Some of you may have noticed slowness and possibly outages on hififorum over the last couple of days.

This, apparently, was due to another user on the same web server (owned by my ISP) running a scheduled task (cronjob) that was eating up too many resources. The user had been warned twice about this previously, but has ignored the warnings, so if today's slowness was caused by the same person, i believe his account is going to be suspended.

Therefore, hopefully, as of this point on, the slowness will no longer occur

If you have any problems with the site however, please do let me know by using the "Contact Us" form.

Thanks for understanding

FishSponge
(Site Admin)

As you may have noticed, HiFiForum is starting to take off quite successfully and, as a result, my workload as moderator is increasing at the same rate.

For this reason, we are looking for active members of this site to become forum moderators!

So, if you fit the following criteria, and feel you would like to take on a role of basic responsibility on hififorum, then please apply by Contacting us!

- You must be able to visit the forum on a regular basis through the year (with exceptions for family occasions, celebrations etc...).

- You must try to read every post that is made in the forums you are moderator of. This isn't a *strict* rule, but obviously, if you miss something that is potentially offensive or rude, that's not good.

- You must be at least 18 years of age.

- You must not abuse your power by removing or editing posts because you "don't like them", or "they have a silly username".

I know it sounds like a lot to ask, but once you're used to it, it won't be that difficult. I'm not going anywhere either, i just need more people on board in case i miss something, or in case i cannot make it online for any reason.

The forums you are able you apply to moderate are:

- New Members/Introductions
- General Discussion
- General Hi-Fi Discussion
- Amplifiers/Receivers
- CD/SACD/DVD/Minidisc Players
- Home Cinema
- DAB/Analog Tuners
- Loudspeakers
- Turntables & Vinyl
- Cables & Interconnects
- Music

As mentioned above, to apply for the role of "moderator", please Contact us!

Recently, you may have noticed that HiFiForum.co.uk has been either displaying a blank web page hosted on a strange server, or has been offline alltogether.

This, i'm glad to say, is nothing to do with HiFiForum.co.uk, however, it is affecting HiFiForum.co.uk. I shall explain.

When the site was showing a blank page, someone had gained access into the web server on the shared host running HiFiForum.co.uk and had reconfigured it to point at their own site. HiFiForum.co.uk was not affected, but the web server serving it was.

As soon as that got fixed by my web host, they were unfortunate enough to suffer a massive Denial of Service (DoS) attack which then took HiFiForum.co.uk (and all other sites) offline completely.

The outcome of all this is that HiFiForum.co.uk (and all other web sites hosted on the same machine) are going to be moved to a much faster, much more reliable data center sooner than planned. The migration was due to happen over a period of time, but due to recent events, it is going to happen within a very short timescale.

The outcome of this is that HiFiForum.co.uk could experience another outage, but if it does, hopefully it won't be for too long this time.

I apologise for any inconvenience, and i hope you still enjoy your time on this site

Thanks,
FishSponge (Site Admin)

____________________________________________________________

ok, HiFiForum.co.uk has now been moved to the new data center and hopefully will suffer no more outages from this point on!

However, please be prepared for one or two more outages, as my web host may have a few teething problems, or may need to restart various services on the new servers. They have assured me, however, that any planned outages from this point on will be kept to an absolute minimum.

Once again, please accept my apologies for the lack of this site over the last week, but also please believe me when i say it has been rather annoying for me too.

Anyway, thank you for your patience!! I hope to see the posting begin again soon

Well Plans for the 2005 Bristol Show have started again, and it's set to be even better than last year!

http://www.bristolshow.co.uk

Sharp seems to be the big name this year, with their new addition to the projector range - the �1247 XR-1S! A small, light 'pico-portable' with a contrast ratio of 1500:1, Carl Zeiss Optics, and a range of preset modes for games, movies or presentations.

Sony has also announced the launch of it's new digital jukebox to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sony's first walkman. The new NW-HD1 will be smaller than the iPod and has a battery life three times longer!

Other exhibitors this year include Acoustic Energy, Apollo, Apple, Arcam, Atacama Audio, Beyerdynamic, Bose, Cambridge Audio, Case Logic, Chord Company, Creative, Cyrus, Denon, Epson, Fujitsu General, Hewlett Packard, Jamo, John Lewis, Marantz, Mission, Naim Audio, Nokia, Omnimount, Optoma Europe, Ortofon, Path, Philips, Pioneer, Pro-Ject, Pure Digital, QED, Quad, Rel Acoustics, Roksan, Siemens, Sony, Soundstyle, Storex, TEAC, Toshiba, Van Den Hul, Veda, Vibe, Vienna Acoustics, Wharfedale, Wilson Benesch and Yamaha.

Here's the details of this year's show:

Date: Friday 25 - Sunday 27 February 2005

Times: 10am - 5pm every day.

Where: Marriott City Center Hotel, Lower Castle Street, Bristol, UK

Prices: Adults: �7, Students/OAP's: �3.50, accompanied children under 16 free.

Enjoy the Show!!

The Bristol Show is almost upon us again this year - Sound & Vision!

http://www.bristolshow.co.uk/

This is the place to see and hear all the latest products from hi-fi to home cinema and beyond, and direct from The Bristol Show's web site, here are a few good reasons why you should attend:

- See and hear hundreds of hi-fi and home cinema products...

- Talk directly to the manufacturers and designers...

- See new products before they hit our stores...

- Special show deals and discounts - everything on Show is for sale!

- Win superb prizes in our show competition...

- What Hi-Fi? Sound & Vision there in person to answer your questions...

- Easy to get to - right in the heart of Bristol...

I (fishsponge) am definitely gonna be there (although not on a stand, i'll just be wandering around), so hopefully the members of this site will be able to make it too! :D