InfoWorld
Lead with Knowledge
HOME/ SITEMAP
SUBJECT INDEXES
App Development
Broadband
Business Intell.
Business News
Business Strategies
Careers & Mgmt
Collab. Software
Content Mgmt
CRM
Database
E-Business
End-User Apps
End-User Hardware
Enterprise Apps
Ethics
Government
Licensing
Middleware
Mobile Computing
Networking
Online Community
Operating Systems
Processors
Security
Servers
Storage
Telecomm.
Web Services
Web Technologies
Wireless
XSPs
NEWS
CTO ZONE
TEST CENTER
FEATURES
COMMUNITY
OPINIONS
RESEARCH
EVENT
WEBCASTS
ABOUT InfoWorld
ABOUT US
About InfoWorld
Services
Advertise
Contact us
Employment
WHITE PAPERS

Learn to secure your PCs from new and unknown hacker attacks.

Free IDC White Paper - Discover Secure File Sharing for the Enterpriseattacks.
SEARCH:  
Home  //  Article
Print Article    Email Article
E-Business Secrets
Brian Livingston
Does New.Net have a solution to the Web name shortage?

Two companies, NeuLevel and Afilias, are currently taking applications for new Web addresses that end in .biz and .info. These new names are not without problems: A class-action lawsuit has been filed against NeuLevel on the grounds that the fee it charges -- without the certainty of any name being issued -- constitutes an illegal lottery (see link below).

Meanwhile, a startup company, New.net, argues that the Internet shouldn't be limited to just a few suffixes. It has created an intriguing business model selling domain names that use 30 other suffixes, including .kids, .law, and .med.

These names might be a curiosity, except for the fact that about one-third of all U.S. and U.K. Internet users can already see sites using these names, New.net officials say. This is possible because the company has convinced three of the top five ISPs in the United States to make the new names work seamlessly in subscribers' browsers. These ISPs are Earthlink, NetZero (including its merger with Juno), and Excite@Home. The number of ISP users worldwide who can access New.net names grew from 42 million in May to 56 million today, including sixth-ranked Prodigy, which recently began supporting the service

New.net makes money when registrants sign up for names and through cross-marketing arrangements. This cash flow helps New.net pay partnering fees to ISPs, who also earn a commission when new domain names are purchased through their Web sites.

Steve Chadima, New.net's chief marketing officer, cites with pride such businesses as Transplant.med, a health care site. The main problem facing such sites, since not all ISPs currently support New.net, is that most Internet users cannot see Transplant.med in their browsers or send e-mail to addresses such as bob@Transplant.med. Chadima points out that all such addresses work if you add ".new.net," as in bob@Transplant.med.new.net. But this is a cumbersome solution that most consumers won't remember. As a result, surfers who visit such sites see a recommendation that they download a small program that automatically makes the new names visible in the future.

Chadima expresses optimism that most ISPs will soon support the New.net system, especially because the startup has chosen only those suffixes that do not conflict with .biz, .info, and others selected by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a coordinating body established by the U.S. Department of Commerce that has been widely criticized for self-dealing.

Most of New.net's clients also maintain ordinary .com names, but obtained short, new names in case New.net is successful in getting all ISPs to recognize its system. While acknowledging the current inconveniences, the potential is there for New.net to solve the Internet's current naming limitations once and for all.

New.net white paper on market-based name management:

http://www.new.net/NewnetPaper.pdf

(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Lawsuit filed against .biz as an illegal lottery:

http://www.nytimes.com@54.vg/?3aad

Analysis of New.net names vs. new ICANN names:

http://www.theregister.co.uk@1c.to/?4e35

Livingston's Top 10 news picks o' the week

1. Study of 20 profitable e-tailers advises slow growth

http://www.nytimes.com@a2.tc/?3fd

2. Inaccurate cookie-tracking irks affiliate sites

http://www.clickz.com@836.as/?7e5

3. Sports venues try to control what Web sites can show

http://www.content-exchange.com@th.gs/?bcd

4. Get your database-driven pages into search engines

http://www.searchenginewatch.com@31.dk/?fb5

5. The best and worst things you can buy online

http://www.cbsnews.com@a6r.ms/?139d

6. Cleaning up failed dot-coms is opportunity for some

http://www.washingtonpost.com@e.la/?1785

7. Here's how your site can let visitors upload files

http://www.webmasterbase.com@1c.to/?1b6d

8. AOL's new media player features audio and 3D images

http://www.internetnews.com@5a0.tc/?1f55

9. Verity search technology discovers "social networks"

http://www.netimperative.com@54.vg/?233d

10. Now you can learn the errors in your favorite films

http://www.movie-mistakes.com@a2.tc/?2725

E-BUSINESS SECRETS: Our mission is to bring you such useful and thought-provoking information about the Web that you actually look forward to reading your e-mail.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: E-Business Secrets is written by InfoWorld contributing editor Brian Livingston. Research Director is Ben Livingston (no relation). Brian has published 10 books, including:

Windows Me Secrets:

http://www.amazon.com@54.vg/?0764534939

Windows 2000 Secrets:

http://www.amazon.com@54.vg/?0764534130

Win a book free if you're the first to send a tip Brian prints. Send to mailto:tips@SecretsPro.com.


Brian Livingston , an InfoWorld contributing editor, has published 10 books, including Windows Me Secrets and Windows 2000 Secrets. Win a book free if you're the first to send a tip Brian prints. Send in your tips today, at tips@secretspro.com.


MORE >
SUBSCRIBE TO:    E-mail Newsletters  InfoWorld Mobile InfoWorld Magazine
Home  //  Article Print Article    Email Article
Back to Top
 ADVERTISEMENT
 

SPONSORED LINKS

Protect Your Data: Get your FREE Enterprise Backup Intelligence Kit from ADIC.
New HP digital projectors — click now for limited-time introductory offers.
SeeBeyond Webinar - Topic: UCCnet, Thurs., 9/26/02 , 8-9 am PST
The Sun™ LX50 server with Linux or the Solaris™ OE. Click here.
Limited-time offer to optimize your distributed network from Volera

SUBSCRIBE
E-mail Newsletters
InfoWorld Mobile
Print Magazine

Web-based training
ABOUT INFOWORLD  |  SITE MAP  |  EMPLOYMENT  |  PRIVACY  |   CONTACT US

Copyright 2001 InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.