free diet, you will start noticing that the rash will only be “active” after you have been contamined by gluten. The more gluten your system has, the worse the rash will become. Dermatitis Herpetiformis can be effectively controlled with a specific drug called Dapsone. Dapsone won’t cure you though, it’s just out there to help you control the rash. Only a gluten-free diet will clean your system and this may take up to 2 years.

Have you noticed that I underlined “untreated”? It really was intentional. Once you have CD under control, everything will go away, so hang in there!

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is one of the celibrities with Celiac Disease.
She explained what Celiac Disease is in short during one of her shows (TheView).
Here’s the video:

And here’s another one with a doctor on her show:

(don’t you all love her anyway?)

And here’s Megan’s video (the person I mention earlier) explaining what Celiac Disease is (pretty simplified):

So what’s a Celiac?
A Celiac is usually what people tend to call to an individual who has Celiac disease.

Celiac Disease is not something that you can “get” from someone. It’s genetic, inheritable from your family.
This does not necessarily mean that your parents are Celiacs as well. But it usually means that one of them carries the bad gene. On a family where those genes exist, there is a 10% chance for each member to get it. Meaning, your brother might not get it, but still carry the gene and his son has a 10% of getting it.

Don’t worry though, you’re definately not alone and this is completely manageable!
Nowadays there’s everything gluten-free, even bread!

2 of the top gluten-free food manufacturers:
Glutano
Schär

SAN ANTONIO — Oct. 1, 2007 — Rackspace® Managed Hosting today announced that it has acquired Webmail.us, the largest provider of business class email hosting with more than 600,000 business mailboxes under management. Together, Rackspace and Webmail.us will focus on providing a comprehensive mail platform and related services to companies of all sizes.

RackSpace’s USA Datacenter

Rackspace’s acquisition of Webmail.us highlights the company’s investment to transform traditional IT functions into consumable services via the web. As more and more enterprises transition from purchasing in-house IT assets to leveraging service providers, Rackspace plans to offer a suite of hosted IT services that are more reliable and provide better value than traditional IT. Rackspace has already made a seamless expansion into the mail industry, which it views as the first step in giving businesses a chance to solve a persistent and growing challenge with a better solution.

“Web-delivered business-class services remove the IT administration burden from companies that lack large IT staffs and/or want to concentrate more fully on their core business functions,” says Melanie Posey, research director, IDC. “Hosting companies that meet this need and expand their portfolios to include key on-demand functionality such as managed messaging can differentiate themselves from competitors. Rackspace’s acquisition of Webmail.us illustrates the company’s commitment to innovating in the hosted services market and responding to customer demand.”

“For years, Rackspace has built Fanatical Support™ focused on making our customers’ web presence reliable and easy to manage. Today, we’re expanding our vision and plan to do the same for IT hosting. Messaging and collaboration are Rackspace’s first major steps in expanding our product portfolio to include hosted IT services,” said Lew Moorman, senior vice president of corporate strategy and product development, Rackspace Managed Hosting. ”Webmail.us has developed a world-class product set and shares our deep commitment to customer service. We are natural partners and we will collaborate to strengthen and complement our existing mail portfolio.”

“Rackspace already hosts our entire email hosting infrastructure and has been our most critical business associate. Experiencing Fanatical Support first-hand has proven to us that Rackspace is a different kind of company—one that is truly dedicated to its customers,” said Pat Matthews, President, Webmail.us. “In working with Rackspace for more than four years, we’ve realized that our companies share great synergies and visions for the future. Rackspace realizes the market shift towards IT hosting and the mission critical nature of business-class email. This partnership strengthens our ability to serve businesses that rely on email but don’t want to manage it themselves.”

Rackspace and Webmail.us will join forces to create innovative new products focused on enterprise-class mail functionality. The companies have previously collaborated to offer Rackspace’s current Global Messaging Portfolio, including Noteworthy Managed Mail. The Webmail.us company headquarters will continue to be based in Blacksburg, Va.

About Webmail.us
Webmail.us, along with its growing community of private-label reseller partners, provides more than 70,000 small, medium, and geographically dispersed companies with corporate email hosting services. The company manages and maintains the email software and hosting infrastructure, freeing up personnel resources and eliminating the need for organizations to purchase email-related hardware, software, and security services—all for a fraction of the cost of purchasing and managing email services in-house. The company’s mission critical software applications are housed in carrier-grade data centers to ensure maximum uptime. Founded in 1999, Webmail.us is headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia and was just named the 217th fastest-growing, privately held company in America by Inc. Magazine. To learn more, please visit www.webmail.us or call 866.392.3336 x214.

About Rackspace Managed Hosting
A recognized leader in the global managed hosting market, Rackspace Managed Hosting delivers enterprise-level managed services to businesses of all sizes. Serving more than 15,000 customers in eight data centers worldwide, Rackspace integrates the industry’s best technologies for each customer need and delivers it as a service via the company’s award-winning Fanatical Support™. Through trusted relationships, Rackspace serves as an extension of its customers’ IT departments, enabling them to focus on their core business. Since its inception in 1998, Rackspace has grown more than 50 percent a year. For more information, please visit www.rackspace.com, or call 800-961-2888.