Get up, get down and get ready to do that web hosting boogie! Today we are getting down with our bad self with some hosting news, domain name speculation and a little talk about how badly China is beating as far as web users go. The Web Hosting Show (only in English, sorry China!) is on the air.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 159!
Running Time: 10 minutes | File Size: 4.61 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• Joyent’s Tool for Online Collaboration!
• China has more Web Users than US?
• HostingCon Gets Going!
• What is Domain Name Speculation?
• For Web Hosts: the Best Live Chat Providers?

Back again for episode 159, and I think I might be getting the hang of this… almost. From HostingCon to some great live chat suggestions, there is yet again a little for everybody to love and learn from here on today’s show.

Have you taken the Web Hosting Show’s fan survey yet? If not, listen to the show and then get it done. Your feedback given there could dramatically change the production of this podcast! Be heard and give me you thoughts!

Sub-domains (such as mitchisawesome.mitchkeeler.com) gives you an entirely new way to view your Online creations. Lets say you wanted to add something new, like a blog or forum script to your hosting account but didn’t want to change domains a sub-domain would be a good way to go. Video now fixed, thanks for the e-mails!

Have any other interesting hosting videos to share? Sent ‘em to me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll share them with the web hosting world.

The cPanel File Manager can be as handy to have as any FTP client out there. In fact, that would be a good way to think of it, as an FTP program on the Web. This week we have another nice video tutorial from the people at Audio and Video in WordPress.

Have any other interesting hosting videos to share? Sent ‘em to me at mitch@mitchkeeler.com and I’ll share them with the web hosting world.

Previously I told you about an awesome web site status tool that could help you tell if your web site was up or not.  Down for everyone or just me looks to have become a real success.  I have one better though, thanks to a suggestion from a Web Hosting Show listener named John.

I’ve been using DFEOJM a long time, and have found it to be a great tool.  You’re right that the URL is a tad long. I came across this web site:

http://www.checksite.us

It’s almost identical, except it’s a shorter URL, easier to remember. It doesn’t have the instant site checking, but at least the URL is shorter.

All you have to do is type in the domain you want to check into the text box on the site, and hit the “Enter” key on your keyboard.  Then the web site tells you if the web site is up or down for them.  A very nice alternative to use if you want to check to see if others can see your web site.

I am not the one to tell you how to turn your basement into a datacenter.  In my opinion, that is the last thing you really want to do.  Sure it sounds like a fun geeky projects, and yes - maybe somewhere down the line you might be cutting a few percentages off your overall costs.

Is it all worth it though?

Services You Can’t Provide with Home Hosting

Looking at the services that a datacenter could provide that you may have trouble with, some of the most important aspects of hosting may be missing from your host it from home server.  People like having redundancy.  Are you going to be able to provide backup generator power, diesel generators, redundant routing and multiple carriers?

More Work for YOU!  (and explosive diarrhea)

Now not only are you managing your own hosting company, you are also in charge of keeping that machine updated, secure and running around the clock, 24/7, 365 days a year. Think of it as having to baby sit a child that you can’t take anywhere because it has unpredictable explosive diarrhea.   You never know when it might strike, and as far as taking care of a server goes - you never know when the worst might happen.

Professionalism: Who Would You Rather Do Business With?

The last point I would like to bring up is that people don’t feel comfortable with it, so don’t expect to get many customers to sign onto the deal.  If company A told me they were hosting out of their basement and company B told me they hosted out of a real datacenter.  I’m going with company B, and you know you would too.

The moral of the story is that people often greatly under estimate the time, devotion, costs and more that it takes to get this type or project up and going.  Between server security, updating the server, and administering it too your not going to have much time for anything else.  Best to go out and find a good data center or dedicated hosting partner to help you with that side of the web hosting business.

From time to time it is handy to know what your IP address is.  Now it is no secret that there are a hundred and one different ways of getting this done.  From looking in your PC, to putting a widget on your desktop to even visiting a web site.

WhatsMyIP.us is the newest of those Online resources that will let you know what your IP address is.  The difference here is that they do so without any annoying interface or loopholes to jump through.  You just have your IP address there and you are done. If you’d like to share this functionality with others, it is easy to do with their embeddable JavaScript code.  Just copy and paste it to give your own visitors their IP address back at them.

Now back on the notion of why this is handy to have?  Well with some remote workers out there in the hosting arena, you may need to pass your IP address along to your boss to gain access to their technical support center.  For others, it might help you troubleshoot a home networking issue.  Your IP address is what could be likened to your “home address” on the Internet.

So add WhatsMyIP.us to your own hosting tools bookmark folder.  You might not need it today or tomorrow, but when you do need it you’ll be happy you saved it to the side.

Due to my PC being in bad shape, going to postpone recording this week.  Do not freat though, because I hate to leave anybody empty handed.  I have had a great collection of people on the podcast of the 3+ years.  My question is, have you heard them all?

Here are some of my favorite interviews I have done with the elite of our business.

• Emory Rowland of Clickfire.com - Episode 152
• Errett Cord of eCord.us - Episode 149
• Mario Rodriguez of R1Soft - Episode 139
• Alex McMillen of Sliqua - Episode 121
• Gary Jones of BlueFur Hosting - Episode 120
• Ben Welch Bolen of WebHostingUnleashed.com (2nd Interview) - Episode 118
• John Hughes of HostSearch.com - Episode 113
• Dan Garon of Press Advance - Episode 112
• Troy Augustine of iNet Interactive and Web Hosting Talk - Episode 111
• George Roberts of HostingCon - Episode 110
• Ben Welch Bolen of WebHostingUnleashed.com - Episode 109
• Amy Armitage of Lunarpages - Episode 106
• Julien Szemere of Wormly.com - Episode 105

Interested in hearing somebody on the show or being on the show yourself?  Drop me an e-mail and I would be more than happy to hear about it.