Well I decided to do something a little different this week. Instead of doing a regular episode of the Web Hosting Show, I decided since it is almost the end of the year, I should do a “best of” episode. I’ve been “on the air” since February 2005 so I think I have more that enough content to keep you happy. So this week, join me in my walk down memory lane as I look at some of the best (and maybe some of the worst) segments I produced in 2005.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Podcast 43!

Well, my Bandwidth 101 Video Tutorial from the Web Hosting Show has finally made it’s way to Google. Check it out! Google’s video search makes a nice backup for some the video content I’ve featured on the Web Hosting Show. I just wish they would get things up and running a little quicker.

Over the past week or so, I might have been a little too mean to the folks over at GoDaddy. That’s right, the company that has yet to return any of my previous E-mails has reached out to me by sending one of their own. As a mater of fact, before I had time to check my E-mail I got a phone call about it from GoDaddy as well. It seems like my complaints about the GoDaddy’s control panel experience didn’t fall on deaf ears.

Read the Rest on Lockergnome’s Web Developers!

Are there anymore blogging engines for Yahoo to make deals with? At least they can say they have the two biggest players covered now. Now if you have a Yahoo small business account, it looks like you have a choice of either picking Movable Type as your back end or WordPress. I’ve got to say that Yahoo’s Web hosting is looking better and better every single day.

The funniest thing about all of this, is I heard about it on Blogebrity first. Not usually my first source for Web hosting news, but hey… sometimes the best stories aren’t always at the obvious places.

“Web hosting provider and domain registrar Go Daddy announced on Tuesday that it would add blogging capabilities free with every domain registration, transfer or renewal.” (link via The WHIR)

Okay, so the “blogging capabilities” aren’t exactly free right off the bat, but it should interesting to see how they are run and how popular they become. With Yahoo and Six Apart’s recent deal, will Web hosts pay more attention to the blogging trend?

In my opinion, this is something that should have been done about five years ago. Then again, when it comes to following innovative movements, Web hosts are more like a retarded duck trying to fly with one wing. It just ain’t happening, and if it does… it feels like a miracle has just taken place.

So what Web sites out there today are the fastest growing ones? Apple is number one on the list, being followed by Google and Amazon. How about the fastest growing Web brands? Photobucket seems to be leading the charge in that department. I can’t say that any of these Nielsen/NetRatings list surprise me, but they are an intresting read.

Check out more over at TheHostingNews.com!

When you spend enough time looking at something, you sometimes feel the need to have a different view. Eventually we all get bored of doing things one way, and we want to try something different. Some people take to the change automatically, while others might not. Viamatic foXpose offers a very different way of viewing your tabs inside of Firefox.

The Viamatic foXpose Firefox extension loads all of your tabs in one single Web site. You see dozens of little screenshots of Web sites that you are currently browsing, right there in front of that view of yours.

Why is this helpful? Well, lets say you want to compare layouts of more than one Web site? Maybe you just need a new way to navigate through your tabs? No mater what your reasons are, one thing can be said for sure. Viamatic foXpose is definitely something different.

How do you use it? Just click on the icon in the status bar to view all the browser windows. Yes, it is just that easy.

In the next version of this Firefox extension they will be offering the ability to select a background color, and an easier way to customize the keyboard shortcut. Viamatic foXpose is for Firefox versions 1.5 or higher. Want a different view of things? Give it a shot!

It looks like DemoDemo.com might have some competition now in the flash video tutorial market. No, I’m not talking about my cheaply produced alternative, I’m talking about DemoWolf.com.

The prices are still way up there (as are DemoDemo.com’s prices) but it is nice to see a little more flavor in this market. Web hosting customers always need more help, and thanks to these services there isn’t a Web host out there today who shouldn’t have some sort of flash video tutorials on the help site they run.

Well just two more Web Hosting Show episodes to go till the end of the year. With the entire Web hosting industry wrapping things up for 2005, what is the hottest talking points? How about Yahoo’s deal with MovableType and a Web host wanting to adopt a child to live in it’s data center? Here’s just a few highlights from this week’s show.

Well it looks like Yahoo finally has a reason now for you to sign up for it’s Web hosting plans. The plan in question this time around I think is the “small business” one, but don’t let the name fool you. Anybody can sign up for it. Why do they finally have a reason for getting folks to sign up? They struck a deal with the folks at MovableType to have (what I would guess) one click installs of the MovableType (MT) product.

If Yahoo has been buying things and making deals left and right these days. I think this newest deal should put them really in the running for the top spot in the Web hosting market right now as well. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out, that’s for sure. MovableType is one of the best blogging and Web site management tools out there today. Heck, I might even have to sign up for an account there just to see how easy the whole process is.

[Read more about the Yahoo/MT Deal!]

In a story last week that could definitely be classified under the “strange” category, there is a Web host out there willing to adopt a kid. The child will be raised in the Web host’s data center, and they have even mentioned making the child the company’s official mascot.

New York web hosting provider Weblinkhosting has announced its intention to adopt a boy (rather than a girl) under its company name.

As you may remember, Weblinkhosting circulated a press release suggesting it intended to legally adopt a child to ‘live at the company’s data center and be provided with food, clothing, shelter and love from the owner and employees’. Weblinkhosting.com’s latest circulation suggests progress has been made with the objective and, “the newly adopted orphan which will live in the web hosting data center will be a male. His name has yet to be determined.”

Is it just me, or is there just something really wrong about this whole idea? At first I kind of joked about the Web host wanting to build an army of super Web hosting gurus to take over the Web hosting world. How do I feel about it now that a little time has passed? It is still just a little too disturbing for me. Adopted kids need a loving home, they don’t need to become a publicity stunt for some big company to just make more money. This is nothing more than a perversion on the true meaning on of the holiday season.

[Read more about the Weblinkhosting adoption story!]

More hosting fun than you can shake a stick at, check out the Web Hosting Show podcast:

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

Running Time: 18 minutes | File Size: 3.98 MB

If I said I wanted to toss an Aardvark in your lap, you’d probably look at me with a very confused look across your face. Well, what if I told you that this Aardvark in question would do more work than any other Aardvark that you have seen before. Would I have your attention then? Do I have your attention now? The Aardvark Firefox extension is very unique and very useful as well.

So what can you do with this Firefox extension? You can clean up unwanted banners and surrounding “fluff,” especially prior to printing a page, see how the page is created, block by block and view the source code of one or more elements.

Once you get Aardvark up and running as an extension in Firefox, all you need to do to start it is right-click on any Web page and choose “Start Aardvark”. The extension will keep going, till you tell it to stop by leaving, refreshing or by hitting the “Q” key to quit.

As you navigate around the Web page you will notice a red square over some of the Web site sections. If they exist, you will also see a little yellow caption telling you the HTML element type and its class or id if it has one.

It might take a while to get a grasp on how Aardvark works at first. It definitely deserves some personal time as you learn how to use it and what all you can do with it. On the Aardvark Web page, they have some keyboard shortcuts that should help you manage what you want to do as well as find out what all this little Firefox extension can do.

So now that you have this Aardvark tossed into your lap, make the best of all the work that it will do for you.