Monthly Archives: September 2008

Wed 3rd September 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
CNET Points Out Some Scary Features in Chrome: Read Before Using - According to Cnet.com, the auto suggest feature of Chrome will give Google a wealth of information on what people are searching for on the Internet Provided that users leave Chrome’s auto-suggest feature on and have Google as their default search provider, Google will have access to any keystrokes that are typed into the browser’s Address/Search bar, even before a user hits enter. Of even  more concern is Google intends to retaining some of that data. A Google representative told CNET that the ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
Google Has Patent on Address/Search Bar Combo - Thanks to one of the readers of this blog, Dave, who pointed out that Google has a patent on the technology that combines a search bar and the address bar of the Browser. The general langauage of the Patent number 7,401,072 is: “Methods and systems allow users to enter natural language terms that describe a particular web site into an address field of a browser instead of a formal URL. The terms are evaluated to determine whether they correspond, with a high likelihood, to a particular ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
AT&T Wireless Down in Northeast - ATT Inc.’s wireless data network is down in parts of the eastern U.S., according to user reports and the company. ATT spokesman Michael Coe said the company was looking into the problem, but could not describe its extent. Users on various online forums reported outages in Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois and Missouri. Voice calls were still possible, but Web surfing and e-mail were not. Most of the outage reports came from iPhone users. Google+Michael ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN
There’s Another Baidu and They’re Selling Their Domains - Baidu Europe (not Baidu China) announced today that it is selling 13 European domain names, including  Baidu.eu, Baidu.tv, Baidu.be, Baidu.nl,  through the Amsterdam-based trademark agency De Merkplaats, as well as its European trademark on the term Baidu. Managing Director P. Ufkes of Baidu Europe is taking this step in response to the difficulties his company has faced since a Dutch agency began to promote the Chinese search engine giant Baidu in Europe. Ufkes plans to continue his company under ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Me Domains to be Auctioned during TRAFFIC - Marry.me, Kiss.me among domain names to be auctioned at this month’s TRAFFIC conference. Following very strong results from its online auction of .me domain names, the .me registry will release the first set of withheld domains at this month’s TRAFFIC conference in Brooklyn. The registry withheld 2,500 catchy and generic domains to sell directly. Among the domains to be auctioned include: Love.Me Buy.Me Date.Me Meet.Me Ask.Me Show.Me Kiss.Me Rent.Me Watch.Me Marry.Me Loan.Me Play.Me The ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
1&1 Giving Away 25 Free .Biz Domain Names - Company offers first year free on up to 25 .biz domain names. Web hosting company and domain registrar 11 is giving away free .biz domain name registrations for the first year. The promotion allows you to register up to 25 domains for free. Standard pricing applies after the first year. The offer includes free private registration and e-mail. 11 is known for its cut rate pricing on domain names including $6.99 pricing on most major extensions including .com. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DNForum and Domaining.com Launch e-Newsletters - Two popular domain name sites start e-mail newsletters. DNForum and Domaining.com are now e-mailing updates to registered users. DNForum is one of the oldest and largest online forums about domain names with over 60,000 registered members. Its first newsletter just arrived in my inbox yesterday. Future plans call for the newsletter to be delivered on the 1st and 16th of each month. The newsletter will include a profile of a DNForum member as well as suggested domain ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
dotMobi to Enforce Compliance Rules for Premium Domains (Eventually) - dotMobi says it will start to enforce guidelines for domains won at auction. In June I wrote a second article about premium dotMobi domain names that were won at auctions at Sedo. At the time, not a single domain won at the first Sedo auction was in compliance. Compliance basically requires a dotMobi compatible parking page followed by a mobile web site within 6 months. Although it’s not surprising that few of the domains had real web sites within 6 months, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Details Emerge on Sofa.com Heist - Here’s a follow up to a story Domain Name Wire covered in August 2007. In 2007 it emerged that the sale of Sofa.com for $200,000 in 2005 was not approved by the actual owner of the domain. An employee sold the domain to what is now an online sofa company. He managed to have the buyers wire the money directly to his personal account. (See $200,000 Sofa.com Domain Name Stolen by Employee) An article in RealBusiness gives more juicy details about the purchase. ... read more ...
Tue 2nd September 2008
Written by The Domains in EN
Google Chrome Download Available: Is it Bad for Domainers? - The first version of Google’s Chrome web browser is out and available for download here: According to a video on how to use the search bar (click on “Watch a video on how to use the address bar.”),  it appears that the Google has combined the address bar with its search bar, which will suggest results. So for example,  if you type in the word flowers into the address/search bar you will have the option of adding the .com at the end and  navigating to the site like always, or you have the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Will Google Chrome Hurt a Domain Industry? - The address bar and search box have become one. It’s no secret that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) would prefer internet users to visit Google rather than use direct navigation. The company’s Google Chrome web browser is making that possible by blurring the lines between web addresses and search boxes. Most web browsers now have a standard address bar as well as a search box (usually providing results from MSN or Google). Type an address in the address box or a search ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Companies Need to Increase “Switching Costs” - The road to profits lies in an integrated approach to domain management. In the domain business there are low “switching costs”. A switching cost is the time and money you incur to change service providers. Consider domain parking, where you can move 1,000 domains from one parking company to another in about 15 minutes. Even switching registrars is relatively painless compared to many other service provider changes you do in the “offline” world. To see ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Sometimes a Scare Reminds You to Renew Domain Names - Technology helps keep on top of domain renewals, but you have to keep on top of them, too. I’m pretty good about renewing my domain names. I’ve never lost a domain through expiration on accident. But I have a number of domain names coming up for renewal in the next month or two. Over the weekend I got a little scare that sprung me into action to get the renewals taken care of. If you use DomainSponsor, you sometimes receive e-mails that say “[DOMAINSPONSOR] ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Google Chrome Domain Names - Google remained tight-lipped about its new browser. So who registered GoogleChrome.com a month ago? By now you’ve probably read that Google is releasing a web browser called Google Chrome. Perhaps you’re feeling the same way I am: great, one more browser to optimize for. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) did a good job keeping the lid on its browser announcement. There have been rumors of a Google browser for many years, in part because the domain name GBrowser.com was ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New York Times Correctly Defines Cybersquatting - New York Times article offers up correct definition related to trademarks. It seems that the domain industry is quick to pounce on mainstream journalists who broadly define cybersquatting to include what many of us would refer to as domain investing — buying generic domain names. Perhaps we should pat a journalist on the back when he correctly defines “cybersquatting”, as New York Times writer Steve Lohr did in his August 31 article “A New Battle Is Beginning ... read more ...
Mon 1st September 2008
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Be Careful How You Title Your Domains - According to Fasthosts a webhosting firm located in the UK, disputes over domain name ownership increased by 30 per cent in the past 12 months. Companies typically found their claims of ownership were harder to prove or defend if they had registered a domain in an employee or advisor’s name. Fasthost’s report illustrates an issue that has effected domainers and non-domainers as well. Corporations usually have an employees contact information on the whois record. If the employee is fired, quits ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
LaborDay.com - It’s the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. Today is Labor Day in the United States. The holiday originated in the late 1800s as a day of rest for working citizens. Since then it has morphed into a day of barbecue, beer, and “insane” furniture sales. As I often like to do on holidays, I took at a peek at LaborDay.com to see who owns it. You might think that a labor union would own this domain to further its cause, but that would be a long shot. I wouldn’t plan ... read more ...