From a mailing list (quoting a quote from a quote, so hell with it) comes four places providing privatized domain name resolution. You can register names with them with extensions such as .”agent,” “.mp3.” “.love,” and hundreds of others. But there is, of course, a rub. The domain name servers that do the look-ups when you click on a link don’t recognize those extensions. So, you either have to modify your browser to use them, or, in one case, the names actually mask conventional domain names:

http://www.New.Net: “Enable your browser to see New.net domains.” (You can also become a registrar, selling New.Net names. Hmmm, is “avarice.amway” taken?)

http://www.Name-Space.com: “Clients who host their DNS with Name.Space are mirrored in the domain ‘.XS2.NET’ for compatibility with legacy domains. (i.e. name.space = name.space.xs2.net) ”

http://www.NameSlinger.com: “To view this and other NameSlinger Websites, you should enhance your browser. ”

http://www.MOX1.com: “3. Download the plugin.”

The only way I can imagine these succeeding is if ICANN makes such a hash of it that balkanizing the Web begins to look good. (See Bob Frankston on ICANN.)

The Bob Frankston Corner

Bob has posted his thoughts about Bluetooth. These amplify and clarify the thoughts he dashed off in response to my coverage of the Bluetooth foodfight.

Bob has posted a terrific article explaining clearly the benefits of an “end-to-end” (= “stupid“) network by explaining how caller ID works within the “smart” (= closed) telephone network and how it would work if it were implemented in an Internety way. (For why it’s difficult to finance an end-to-end network, see NetParadox.com.)

Categories: Uncategorized dw