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Update (3/01): Here are two useful sites for understanding
how internet numbers and addresses are assigned:
ICANN (Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers) and ARIN
(American Registry for Internet Numbers). Also, you can go
to Netcraft.com to get
information about a web site (what platform it is running and how
is hosting it).
Update (7/00): I've now been using cable modem for about
six months ($47/mo including rental of the modem). I will never go back
to dial-up. Cable modem (and DSL, I suspect) is so much nicer. It
doesn't tie up your phone, there is no waiting for a connection, no busy
signal, and it's fast (typical 100-400Kbytes/s downloads). My website
service is still provided by
Prentice.
They've done an excellent job
and have virtually never had down time that I've been aware of. And
they are still $17/mo for 300 MB of disk space. That's
very hard to beat.
I run my web site from home. It run it solely to share information and have some fun.
I started by checking to see if the domain name I wanted (willus.com)
had been taken.
You can get information on domain names by going
to internic.net and entering
the domain name.
Registering a domain name with Internic
is $70 for the first two years and $35/year
thereafter. But to register, you'll need a web hosting service.
Update 8/00: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN)
has now set it up so that you may now choose from any of
several "accredited
registrars" who can set up your domain name. This, in effect, has
commercialized this part of the Internet business, which is driving
the registration fee down a bit. I recently re-registered through
my service provider (Prentice)
for $20/year.
Web hosting services provide you with the internet
IP number for your domain name and an account on a computer
where you can store your web pages. Some also provide you with
a dial-up connection, but usually you have to get that separately.
For example, I use
Prentice-Internet for
my web hosting and Cox Cable for
my connection (cable modem).
There are literally hundreds of web hosters to choose from.
I found budgetweb.com
to be a great source of information on web hosting services. They have
a comprehensive list of features for hundreds of web hosters. Selecting
from this list, I first tried
smarthosting.com, but ended up
transfering to
Prentice
because they had more exactly what I wanted, but both are good
services that give you about 300 MB for about $20-$25/month.
If you have any more questions about how I run my site, send an e-mail.
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