[CharlesVan]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this...
I'm shopping around for a web host and I was wondering if we need a certain type of host because we're Mac users? Or does that not matter?
Also, can anyone recommend a good, reliable, and affordable web host?
Thanks. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[rockinphotog]

I guess that appropriate place for this would be in the Networking and Internet forum. There was a post about this two weeks ago, but I was the only one to respond. Here's the thread.

[joel]

Check out iPowerWeb.com. Wonderful host, reliable, etc. and very cheap. 7.95 a month if you commit to a year, 6.95 if you commit to two years. 500MB, PHP, MySQL, the works. Linux based, but still very good.
hope this helps out!
-joel

[Philbert]

Finding a Mac based web host will be difficult. They're out there but you're really going to limit yourself in the number of choices and pricing options. The good news is all the protocals are standard so it doesn't matter if a host is using WIndows, UNIX or Linux or a Mac OS.
Based on the recommendation from another thread, (which I can't seem to find), I just switched web hosts from Verio, (a respected and trusted -- but expensive host), to http://www.ipowerweb.com/
It's only been about three weeks but I couldn't be happier up to this point. $95 a year gets you 500mb of storage, 30gb of data transfer per month, unlimited email accounts, web mail, shopping cart function, a free year of domain registration, and more. Tech support also seems to be very good, whether using the 800 # (had about a 15 wait), or via email.
At Verio, I was getting half the storage space for over twice the price.
Phil

[Philbert]

See? /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jbouklas]

One could hypothetically do this: take an old(er) PC (between 400 and 600MHz would do fine, Celeron, AMD, or Pentium). Install Windows 2000 (very important, not 98, ME, or XP). Install 128MB of RAM. Install reliable HD. ONLY install following software items: Apache 2, VNC Server. Establish network with main computer. Result: instant webserver in your basement. It really only works if you have broadband.
-Jim

[SueG]

I used to know someone who ran a MUD (out of a bedroom, not a basement) as a teaching tool (a playful introduction to object oriented programming) using a Quadra as the web server. Sorry I don't have details, but the PC part is not important.
Maybe we should have more details on what's needed. Is this a storefront or other interactive site which must accomodate heavy traffic?
Or is this a request for experiences of personal web sites? My son uses Angelfire, my daughter BlogSpot - Angelfire is more reliable.

[CharlesVan]

Thanks for all the responses. I'll check out your suggestions. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[joel]

/forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Hehe. Yeah, iPowerWeb's tech support is pretty good. I've never called, I've always emailed, but they've always responded very promptly.
-joel

[Philbert]

joel -
How long have you been with them? One of the reasons I was hesitant about leaving Verio is that their support is excellent. I'd rather pay more and get issues resolved quickly than pay less to a company who doesn't care. But hey - if I can get twice the service for half the price, and still get decent support, I'm all over it!
Another thing that I like about them is that they're in Santa Monica, somewhat close to where I live. If I ever run into problems where they can't satisfy me with tech support, I'll just go bang on their door! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[gdsegel]

macdock hosting is a great service. Never had a problem with downtime and web controls are very good up to and including webmail.

Gregg

[joel]

Philbert -
I've been with iPoweWeb since...December 2001. Problems have always been resolved in less than 24 hours, except in one case. When I started with them, they had misconfigured the MIME type of CSS files as text/plain instead of text/css. As a result, the CSS files wouldn't function with Mozilla/Netscape. That one took a little bit longer for them to fix, but I don't think that it was more than two days, after I notified them.
-joel

[joel]

One more thing; when I purchased my first plan with iPowerWeb, they were only offering 150MB and a rather hard to use web-based admin program. I was a little miffed when they upgraded their offerings shortly after I purchased the plan, but all it took was an email and the upgraded my account- for free.
-joel

[Nobody]

iPowerWeb sounds great. Another company I've had no complaints with is www.addaction.net
They offer a plan similar to iPowerWeb's plan, and at only $6.95/month it's a bargain. You also get the first 6 months free.