Many years ago I got a DSL connection with a fixed IP address. I paid a fortune per month to run that fixed IP address, but the nice thing was being able to put my server on-line so I could run my own e-mail server, my own web server, and my own source control system.

A couple of months ago I switched to a new ISP which was cheaper–but I gave up the fixed IP addresses in the process.

On the other hand, there is no need for having my own IP address when for less money I can sign up for the following services:

Google Apps: Free e-mail and shared documents.

SVN Hosting: I am using the $7/month level service at SVNRepository.com; this gives me theoretically unlimited repositories and users and a 2gig storage cap.

Web Hosting: I’m using the $7/month level basic service at LunarPages.com; I can park all of my different web sites on the same account (and even host different page collections from one account), and for an extra $2/month they’ll also host my JSP pages.

So I’m out $16/month on the above services–but the fixed IP address was running me $30/month, and it required me to maintain a separate computer, constantly update and maintain the software there. I don’t know how secure SVNRepository is: if I’m running something mission critical or creating software worth hundreds of millions of dollars I’d probably run my own SVN server. But for synchronizing my code across three different computers and providing me the ability to share code bases with other people, it’s pretty damned cool.