Rackspace Sponsors Web 2.0 Info Site

Amidst the confusion of how to best make use of rapidly emerging web 2.0 technologies, a new online community, sponsored by web-hosting provider Rackspace (www.rackspace.com), endeavors to track the latest trends and help companies in all fields move their business operations into the 21st Century.

Launched last week, Building43 (www.building43.com) is designed to show how companies can make use of all the new online tools launching every day. Created by Rackspace's Rocky Barbanica, Rob Lagesse and Robert Scoble, Building43 seeks to answer questions such as "How do I use Twitter? How do I use Facebook? Do I need to develop an iPhone app? What technology am I not using that could help grow my business?"

Scoble, a popular blogger (www.scobleizer.com), technology evangelist and co-author of Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers, has posted on his blog that the lead-up to Building43's launch has taken up a lot of his efforts. "I'm up at 5am to help the team put the finishing touches on the site and thought it would be a good place to start my blog back up," Scoble posted. "Sorry for disappearing from my long-form blog for a while. I just didn't have the energy to write more than 140 characters or so."

Building43, however, will not only focus on connected high-tech professionals such as Scoble, who create loads of social content, but rather help regular companies and individuals take advantage of technologies that are driving business. One of the first posted items, for instance, is an interview with Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, where he gives his dad some ideas for how to use the Internet to promote his dentistry business.

In a Rackspace blog post, the company notes that its customers frequently ask what else Rackspace can do to help them. "There is one theme that comes up more than any other: Help me grow my business! While this strays from our core of offering on-demand computing services, today we are pleased to announce something that should help," Rackspace said.

Host Color Discounts Managed VPS Web Hosting Plan

New coupon code offers 50% discount on Managed VPS hosting services, powered by Parallels Virtuozzo Containers. 

June-16-2009- Host Color has reported to web hosting media that it is now offering a 50% instant rebate on its Managed VPS Hosting (http://www.hostcolor.com/vps ). The company enables its VPS customers to turn their Virtual Private Servers into “FM VPS” (Fully Managed VPS hosting service) by paying a flat monthly fee of $24.95. The regular price of FM VPS service is $49.95. Host Color’s customers can take advantage of the instant rebate by using code - S2009FMVPS.

The Fully Managed VPS hosting service includes the following operations: Initial VPS Set-up, IP management, OS installation and maintenance, Antivirus and Antispam installation, Reboots, VPS recovery, Control Panel updates, and Resource monitoring. By outsourcing them to Host Color the company’s VPS customers can focus on business and to make sure that their virtual servers are well-managed and regularly updated.

Host Color powers its VPS by Virtuozzo Power Panel, an elegant and easy to use virtual server management tool part of the world’s leading OS virtualization solution - Parallels Virtuozzo Containers. The hosting company offers video tutorials which provide newbie VPS owners with a step-by-step guides on how to use Virtuozzo Power Panel (VZPP), Plesk Panel 9, NextColor web hosting control panel, and other accounts management tools. VPS customers of Host Color have a link to tutorials
section in their pZone, the personal client center that Host Color’s customers use to organize and manage their web hosting accounts.

Host Color offers one of the lowest prices of quality VPS hosting services and products based on Parallels OS virtualization solutions. Its VPS Start ( http://www.hostcolor.com/vps/vps-start ) virtual private server features 256 MB RAM, 10 GB disc space and 100 GB data transfer per month for the low monthly fee for only $19.95. The most powerful pre-configured virtual server of Host Color - VPS Custom (http://www.hostcolor.com/vps/vps-custom ) comes with 1792 MB RAM, 100 GB disc space and 1000 GB data transfer per month, and costs $119.95/month. The “VPS Custom” users save $14.95 per month on Plesk VPS license and get the popular web hosting control panel for free.

The web host has recently announced nice offerings on its VPS Hosting plans. Prospective customers now get 1 free service month with any virtual private server. This will be the 6th service month. The provider has also increased the resources of its virtual private servers including RAM, disc space, and data transfer quotas. All coupons and rebates are published in section - Web Hosting Rebates (http://www.hostcolor.com/webhosting/rebates).

Host Color is well-known with its approach to hosting business named Quality Web Hosting. Its executives say that Host Color “customizes not just VPS and Dedicated Hosting, but even Shared Hosting services to allow anyone to work in personalized business environment.”

About Host Color
Host Color LLC is a U.S. web hosting provider incorporated in Delaware. It powers thousands of business and personal websites in data centers in South Bend, Indiana, U.S. and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The company also provides fully Managed dedicated hosting through HC Servers and European hosting services through HC Europe. It offers discounts to academics and non-governmental organizations. The Host Color’s corporate message is “Web hosting about people, not about gigabytes.”

Webhosting.uk.com Launches Hyper-V Windows 2008 VPS Hosting

Webhosting.uk.com, a leading UK based managed web hosting provider, today announced the launch of Hyper-V powered Windows 2008 VPS Hosting. Hyper-V is the next-generation hypervisor-based server virtualization technology from Microsoft which delivers a dynamic, reliable, and scalable platform combined with a single set of integrated management tools to manage both physical and virtual resources.

The company states that Hyper-V represents the next era of virtualization, allowing them and their customers to get the most out of their sever investments and usage. Another aspect of Hyper-V virtualization which sets it apart from other virtualization platforms is the ability to run a number of different operating systems in parallel on a single physical server.

The new VPS servers are hosted on the most powerful Dual Quad Core server with 12-16 GB RAM and RAID arrays for redundant data protection and replication. The entry-level Hyper-V Starter plan includes 15 GB of data storage, 300 GB of monthly data transfer, and access to 512 MB of server RAM while Plesk control panel is optional. When combined with the company's managed services, 24/7 support and reputation for experience and reliability, the new VPS offering positions Webhosting.uk.com VPS plans as the industry's leading virtual server solutions.

"With the addition of Hyper-V Windows 2008 VPS to our existing portfolio, we are glad to offer our customers a user friendly and reliable virtualization platform for hosting their Web applications and services"
states James Anderson, Business Development Manager of WEBHOSTING UK COM LTD. He adds further "With Hyper-V VPS hosting plans, customers are going to have the same level of control as on a dedicated server, but they will be paying significantly lower prices."

About WebHosting UK

Founded in 2001, WebHosting UK offers an array of managed hosting services which includes cPanel hosting, windows hosting, Linux and Windows Resellers, VPS Hosting, Semi-Dedicated Servers and Dedicated Hosting Servers with all important features such as 24x7 technical support, 99.9+ % Uptime Guarantee included as standard.

More information at: www.webhosting.uk.com/hyper-v-vps-hosting.php

Seven Common Web Hosting Mistakes to Avoid

Web hosting services are extremely beneficial for the business or individual looking to establish a web presence.  However, this market consists of many pitfalls and without taking precautions, you could fall right through.  Here are seven common mistakes you want to avoid when looking for a web hosting provider.

1.) Take the Price Bait

True, hosting plans are generally affordable these days.  At the same time, you should know that the cheapest price usually doesn’t translate into the best service.  There is nothing wrong with purchasing the so-called “cheap” plan, but use your instincts to make sure the host isn’t sacrificing quality for that low price.

2.) Fail to Define Your Website Requirements

One of the worst things you can do is enter a web hosting contract without knowing what your site needs.  This could end up costing you a lot of money and grief in the end.  To avoid this, jot down and seek all the features and resources your site needs to successful.  Moreover, put emphasis on a host that provides an easy way to upgrade as your needs increase.

3.) Excuse a Poorly Designed Site

More than likely, you are looking to create a professional website to promote yourself online.  If this is the case, then why would you choose a web host whose site lacks professionalism?   A hosting company that does not take the time to properly design their site probably cannot provide the tools you need to create a professional site of your own.  They don’t care about their own image so, why would they care for yours?

4.) Put Too Many Eggs in One Basket

On the surface, hosting multiple websites on a single account appears to be a good idea.  Unfortunately, this is often not the case.  If you intend to generate money from one or more of your websites, you may want to strongly consider running them on separate servers.  Just think if something happens to the provider’s server.  Can you really afford to have all your sites down at once?

5.) Fall for the Testimonials

It is refreshing to see positive feedback on the web host you’re looking to do business with.  That doesn’t mean you should always take all hosting testimonials at face value.  Many companies have been known to toot their own horn so you need to be very cautious when approaching testimonials.  Instead of putting all your faith in what you see on the company’s website, get out and comb the web for some genuine customer feedback.

6.) Rely on Someone Else to Backup Your Data

Most web hosting companies backup their servers and customer data on a regular base.  The key term here is most.  You should never rely on a web host to perform such critical tasks.  If you really want the ability to restore your data, back it up yourself.

7.) Trust that a Host Utilizes the Latest Technology

CheapHostingRUs optimizes its servers with load balancing. SuperIncredibleHost fights network attacks with DDoS protection and intrusion detection.  That doesn’t mean the host you’re looking into takes the same precautions.  Never assume that a prospective hosting company is using the necessary technologies and security mechanism to keep you protected.   If not, you just could be in for a rude awakening.