Could it be true? It looks like Windows might be catching up to the Linux/Apache hosting platform.

A two-year study and real-world research have concluded that .NET deployed on the Windows platform was more consistent, predictable and easier to manage than Linux. The findings were announced today at the IT Forum 2005 event in Barcelona, Spain by Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft also announced findings from a report it commissioned from Security Innovation Inc. (SI), a leading independent provider of application security services, which concluded that as requirements evolved over time, the Microsoft Windows platform out-performed Linux.

It should be no secret to anybody out there that Firefox’s fan base is growing by leaps and bounds every time you turn around. With Internet Explorer’s future looking bleak at best, people want something better to use that fits around them rather than using something that tells them the best way to browse the Web.

Here is a flash of news on the subject from BBC News:

The figures, gathered from a sample of more than two million web users, show that Firefox’s market share has grown by almost three percentage points since April 2005.

One Stat said that some of this growth has come at the expense of Microsoft’s browser, but it has also stolen users from other browsers such as Opera and Netscape. One Stat also reported that users of Apple’s Safari browser for the Mac was also recording good growth figures.

It is thought that continuing news stories about security problems in Internet Explorer are helping to fuel the move away from Microsoft’s program.

Now don’t get me wrong, Microsoft still has a stranglehold on the world of Internet browsing with around 85 percent of the market. The good news is that number is dropping while Firefox and other alternative browsers are rising.

Are you looking for a good guide to the wild and wacky world of podcasting? I recently got to review the book Secrets of Podcasting for Lockergnome, and I have to say it is the best podcasting book I have ever held in my two freaky hands. It is loaded with a plethora of information for both podcasters and folks just wanting to know the best ways to find and listen to podcasts as well. Check out my review of the book over at Lockergnome.com and let me know what you think!

Google is now offering to pay you for suggesting Firefox to other folks Online. Now that is a money making scheme that shouldn’t be too hard to profit from. Google has started a new program that allows AdSense publishers to gain fees for referring users to the Google mother ship.

So what does the small print have to say about all of this? If a referral signs up for Google AdSense and earns $100, Google will credit publishers with a US $100 referral fee. If a referral downloads and runs Firefox, publishers receive up to $1.

That sounds like a pretty sweet deal, right? I’ve been suggesting people check out both AdSense and Firefox for a long time now. The benefit of being paid for doing what I would normally do for free makes me very happy. The catch with the Firefox download is that it will be downloaded with the Google Toolbar already installed. Hey, it’s a nice toolbar and even if you don’t like it. It is easy enough to remove.

So go ahead and make some money doing something you’d already be doing for fun.

I want to find out more about who is listening to the Web Hosting Show and why they are listening to it. Hence, I thought now would be the perfect time to introduce a listener survey to the Web site. This will be popping up for a few months so I can gather enough information on who you are and how you listen. I want this show to revolve around what you want to hear, so please take five minutes to go through this survey. Thanks!

Click here to get to the Web Hosting Show survey!

Well last week I had a cold which in turn prevented me from doing my weekly Web hosting podcast. This week I have a clean bill of health and I’m ready to once again get down and dirty in the trenches of the Web hosting industry so you don’t have to. The Web Hosting Show is back on the air this week, and here are some of the news topics we covered on this week’s show.

Managed hosting provider HostMySite.com ranks 190 in the nation’s 500 fastest growing private companies according to Inc. Magazine’s 24th annual Inc. 500 list. An impressive 573% growth over three years allowed HostMySite.com to outpace many competitors within the Web hosting industry.

HostMySite.com is definitely getting more and more impressive everyday. HostMySite.com’s CEO said that part of the growth was because of the referral program they are using. I guess that testifies for the fact that word of mouth advertising is still the best kind of advertising there is.

Netfirms, the leading web hosting company for small and medium sized businesses, announced today huge upgrades to its hosting packages including a massive 40GB plan.

I have to say I am impressed with what Netfirms is doing. Disk space, bandwidth and MySQL databases have all increased some by more than 1000% with no change in prices. Now this is something that I’d like to see more hosting companies doing. Give back to your customers and let them know that they signed up with the right hosting company.

Hosting.com has announced at the Microsoft Dev Connections 2005 show their new product offerings for Microsoft’s recently released ASP.NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005. “To encourage early signups, Hosting.com is offering free hosting until January 1, 2006 for ASP.NET 2.0 and SQL Server 2005, “said a company spokesperson.”

Any form of Windows-based hosting usually gets a bad reputation. This gives those folks who aren’t too sure about what Microsoft is providing a way to test things out on the “other side” without spending too much cash. It’s a win/win situation.

Download the Web Hosting Show! (MP3) | Read the Show Notes!

Running Time: 18 minutes | File Size: 4.16 MB

Well I finally got around to uploading both of my Web hosting video tutorials from the Web Hosting Show up to Google video. The good news now is that I am the number one video on Google Video on and about Web hosting.

The bad news is that before I came around, the place was taken by Mrs. Brady. Yeah, as far as Web hosting media goes.. it is a pretty lonely place out here.

Google Video – What is Disk Space?

Google Video – Hosting Account Types

So check out the videos if you haven’t before. Even if you have seen them around before, try watching them again. They get better with age.

Where did all the Web hosting writers go? I subscribe to over a dozen different Web sites that once upon a time had good daily Web hosting commentary, but they have all seemed to of vanished.

While cleaning out my RSS feeds today, I had to say goodbye to more than a few Web sites and hosting blogs that haven’t been updated in a long time. One of those was The Host Blog. WH Geek is another Web hosting site that hasn’t had much to say in a while that I hate to split with.

Right now, other than myself, the only good Web hosting writer who hasn’t rolled over and died yet is Jonder Perez. His recent revamping of The Startup Blog has kept me entertained as far as Web hosting content goes.

Tito Leverette addresses some of the frustrations for the Windows hosting platform in a Linux Web hosting world. Right now in the wild and wacky world of Web hosting, Microsoft is the underdog. No, I take that back. Due to public opinion of Microsoft in a whole, they are more like a one-armed man in an ass kicking contest.

They have to fight their way to the top on two fronts. On one end, they have to show folks how much better Windows hosting solutions are compared to the many flavors of Linux/Apache based hosting you see. The other war they need to fight is the war of public opinion. I’d like to see them send out crew to talk on the Web hosting forums out there such as Web Hosting Chat and Web Hosting Talk to stick up for themselves as a viable hosting option out there.

When it comes to new technology and new innovations in the Online world we live in today, the Web hosting world just doesn’t get it. I have no idea why, but it seems like the Web hosting industry stays five or six steps behind the latest curve.

Don’t believe me? Just take a look at how many Web hosts or Web hosting related Web sites takes advantage of providing RSS feeds. There are hundreds if not thousands of hosts and hosting related Web sites out there. Only a small handful have some sort of RSS feed. The majority of that small handful are hosting “news” sites that push out the same press releases you find on just about every other hosting news site out there today.

Look at the Web 2.0 movement. You would think that Web hosting would be playing the largest roll in this expansion of ideas and development. The only problem is that the version of the Web most hosting industry professionals see is .01 beta right now. It just isn’t on their radar.

All that I am asking is for the Web hosting industry to take a break from living in the box that they are in and take a look at what the rest of the world is doing. Who knows, we might see some real innovation come from the Web hosting industry if that were to happen.