I’ve previously mentioned Jumpboxes – pre configured virtual machines for rapid deployment or evaluation. The company basically build an image that you can deploy then customise to your own needs with absolutely no heavy lifting. I use it for prototyping solutions and demonstrating to clients whats possible before they commit to buying a full subscription for themselves. So I was interested when I came across another supplier offering what appeared to be a very similar service – InstantBox.net.
However my experience with this provider was far from what I expected. Firstly after registering I was able to get online – but with an error message on each page of their site. Secondly – out of the range of virtual machines listed – I could find only one available for download. I contacted the developer re both those issues and await a response.
The moral of this is – if you put up a public facing web site – make sure a) it works and b) if it doesn’t make it easy for users to respond and let you know.
Heres hoping that InstantBox’s problems are purely teething issues and that they have the resource and skill to offer alternatives to Jumpbox and Bitnami in the pre-pakaged VM market