PHP vs. ASP...
If you just compare the languages, PHP has a better set of functions as far as capabilities without much work from the coder. There are very many cool functions in PHP that you would have to write from scratch or create a COM object to complete. So if you are planning on writing code for an Intranet or a small site, then it's awesome.
However, when you consider PHP, ASP or JSP, I believe you really need to consider the whole architecture. I haven't found a decent way of creating a stable, easy to setup/maintain n-tier architecture utilizing php. There is no COM or EJB equivalent on the PHP side. IMHO, that damages the usefulness of PHP in large scale high quantity of transactions sites.
The .NET hype you are seeing won't be of a large benefit for sometime. However, most of the capabilities of .NET are already there. COM/DCOM, ASP, MTS, etc... They've repackaged them with slightly more features.
It seems that most people in this industry pick a religion (Java, MSoft, PHP, whatever) and bash all other religions to prove that their religion is the only way to salvation. But I think that it's much better to use each of these technologies in their appropriate places. When you look at these technologies such as PHP, JSP, and ASP, they are amazingly similar.
Good luck with what you are planning on doing.
