Maybe you can’t build a better mouse trap. I don’t think anybody could invent a better zipper either. So how can you make your zipping and unzipping of files on your computer better, faster and stronger? Well I am one of the millions of people who download Winzip over and over, then just keep it to use every so often. Sure I get the nag screens about registering. Have I? Nope.

The last time I started reinstalling programs back onto my computer after a Windows reinstall though I had reached my zip program breaking point. It should not be this hard to find a small and quick program to unzip and zip files that I download. That is when I did a little searching and ran across ZIP Reader.

ZIP Reader by PKWARE is a free Windows utility that allows users to open files that have been compressed using any ZIP product. In addition, it can decrypt files that were created using SecureZIP or PKZIP on any supported hardware platform. ZIP Reader users on Windows can access files encrypted and compressed on Windows, UNIX, Linux, OS/400 and MVS systems.

ZIP Reader is a totally free program that anybody can download and use. It will decompress any ZIP formatted file and also decrypts SecureZIP files as well. That is it. When you get a zip file, it just asks you if you want to unzip it and if you want to open the folder for the unzipped file. No fancy screens, no junk to get in my way.

I really wish there were more programs out there like ZIP Reader that would make my computer use more straight and to the point. Sure, I like a pretty interface as much as anybody else, but first things first I’d like to be able to use the program then get it out of my way.

As I said before it is totally free, so what do you have to loose? I know I will not be going back to any other zipping programs out there. This is the last zipping tool I will ever need.

Yes, I am still hard at work producing and hosting the one and only Web hosting podcast Online today, The Web Hosting Show. A few important things have been posted today so I thought I’d take a little time to get you up to date with what is going on.

Web Hosting Newsletters

The Web Hosting Show was recently mentioned in two of the biggest Web hosting newsletters out there today. The first was the Web Hosting Talk newsletter, which pointed back to the interview I did with Johnder Perez a few weeks ago about The Web Hosting Show’s production. Apparently Hosting Tech picked up Johnder’s work and decided to run it on their own Web sites.

Media Partner for Data Centres Europe

The Web Hosting Show is proud to announce that it is one of the media partners for the upcoming Data Centres Europe data center conference this year. What is Data Centres Europe 2005 all about? It is the premiere data center event in Europe! It will be taking place in London, England from April 28th to April 29th.

As you can see I’ve been busy trying to get more press and more connections for The Web Hosting Show. I really do feel like we have one of the best products out there in the podcasting market. The only hard part about it now is convincing the rest of the world of it. I have been encouraged by some of the latest show download numbers though, so I know there are many of you out there listening week after week. For that I give you many thanks I hope you keep tuning in for more Web hosting fun. For the rest of you out there, get to listening to The Web Hosting Show, the voice of the Web hosting world.

Well I am getting to the age where it takes me longer to get to the bathroom, my ears have started to double in size and I pride myself on my collection of World War II memorabilia, at least AARP thinks I am.

Apparently they think that I am ready to retire. For those of you who do not know, I am only twenty-two years old. Not exactly the age range AARP usually shoots for.

Our records show that you haven’t yet registered for the benefits of AARP membership, even though you are fully eligible. If you have already sent in your registration, please excuse this notice. If not I urge you to register now so you may start enjoying AARP benefits and services with no further delay. You need only to return the form above. Your temporary membership card is attached. You will receive a permanent card and Membership Kit, with full details on your befits.

I have gotten on some mailing list for old people. Do I know how? Not a clue, but this is not the first time this has happened. Just a few months ago I received an offer for a power wheelchair. Now I’m generally lazy so I considered the offer. AARP might want to take a second look at their marketing campaign because I don’t think the, “hit them while they’re young” approach is going to get them too many new clients.

Now I have nothing against AARP or old people. I just don’t plan to reek of mothballs and Old Spice for many more years to come. So much for early retirement.

I recently received an E-mail from a reader who wanted to know if Yahoo’s Web hosting was worth what they are asking for it. Now, I have never used Yahoo’s Hosting (other than using GeoCities many moons ago) so I thought I would take an in-depth look at what they are offering and how it compares with the rest of the Web hosting market out there.

The first thing I looked at were the costs for the hosting plans they are offering. The starter plan is $11.95 a month. The standard plan is $19.95 a month. The professional plan is $39.95 a month. Right now lets just look at the standard plan since it is the plan in the middle. For about $20 a month you get 75 GB of bandwidth and 4GB of disk space. Doesn’t sound too bad just yet. Now lets see what kind of prices you can get somewhere else. After visiting FindMyHosting.com, I put in the bandwidth and disk space of Yahoo’s standard plan and told them to show me other offers.

The first result I got was from ZestHost and it was for $8 a month for 5GB of disk space and 125 GB of bandwidth. The next came from YR Host and for $12.50 you can receive 10 GB of disk space and 150 GB of bandwidth. The prices just don’t match up now, do they? So you would have to think that Yahoo Web Hosting is offering something else that these other companies can not, right?

Well going back to the price chart on Yahoo’s Web hosting Web site, it looks like the setup fee is waved! Personally I haven’t seen a Web hosting company charge for account setup in around five years or so. So what are you paying extra for? You are paying for the Yahoo name. Mixing in other Yahoo services, they are able to bring in more features than other Web hosts out there can. Think of it as buying a 12 pack of Pepsi compared with a 12 pack of Mr. Cola. They both taste exactly the same, but when you buy Pepsi you are also buying the brand name. So that is the reason Pepsi costs a little more.

Now I do have to say something nice about Yahoo’s Web hosting services though. They have a great list of articles and resources for you to dive into and learn more about setting up your Web site. Also Yahoo’s domain names are priced to compete a little better with some of the other domain name companies out there. You can get your domain name from Yahoo for only $10 or so in most cases. That is pretty cheap. I’d like to see Yahoo’s domain name offices have a little talk with the folks in the Web hosting offices. It doesn’t seem like they are on the same page.

So should you use Yahoo for your Web hosting needs? They have a lot of great options, but I would suggest that you do a little shopping before you settle down with one company.

I took last week off from doing the show due to my writing vacation, but now it is back and better than ever. Here is just a sample of what I have going on with episode eight of the best Web hosting podcast on planet Earth!

Well I got my first sample of Go Daddy’s new podcast late Saturday afternoon. I have to say I am very impressed so far and I look forward to hearing the next show. They discussed a lot of domain name issues that are out there right now in the world. If you haven’t listened or given it a chance, I say go ahead and do so. Radio Go Daddy one of the better podcasts out there today.

Many moons ago I started my journeys into the Web hosting world at one company. That company was TotalChoice Hosting. I have to credit them for taking me under their wing and helping to plant the seeds of creating the Web hosting expect you hear and see every single week. My personal Web site, MitchKeeler.com was in need of a new Web host recently. After doing a little shopping, I decided to go back where I started. The main reason for doing so is I know how well the servers are treated and how great the support team really is. So if you are looking for a new Web host, go check out TotalChoice Hosting and let them know that The Web Hosting Show sent you there.

There has been a lot of noise made recently about the whole .us domain name controversy. It seems like Uncle Sam wants to keep domain name registrations of the .us name public. Now if they planned to do this, I wish they would have done so when the .us domain name first came out. However I don’t really see what the big problem is. Yes, a few folks who thought they had private domain name registrations and now are having those overthrown are in a tough spot. Personally I would rather see all this anger go to getting domain name registration records changed. We all know that “whois” searches are out of date. This sort of information should be out there in the first place. I shouldn’t have to pay $10 or more to keep it from getting out there either.

So what are you waiting for? Go check it out, and let me know what you think!

No, the toxic department isn’t the place to dump those socks you’ve been wearing for the past week. They are a couple of my friends that have a nice sound to them. Listen to a few of their songs and let me know what you think!

A couple of my friends have started posting their songs up on the SoundClick Web page.

They are called The Toxic Department, and let me warn you they the lyrics aren’t for younger ears out there. With that said, if you are a fan of hip hop or are looking for something new to listen to, give them a try and let me know what you think.

I am a ‘bit more of a fan of rock but even I have to say I like what they have done so far and can’t wait to listen to more. I personally don’t like the format of the SoundClick Web site much though. There is just so much more that could be done. Give me an RSS feed so I know when new music has been added to my favorite bands at least.

I’ll be sure to send whatever feedback you might have right back to them.

This these are just two of the reasons why Chris is one of the most entertaining folks I know.

Poor Mrs. Butterworth, you never saw it coming!

Chris Pirillo, Spider Hunter

Personally the Mrs. Buttersworth/Brain Surgery video is my favorite. Maybe because I have thought about doing that a time or two. That just goes to show you what happens when you give a video camera to a person with a sick sense of humor. Maybe I’ll have to go take some video of my pet goose fro the world to see? Now that would a money maker right there!

What? You’ve never seen somebody have a pet goose before? On a farm with chickens, sheep, ducks and geese anything can happen!

I want to know how I too can become an actor for Yahoo’s corny “My Yahoo” plugs. Bethany tells me “she’s a lover, not a dancer but she loves to dance”. Who writes this crap? Douglas shows us how stereotypical it is to have an old guy playing golf as one of their demographics. All old guys love golf! Give my father a golf club and he’ll use it to knock away stray cats, not sink the winning hole in one.

Rebecca is the over worked house wife. Armed with her cell phone and a little spunk, she likes to look at her kids pictures. Anthony is Mr. Business. He likes to look at stocks and stuff like that. Wow, he wears a suit too! He’s got to be impressive.

How come they don’t have a guy named Mitch? He could be dressed in t-shirt and jeans, long hair and a goatee! Yeah, then he could tell folks how he uses his My Yahoo page for almost nothing but E-mail, Weather and a few other RSS feeds he likes. He’s could be a Web hosting writer and radio show host with a heart of gold.

There is more than one way to skin a cat and more than one way to do a search Online. Thanks to a few folks who had some good ideas, there are even more options out there for you to choose from. Searching is something that we all do from time to time. Even if you are one of those folks who only search Google every 6 months for your own name, these tools can be very helpful to have.

The first one is hard to say, so you had better get ready to bookmark it. YaGoohoo!gle is a nice little tool that allows you to search both Yahoo and Google at the same time. It does this by opening your search results up in two frames. If you are still using an 800 by 600 screen, I wouldn’t recommend this for you. However I have plenty of screen space to take up, so reading through both frames is no problem for me. I also tend to use Yahoo and Google more than MSN’s new search. Old habits are hard to break.

The second searching tool is called Find Forward. Instead of having to remember long prefixes to put before your search, you can now just select the way you want to search from the sub-menu and get to work. One of the sidebar quotes asks, “Why isn’t Google doing this?” and I have to tell you I don’t know. You’d think this would be more handy than having to memorize prefixes to search in specific ways.

Check them both out and let me know what you think! Are there any other cool searching tools I haven’t stumbled across yet? Leave me a comment with a few of your favorite ways to search and I’ll be sure to take a second look.

It is time to face up to the facts folks, RSS is not just for blogs anymore! Many big time Web sites are getting onto the syndication band waggon and are reaping the rewards. Now if somebody could only convince the Web hosting world of this. I have talked myself blue in the face trying to get more Web hosts to figure out that RSS is the way of the future, but alas many have turned the other way.

The folks over at Dev Shed have written up a great article about how RSS is being used in so many different ways. They even mention Lockergnome and the distribution of the File of the Day.

Contrary to popular opinion, RSS is not only good for delivering content from your blog, although blogs are what made RSS so popular.In fact, RSS can be used to deliver a great variety of content and content types. If you can break down your content in to individual stories or individual pieces, you can deliver it via RSS.

Just to give you an impression of the power of RSS, here are some examples of content you can publish using it …

MarketingVOX is using RSS to deliver Internet marketing news to their readers as it becomes available. Instead of having to wait to receive all the news in a single e-mail newsletter, RSS users get them as soon as they are ready.

Amazon.com is using RSS to announce their bestsellers and to help their users keep track of releases they are most interested in.

Some affiliate managers already communicate with their affiliates using RSS. You can of course use it to communicate with any other target audience as well, such as your employees or team-members, and even your company owners.

FindSavings.com uses RSS to deliver savings coupons and related information.

Lockergnome uses RSS to provide visitors with the latest downloads and relevant software. Yet again other companies are using RSS to deliver product updates and patches directly to their customers, just as they become available.

Be sure to read the rest of the article and let me know what you think!