Does anyone have any recommendations on a dependable web hosting services?? Whats the diff between a host with Unix or Windows 2000??? What does this mean?? Monthly Data Transfer: 1000 MB (1.0 GB) or Bandwith Transfer in MB 7500?? (are these the same thing??)
I used <a href="http://www.webpipe.net">WebPipe</a> some time ago, and it was fantastic. Unix or Windows 2K is the operating system they'll be running on the server. It allows you to pick what you prefer. I like to host on Linux, FreeBSD, or Solaris. The monthly data transfer is how much people can download from your site without you exceeding your bandwidth limit. Every time someone views your page, the size of that page is deducted from your limit. Once you reach the limit, usually they have a cost for more bandwidth -- $5 per extra 1GB or something like that. I don't quite know what they mean by Bandwidth Transfer in MB 7500. My only thought is that perhaps that relates the amount you are allowed to transfer when uploading things to your site . . .
Man I wish this was posted (and I read it) last week...1 & 1 Internet Inc. had a promotion of FREE hosting for THREE YEARS after which you could pay between $5 and $20 depending on the plan you select. NO contracts, not even a credit card was required for sign-up...generous everything (space, number of domains/subdomains, email addresses, bandwidth, etc.). You might check them out anyway because at last check of their website, the offering are still generous in my opinion.
(Just a sidenote: ) It's a German company, they are also my hosting and access provider. They recently expanded to the US. I think they are not bad.
I've just moved my hosting to LunarPages, pricing is decent, you can select the functionality that you want to add, JSP/Servlets etc, for a couple of dollars a month extra. They also have a responsive help department, and active user forums to help with problems (http://www.lunarforums.com) which is worth looking at the see other user's feedback.
I would recomment (if possible) that you and one or two friends get a big package and split the cost. My buddy and I share a deal at hostexcellence.com that's very cool and very, very affordable. -- droxford
