With a server environment on your own pc, development takes on new possibilities. This is set up for PHP development, but the server will handle all standard web files. With the addition of a Perl interpretor you can even test .cgi scripts, on your local machine.
This can save a lot of online time by debugging your pages/scripts before publishing to your host server.
Also with a server on your pc, you can let friends and family know when you are on line and share files easily by letting them connect to your IP address (218.98. etc).
As usual, caution should be used when connecting to the internet with a server active on your PC. I would recommend a firewall program such as ZoneAlarm just to be on the safe side.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/phptriad
(Info from www.webauthors.org)
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