On Tuesday, Web hosting provider AIT reported that the operators of its Chicago-based dealership, part of a brick-and-mortar distributor network operated by the company, had survived an armed robbery and attempted murder on April 10. AIT says the dealership's two operators and an employee were at the location when a robbery took place. When one of them attempted to flee, he was shot once in the leg and another bullet grazed his head. The gunmen fled and have yet to be captured. The operator who was shot is in the hospital, but expected to make a full recovery.

Also on Tuesday, it was reported that Federal authorities had charged a Unix system operator for playing a role in shutting off power to data center equipment at an organization involved in operating California's electrical grid. Last week, 32-year-old Lonnie Charles Denison was arrested in connection with a power outage that took place April 15 at the California Independent Systems Operator, which operates part of California's power grid. The outage created the possibility of power shortages on the grid, but no blackouts occurred because of it. Power reportedly took 20 technicians and $14,000 to recover.

While some of this week's biggest news leaned toward the sensational, there was plenty of compelling news that remained within the scope of normal activity. In several cases, Web hosting providers planned pointed efforts to promote the unique qualities of their services.

European Web hosting provider Netcetera reported on Wednesday that it plans to showcase the tax efficiencies of offshore Web hosting, in collaboration with the government of the Isle of Man, at the Internet World 2007 event next week in London, England. Netcetera says it will be the only offshore Web host in attendance, and will conduct its demonstration through a casino-themed booth at the event.

Also on Wednesday, grid hosting provider NetLab announced that it had launched its Grid Evaluation Program, offering a free trial of its grid Web hosting service, based on 3Tera's AppLogic grid environment. Participants in the trial will have first hand access to the grid environment and an opportunity to try creating, managing and scaling a virtual infrastructure on their own grid, along with assistance from an expert.

And while Web hosts are often known to make unusual efforts at marketing, it is certainly notable that this week, two different hosting providers made announcements related to their sponsorship of race cars.

On Tuesday, UK-based Web host StreamlineNet announced that the Aston Martin GT3 racing team it sponsors had placed first in the fourth round of this year's British GT3 race season. The company says the win moves the team up to fifth position in the Drivers Championship.

And on Tuesday, Web hosting provider Go Daddy announced that it had signed a deal to be the presenting sponsor for next month's Indianapolis 500 racing broadcast. Go Daddy is already involved with racing through its sponsorship of driver Danica Patrick. Go Daddy will also be the presenting sponsor for the Indy 500 Qualifying and Bump Day broadcasts prior to the race itself.

Unmistakably, this week's most notable news had to do with alarming attacks. And those will be the stories to follow in the coming weeks, as police search for the AIT dealership's attackers, and Denison is tried for his role in the grid shutdown.