The publisher of virtual appliances JumpBox announced that has released 38 Open Source applications in the Open Virtualization Format (OVF). OVF is a software standard for packaging and distributing virtual appliances.

JumpBox offers pre-built and configured virtual appliance that deploys in minutes. OVF enables even simpler deployments for VMware ESX hypervisor based virtualization system.

See the latest opportunities, discounts, and promotional offerings VPSHostDir prepared for those of you who might need VPS hosting service.

Apollo Hosting has announced a "VPS Hosting Test Drive". The web host offers 7-day free trial period to anyone who needs VPS. The Apollo Hosting's president said that the company want consumers to see their control panel, to test technical support, and to "just get a feel for our product before signing up".

Host Color's Virtuozzo VPS are still 25% cheaper. The promotional campaign expires on December 31st, 2008. The company entry-level Virtual Private Server - VPS Start (10 GB disc space, 50 GB data transfer and 192 GB RAM) - now comes with free NextColor web hosting control panel and license for unlimited websites. The VPS costs only $18.75/month.

The UK's host Easyspace now offers a holiday sale that features 10% off all Virtual Private Servers.

FastNext said it has upgraded Linux VPS. Plans start at $29.95/month for virtual server with 15 GB disc space, 200 GB data transfer and 256 MB RAM. Customer can choose between Plesk and cPanel/WHM.

Canadian, Montreal based Xen VPS provider Vexxhost now cost $24.72/month (Regular price is $32.95/mo). The Xen VPS hosting provider said it offer 25%.

Web Host CrystalTech launched new economically priced Hyper-V powered VPS plans that start at $59.95 per month. The price is promotional and is available through January 31, 2009.

In 2008 CrystalTech has become one of the premier hosting providers to offer Microsoft Hyper-V as the underlying technology behind a VPS solution. According to the company it offers "true hardware virtualization and heavy isolation between virtual instances on the physical server".

CrystalTech claims that its its VPS plans provide users with a "dedicated-like environment" for 1/2 price of most dedicated servers, including Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition, a value of over $50.00 per month, a guaranteed 512 MB of memory, 30 GB of disk space, and full administrative access to the operating system.