Domains Hosting

Hosting and domains cost money, but what about the people who sell the hosting?
If you want hosting or a domain for your site, you have to pay for it. But what about the people who own the hosting sites, who sell it, how do they get control over it?

Domain registrations are handled by a primary registrar for each country. These registrars sell in bulk to sub-registrars at a discount, and many of the registrars sell on to you with some of this discount passed on. The hosting companies have to pay for a sizable pipe to the nearest point of presence, normally in one of the interent 'telehouses' that act as centralisation points for the network. They have to pay a lot of money for this access, and pass these charges on to you as your monthly ISP bill.

I need to know which websites are good for hosting and buying domains from?
If you could please include where you found the information you are using to form your opinion it would be greatly appreciated. More than one website is fine to submit, I am doing research right now to find a place to host my website. Thanks.

I've just done all the research for myself as I wanted to set up a website. I blogged about it - Finding a Domain Name and Cheap Web Hosting - http://www.web-a-week.com/2007/09/05/finding-a-domain-name-and-cheap-web-hosting/ You'll find all my research there.

free domains?hosting?
As in, a free domain with free hosting? as in, i dont want to pay anything. is there such a site that would do that??

Available now in USA, UK, France, Germany, and Japan Microsoft Office Live Basics is the easy way to get started on the Web. If you have always wanted your own Web site, Office Live has just made it easier — much easier. ☞ Free domain name and Web hosting Easy-to-use Web site design tools 500 MB of Web site storage space ☞ 25 company-branded e-mail accounts Web site reports Search engine advertising tool Free Web site hosting 500 MB of Web site storage Easily upload your logo, images, and documents ☞ Up to 25 e-mail accounts, each with a full 5 GB of space Keep track of people, events, and information Access e-mail, contacts, and calendar from most Web browsers Additional Information: I currently have 2 domains through officelive, http://www.silvermoonfurniture.com and http://www.newmtntavern.com go to your favorite search engine and use keywords "silver moon furniture" and "new mountain tavern" and see how these sites rate :P (A credit card is required for proof of identity, location, and that you are of legal age to sign contracts but will not be charged).