NOTE for users of 1and1 - i emailed tech support and they were willing to work with me on this issue - however i found the answer on here. I believe it's secure now as it doesn't have that annoying register_globals is STILL ON! in red anymore.
So yes, I did what the other guy did with the AddType x-mapp-php5 .php in the .htaccess file... but I actually had to place this as the FIRST LINE of the .htaccess. I was thinking I'd have to create my own php.ini and what a pain that was turning out to be- I'm glad this worked. 1and1 is AWESOME and they support joomla - you just gotta read into it a little bit so don't be swayed by posts on here where peeps have had troubles w/ 1and1, they know what they're doing but you have to also.
I grabbed the joomla .htaccess for my site actually - here it is in case anyone is curious. I was also curious about how to get clean url's to work- it seemed to be rather clunky and it doesn't really create anything that people remember anyhow (/content/junk/junk/junk/) so I just set it back to default.
here's my .htaccess in case anyone's curious:
AddType x-mapp-php5 .php
##
# @version $Id: htaccess.txt 2368 2006-02-14 17:40:02Z stingrey $
# @package Joomla
# @copyright Copyright (C) 2005 Open Source Matters. All rights reserved.
# @license
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU/GPL
# Joomla! is Free Software
##
#####################################################
# READ THIS COMPLETELY IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE THIS FILE
#
# The line just below this section: 'Options FollowSymLinks' may cause problems
# with some server configurations. It is required for use of mod_rewrite, but may already
# be set by your server administrator in a way that dissallows changing it in
# your .htaccess file. If using it causes your server to error out, comment it out (add # to
# beginning of line), reload your site in your browser and test your sef url's. If they work,
# it has been set by your server administrator and you do not need it set here.
#
# Only use one of the two SEF sections that follow. Lines that can be uncommented
# (and thus used) have only one #. Lines with two #'s should not be uncommented
# In the section that you don't use, all lines should start with #
#
# For Standard SEF, use the standard SEF section. You can comment out
# all of the RewriteCond lines and reduce your server's load if you
# don't have directories in your root named 'component' or 'content'
#
# If you are using a 3rd Party SEF or the Core SEF solution
# uncomment all of the lines in the '3rd Party or Core SEF' section
#
#####################################################
##### SOLVING PROBLEMS WITH COMPONENT URL's that don't work #####
# SPECIAL NOTE FOR SMF USERS WHEN SMF IS INTEGRATED AND BRIDGED
# OR ANY SITUATION WHERE A COMPONENT's URL's AREN't WORKING
#
# In both the 'Standard SEF', and '3rd Party or Core SEF' sections the line:
# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(/component/option,com) [NC,OR] ##optional - see notes##
# May need to be uncommented. If you are running your Joomla/Mambo from
# a subdirectory the name of the subdirectory will need to be inserted into this
# line. For example, if your Joomla/Mambo is in a subdirectory called '/test/',
# change this:
# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(/component/option,com) [NC,OR] ##optional - see notes##
# to this:
# RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(/test/component/option,com) [NC,OR] ##optional - see notes##
#
#####################################################
## Can be commented out if causes errors, see notes above.
Options FollowSymLinks
Options +Indexes
#
# mod_rewrite in use
RewriteEngine on
php_flag register_globals off
register_globals off
# Uncomment following line if your webserver's URL
# is not directly related to physical file paths.
# Update Your Joomla/MamboDirectory (just / for root)
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^([a-z]+)\.html$ /index.php?$1 [R,L]
########## Begin Standard SEF Section
## ALL (RewriteCond) lines in this section are only required if you actually
## have directories named 'content' or 'component' on your server
## If you do not have directories with these names, comment them out.
#
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(/component/option,com) [NC,OR] ##optional - see notes##
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (/|\.htm|\.php|\.html|/[^.]*)$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(content/|component/) index.php
#
########## End Standard SEF Section
########## Begin 3rd Party or Core SEF Section
#
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^(/component/option,com) [NC,OR] ##optional - see notes##
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} (/|\.htm|\.php|\.html|/[^.]*)$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule (.*) index.php
#
########## End 3rd Party or Core SEF Section
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I do understand that its a convenient response but...
how can i make a custom php.ini?