oouch, more informative thread about dreamhost outages http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=108825&highlight=dreamhost
from hostgator's website: Do you offer Telnet or SSH access? No, due to security reasons we do not offer telnet or shell access for shared and reseller account. All dedicated servers come with full Telnet and SSH access. You are still able to unzip files on the server using our file manager as well as the ability to setup cron jobs. Additionally, our technical support staff can run some commands for if you need them.
Stay away from bargain web hosts.. You may save 2 dollars initially but may end up costing you thousands in the future. But if you are just starting, going with dreamhost or the like is probably fine.
hostgator is the best host i ever used. i will stick with them until a lot of people or i will have trouble