Web Hosting - A Guide for Beginners

So you're looking to learn about web hosting and what it has to offer or you may not know much about web hosting? There is no shame in not knowing this information. Everyone has to start at the beginning at some point. On that note, lets begin learning about web hosting.

First off, what is web hosting and how does it work?

Web hosting is the business practice of providing space and bandwidth on a high-powered computer server that is connected to the Internet at very high speeds. Hosting companies maintain large networks of high-powered web server computers in a physical location known as a data center. These computer servers are connected to a very fast, and generally redundant, Internet connection. The data centers have primary and backup power, a fast connection to the Internet, and a security monitoring staff.

The web hosting companies provide a share of disk space and available bandwidth to a customer for a monthly fee. Once the customer is signed up, they can upload files to their personal space on the web server and the information is then viewable to anyone interested on the Internet. The monthly fee the web hosting company charges is much less than what it would cost to run a server out of your own home or data center. This is the reason these companies exist. They take care of all the hardware, software, and other technical needs for you.

Types of web hosting

There are many different types of web hosting offers, but the main three are shared, reseller, and dedicated. Each type of hosting is for a different purpose.

Shared Web Hosting

Shared web hosting is the most popular form of hosting. Shared hosting is a portion of disk space and bandwidth provided to you by the web hosting company on a high-powered server. There are many other web sites hosted on this server, and the hosting company is likely to have quite a few of these servers in a large data center. The resources of the server are shared by as many other websites as are allocated to that computer.

Shared web hosting is the best form of web hosting if you are looking for a great price and do not have more than a couple thousand daily visitors to your site.

Reseller Web Hosting

Reseller web hosting is a popular, low-cost solution to starting your own web hosting business. There are two types of reseller hosting, private-label and a reseller of services.

The private-label is the best type of reseller plan because it allows you to retain full control over your customer's websites. A private-label plan allows the reseller to keep the full monthly payment of the web-hosting customer, but the reseller must pay a monthly fee to the larger hosting company for the reseller space. The more hosting accounts a private-label reseller can sell, the higher the profit for them. Private-label hosting allows you to host many more websites than if you were using shared hosting for each. This is a great solution for someone who has many sites that they need to host in one location to save money.

The reseller of services plans resell the regular web hosting plans of a larger web hosting company, but you get a discounted price for providing the customer and earn a monthly fee for as long as they remain a customer. This plan does not allow control over customer web sites and you only keep a portion of the potentialally monthly revenue.

Dedicated Web Hosting

Dedicated web hosting is the most powerful and cost effective solution of hosting a busy web site without resorting to buying your own equipment and paying hundreds of dollars per month for a fast Internet connection. Dedicated hosting consists of single server with no one else hosting on that computer. This allows for the greatest of configuration options. Anyone who has a busy website will find restricted hosting is the necessary choice.

Web Hosting Considerations

Wondering about all the other information listed in web hosting plans? In this section, I will explain the most important considerations in choosing a good web host.

Price

The price of web hosting services is one of the most important. There are many hosting companies out there with cheap hosting packages, but they may be lacking in other areas. Do not let the price of a hosting package fool you. There are some hosting companies out there who have great prices and the other features are just as good. Price may be one of the most important decisions of a web hosting plan, but there is much more to consider in choosing a quality web host.

Disk Space / Storage Space

Disk space is the amount of physical storage space a web host gives to you to store your web files. Hosting companies these days have plans with disk space being measured mainly in terms of gigabytes, but some are still offering plans in the megabytes for storage space. Depending on your needs for file storage space, you may need more or less. Usually the more disk space offered, the better.

Bandwidth / Data Transfer

The amount of bandwidth available can make a big difference in choosing a quality hosting plan. In general, the more bandwidth a hosting company makes available to you, the better. This means you can support more traffic to your web site as your business grows. Be wary of web hosting companies that offer unlimited or unmetered bandwidth. While many of these are legitimate offers, there are some out there who are overselling their bandwidth in hopes the average user will not use much.

Customer Support

In any business, it is very important to provide exception customer service. Web hosting is no exception to this. Many of the hosting companies are available all day and night in case you have a problem with your web site, but there are some who are just available specific hours of the day. If your web site goes down in the middle of the night when they're not available, this means lost revenue for a business. You should make sure the web host you select is always available for support.

Money Back Guarantee

Most web hosting companies will provide a thirty-day money back guarantee. Some will provide one even long, but be wary of the ones who offer no money back guarantee. I would not purchase web hosting services from a company who does not offer at least a 30 day money back guarantee, unless they have proven themselves to be a leader in the industry and have an excellent reputation.

Operating System

An operating system is a piece of software that controls the interaction between the computer user and the physical hardware of the machine. A vast majority of all web sites on the Internet run on the Linux operation system. Linux is generally much more stable than Windows. Stability is critical in running a web site. For this reason, I prefer to host my web sites on the Linux operating system. Some sites have specific requirements that only the Windows operating system can satisfy, but there are always alternatives to those requirements.

Backup

A good web hosting company will have a regular schedule to backup the data on all the web servers. The more often the data is backed up, the better. At the very least, a web hosting company should backup web site files daily.

Control Panel

The control panel is the point of contact the web site administrator will have between the host server and their own machine connected via the Internet. It is essential to have a well organized and easy to use control panel interface. My favorite control panel is cPanel, which is one of the leading web hosting control panels out there today. Plesk is another good one, and many companies will create their own control panel for you to use. Most web hosting companies will provide a link to a demo of the control panel that they use with their hosting plans. The control panel used is a matter of preference, but it should be user friendly.

Email

Email is essential part of communication on the Internet. Most web hosting companies out there will give you more email addresses and more space to hold email messages than you will ever need. What you need to watch out for is the companies that have decided to have a little strict on their email accounts and only offer a small number or a small amount of message space.

Uptime

Uptime is a term used to describe how often the average web site hosted by a company is available online. No company should be expected to provide an exact 100% uptime. This is impossible due to things such as hardware, software, and power failures. A vast majority of the companies are very good with uptime, and they guarantee it. It is still a good idea to be conscious of the uptimes posted by the company. If it is not at least 99.5%, it is probably not worth hosting with that company.

Statistics

As a webmaster, it is nice to know how many visitors you've had, where they came from, how long they stay on your site, and how much bandwidth they've used. This information is compiled by the web server and is placed in a log file. A statistics software package can read this data and provide meaningful information to the webmaster. The information gathered from these logs can be very valuable in improved services to the viewers of the web site.

FTP

FTP stands for file transfer protocol. It is a way of quickly uploading or downloading many files to and from a web server. Most web hosting companies will allow their customers access to their web hosting accounts via FTP. FTP is very useful and is a great feature to have when paying for a web hosting account.

Scripting

Since the World Wide Web began, many scripting languages ​​have been created and have evolved into the dynamic and interactive environment we enjoy today. A scripting language is a way of adding functionality to a web site, whether it be to calculate numbers or to load information from an external database. Scripting languages ​​have made electronic commerce possible. Some of these languages ​​include PHP, ASP, JSP, Coldfusion, VBscript, Javascript, and Perl. I will not go into the details of these in this article for the sake of complexity. If you know how to use these languages, you should know what to look for in a web server for them.

Databases

A database is a place to store data that can be used in a large variety of ways. Databases are used on the Internet for applications such as shopping carts, message boards, and product catalogs. The more databases the web hosting provider allows you to create, the most applications you can deploy on your web server. Databases are used by the more advanced web master, but information is freely available online should you be interested.

Conclusions

Web hosting can be a very difficult decision with the many thousands of hosting companies out there. It is critical to find a plan that fits your needs and to have a good hosting company. I hope this article was useful in making your decision about which company to host with. Happy Hosting!

Honest Online Business - Can You Start One?

Why does it seem so difficult to find an honest online business? Do they exist, or are they all set up to take your money and give you nothing in return? Yes, they exist, and they actually are a lot more prominent that many people think. It's simply a matter of locating that real, authentic honest online business opportunity.

I see many people struggle to break into the online market place with a home based online business. There are really not that many things stopping any average person from creating success online. One of the major hurdles that I see people struggle with is the over abundance of information, which is mostly incomplete. They start signing up for all these courses and get rich quick business opportunities and soon they are walking around in a fog of information. The problem is they do not have the simple process to put all that information together and into practice.

It seems like many outfits offering business ideas and ways to make money online are trying to blow fluff and ensure that you do not get the full picture. As long as you only get part of the picture, you will keep coming back to buy more parts, hoping to put it all together. Again, this causes the fog that affects so many who are trying to succeed with an honest online business.

Well, there is hope, and you can get out of that fog. I have seen it happen many times, and the fix is ​​much easier than you may think. Simply start with action. Learning is great, but if you never apply what you are learning, you overload with information that is not completely processed. Start applying what you learn every day. Then those things very soon become second nature and the fog slowly starts to lift. Do not worry about making mistakes, or getting everything perfect. That will come as you put pieces of the puzzle together and clear your head of the unwanted information.

It is really important to remember that creating an honest online home business is simple. It does take work and effort as does any worthwhile thing in life. If you put in the time and effort you will see that marketing online is easy and certainly not complicated. It does not have all those challenges of a brick and mortar business, and it certainly does not have the costs associated with traditional business.

OK, so you say "yea, right. I've tried and it's not easy." With the right tools and education, it is very, very easy to do. Most fail because they do not get the proper information and education. They jump into an online business opportunity without getting the correct direction and help to put them on the right path. Please get the education you need, which is simple, and easy to if you take the time to find the right place that is going to educate you on the basics. Once you know the basics, the internet market place is yours to conquer as long as your running an honest online business.

Revealing The PlayStation 3D TV - Powerful 3D Gaming Technology From Sony

Sony's ever popular games console may be about to step up even further in desirability with the recently announced arrival of the PlayStation 3D TV. Sony announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo during June 2011 that they will bring the model to market alongside their existing range of 3D TVs in an attempt to take the 3D games market by storm. Sony is planning to use breakthrough technology which allows two players to see individual different game images on screen by simply pressing a button, revolutionizing the existing split screen method, and opening up new potential in the ways that competitive games are played.

The out of the blue announcement firmly places 3D gaming as the one source of 3D content that has true potential to place 3D TV at the center of our home technology needs. Watching images in 3D naturally increases the feeling of immersion, which of course is one of the key attractions of gaming in general - to take you out of this world and into another where you're in control and slap bang in the middle of the action . With video games attempting to deliver a true 3D experience unsuccessfully for many years, and the Nintendo 3DS not quite delivering everything promised, it very much looks as if it will ensure that their new PlayStation 3D TV takes the pole position in the race for the best new 3D entertainment of 2011.

Sony have stated that the PlayStation 3D TV screen size will be 24 inches and come as part of a bundle that will include various essential accessories such as active shutter 3D glasses, HDMI connector cables to hook up the PS3 to the TV, and a 3D game which first indications suggest will be Resistance 3. The glasses operate on a rechargeable lithium ion battery that according to Sony needs a 45 minute charge to give up to 30 hours playing time, plus just a few minutes charge is expected to provide a few full hours use. With a planned Autumn 2011 release date there is plenty of time for elements of this bundle to change, and it'll be no surprise to see either different or extra games included.

For anyone who's been following the progress of 3D TV technology over the last year or so, the 24 inch display size might be surprising. On first impressions it does seem on the small side given much of the focus on 3D TV has been on building and selling larger screen models to increase the immersive feeling that's a major part of watching 3D images. But Sony are aiming this innovation at gamers who are used to smaller screens, they might be playing in bedrooms and other small spaces where standard larger 3D TVs are way too big.

At roughly £ 320 or around $ 500 the price might just about be set at the right level, though extra pairs of Sony glasses cost between around $ 50 - $ 70 as well. Early reports indicate that the picture quality delivered by the 1080p, 24 inch, edge LED lit display is strong, and other specifications of the model include a 5000 to 1 contract ratio, 2 HDMI inputs, and a 176 degree viewing angle for players. This wide viewing angle looks to be a critical element of the TV, allowing players to sit next to each other exactly as they do now to enjoy multiplayer games and yet still get the full 3D effect.

Other features include a headset port, two HDMI ports, one component port, and two speakers. All combined with an ultra thin display. But the ability for players to see different 3D images while playing the same game is of course the jewel in the crown. The technology uses what's known as quad speed frame sequential display technology, and in simple terms it works by combining the glasses with the TV to send the separate 3D images to the different players.

Most major manufacturers, and Sony in particular of course, believe that 3D games will drive the adoption of 3D TVs even higher, and this looks to be the first real effort from a major games manufacturer to try and prove that point. For an experienced gamer the PlayStation 3D TV could have become one of the all time must have gaming gadgets. And for those of us who do not class themselves as hardened gamers, then this new development might be the fuel that sets us on the road. There are already over 100 PS3 3D games in circulation and if the PlayStation 3D TV is successful it will be no surprise to see that number increase substantially.

At the expected price of around $ 500 this option may just encourage anyone who's been sitting on the fence about buying a 3D TV to jump in with both feet. And the potential for the future is outstanding. Imagine when 3D games get to be paired with motion-sensing controls or head tracking technology, we could be facing whole new ways of gaming. Players could manipulate 3D environments with a wave of their hand. Game play and even player level creation could become far more intuitive than ever before. Should the PlayStation 3D TV be as successful as seems likely, it could open the doorway to even more new and innovative gaming experiences.

It all sounds good, does not it? But there are some drawbacks. The major one is that the dual player mode will only work with 3D games that have been specially created to take advantage of it. Clearly that means that all existing games will be incompatible from this perspective, though of course you'll be able to play them as a single player in 3D. Sony will reportedly have around 100 fully compatible games released by the end of the year.

So we'll need to wait and see what further developments take place. But if the idea of ​​the PlayStation 3D TV does not grab your imagination there's an alternative way to hook up your PlayStation to a 3D TV with the recently released Sony combination 3D TV / PC. Known as the Vaio All In One, the combo comes with a 24 inch, 1080p HD LCD monitor, plus a built-in Blu-Ray player. Connectivity to a PS3 is via an HDMI port. At a price of around $ 1400, the All-In-One could be a better option for anyone who wants to combine 3D gaming with their other online activities.

How to Clean a Virus-Infected Computer Step by Step

Does your PC have abnormal processes or unknown applications? Does your PC slow down tremendously? Does your IE (Internet explorer) always ask you whether you want to run some ActiveX plug-ins or debugging scripts? Typically, these are signals indicating that your PC has been infected by viruses. The following will show you how to clean a virus-infected computer step by step.

What people tend to do when their PCs are infected by viruses is to reboot their PCs. Actually this practice is totally wrong. When your PC gets viruses and you try to reboot it, you may suffer from greater loss because you are able to accelerate the virus infection and lose all data on your PC in this way. Therefore, when your PC is infected, the first tip is: do not reboot your PC immediately!

(1) The first thing you need to do is to disconnect the internet and the simplest way is to take your internet cable out from your PC if it is wired network.

(2) The second step you need to perform is to back up your important data on the infected PC. You can use a USB flash drive or optical disk to back up your important data.

(3) The third step is to kill viruses on your PC completely. You will have to enable your internet connection now. Then you will need to update your antivirus software and then run a full scan. There are various latest viruses being created each day so updating your antivirus is a possible solution to fight against the latest viruses.

But sometimes there will be exception. Even though you have tried to update your antivirus software, the viruses on your PC will not be completely removed or they even disable your antivirus software. In such circumstances, the virus will require manual removal. If you fail to remove it by yourself, you'd better ask someone else or try to find some good virus removal support to help you before the viruses cause more damage on your PC.

(4) The fourth step that you need to do after you clean the virus altogether is to change your all kinds of accounts' passwords. For example, you will need to change your Email / Face book account's password.

(5) A final tip is: if you are a LAN (Local-Area Network) user, you will need to check whether other computers within LAN are infected by the same viruses. If yes, you will need to remove all viruses on other PCs, otherwise, the viruses may spread on your PC again via the LAN.

Why CodeIgniter? Its Unmatched Benefits in Web Development

With countless open-source frameworks for PHP web development prevailing, if there's one platform that helps both web owners and developers together is CodeIgniter. Now, what makes it so is here to unveil through this post. However, the principle aspects about CodeIgniter known by most is the hassle-free development and seamless user experience. This is the thing that most website owners fall for because they know that their much-anticipated web solution will be developed at the fastest time and also with lower costs. Beside, there are lots of striking functionalities you can get running a CodeIgniter-based web solution.

# 1 Agile Approach

The most mention-worthy benefit of the framework is that it deploys a simpler and agile approach. While one can use PHP language for crafting a solution with it, other components of the framework are too easy to use. The interface is pretty simple to understand, for which develop the site smoothly and swiftly.

# 2 Great Programming support

Being a custom framework, CodeIgniter offers top-notch functionalities of programming and developers have the comfort to code in the most eminent way. While they can create everything straight from the scratch, no configurations are used. That means you can use the code once created later for other aspects of the website.

# 3 Minimal configuration needs

It is perhaps one of the rarest frameworks with fewer configuration needs. It runs with the rule, "Write once, use everywhere. While programming one just needs to start with 'config.php' and potentially load the database, libraries and all arrays. There's no need for writing the database name every time for different programming.

# 4 Easy and extensible

It makes a perfect fit PHP framework for many users who do not possess much technical skills. They are true and easily able to deploy and run a solution with CodeIgniter because of its less code requirements, easy-error handling, fast response time, no mandatory "installation". Further, it's extendable. Means, with it, one can write additional libraries, alter the pattern of pre-existing libraries and tweak in other elements to fit the web app's requirement.

# 5 Inbuilt tools for security

The framework allows the owner of website or applications to decide and implement the level of security they want. While it has some of the default exception inbuilt security tools for filtered input and output. Secondly, there are other functions reinforcing top-level safety to the web solutions like encryption and decryption. Under these, all the data are sent and received through secret installation, meaning no intruders can hack them.

Apart from these impossible benefits, other perks of using CodeIgniter for web development include fast execution and installation time, proper file organization, huge community support step-by-step development testing, easy customization templates, and cache class.

Grow Your Business With Low Cost Printing Materials

Many businesses rely upon print advertising as one of the keys for success. Skipping TV commercials is a very easy for most people but they can rarely overlook an eye catching print advertisement. Well planned printing is the key to appealing advertisements. Newspapers, brochures, pamphlets, and banners all come under the category of print media. Printing uses resources such as ink, printing machines, quality paper, and other items to create ads that appeal to a target audience.

History of printing

Printing has been around for over a thousand years. The first technique of printing was developed long ago in China. There is evidence to prove that primitive wood block printing was developed in the sixth century. The oldest book found so far was published by the method of block printing back in 868 AD. The book was a Buddhist scripture named Diamond Sutra. A Chinese artisan, Pi Sheng, invented the first movable printer in 1040. Later, in 1234 AD, a movable metal printing press was invented in Korea. By the 13th century many Chinese and Arabic libraries had thousands of printed books and documents. Soon printers became an important part of developed civilizations and demand for them increased.

Printing makes advertising easy:

Banners :

The best place for putting up banners for advertisements is where a large number of people can see it. They are usually placed where there is heavy foot traffic like bus stops, shopping malls and exhibitions. Banners are usually printed for large scale enterprises and for launching or promoting new products.

Brochures :

These are the best methods to advertise for a services or products like holiday and vacation destinations. Brochures should be informative and attractive to catch the interest of the consumer. These can be distributed to individuals for promoting any type of products or services.

Business cards :

Cards are a convenient and accepted way to introduce yourself or your business. This gives a long lasting reminder to the people you meet. They will find it easy to recall who you are and your business details when they have your business card. The first impression is the last impression, they say, so business cards should be printed perfectly in order to reflect your personality.

Newspaper :

Newspapers are one of the best sources for distributing information to the masses. Newspapers are another way to advertise for your service or product along with a short and informative caption or an informative and entertaining article. Newspapers offer many options for print advertisements that are tailor to your needs.

There are many other methods through which one can advertise. No matter what type of service you furnish or products you manufacture you should not overlook the tested and tested methods of printed advertisements. For this, you should try to get the best printing materials as it will raise the quality of your printing and then will attract more of your target audience.

Selecting the Best Satellite TV Dealer

The television has come along ways ever since its first conception. Remember the days when it was black and white? Now we have super fancy LCD and HD television sets that are flat and can fit almost anywhere in your home. This same concept of increasing technology applies to what you actually watch on these televisions. Maybe you watched "The Munsters" way back and all you got were your local channels. Now you can get satellite television which brings thousands of channels right to your set. The satellite television has become a part of the mast majority of people´s lives. So choosing the best satellite sealer maybe a bit tricky.

As most of us know, there are numerous satellite television dealers out there trying to solicit your business. Just look in your mail box, your bound to find some company trying to get you to switch to there company. Be careful though when considering different satellite television dealers. You should always read the fine print when looking over any contract. Many businesses will try and throw a fat ball by you and make you sign some crazy two year deal which includes weird channels that you have to pay for but will probably never watch. Be careful of this and know exactly what you are getting involved with when getting satellite service.

The best part of satellite television is all the channels which come in high picture quality. So when looking over all the satellite television dealers, look to see who offers the best channel package and see who has the best deals. Also you should consider pay per view things and sports packages if you are that kind of person. Some dealers offer more of a selection when it comes to this sort of thing.

Satellite television can vastly improve your television watching life. Just know what you are doing when selecting the best satellite dealer for you.