a new "TLD-less" URL system?

[h...@unity.ncsu.edu]

A usually-trustworthy colleague told me that Microsoft is planning to
introduce a new non-TLD system to work within IE. They would offer
their own registration and a new version of IE would understand this and
go to Microsoft to resolve the non-TLD URL.

If IE is the de facto browser on the web, then they might be able to
make this work - and ignore the other registries. (And charge all the
dot-coms and everyone else a new registration.)

Has anyone heard about this?
--
--henry schaffer

[James Love]

Yes. Esther Dyson told me they even approached ICANN to discuss
standards for this.

Jamie

http://web.realnames.com/

--
=======================================================
James Love, Director | http://www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology | mailto:lo...@cptech.org
P.O. Box 19367 | voice: 1.202.387.8030
Washington, DC 20036 | fax: 1.202.234.5176
=======================================================

[WJCarpenter]

hes> A usually-trustworthy colleague told me that Microsoft is
hes> planning to introduce a new non-TLD system to work within IE.
hes> They would offer their own registration and a new version of IE
hes> would understand this and go to Microsoft to resolve the non-TLD
hes> URL.

Hey, why not? Windows Network Neighborhood runs without anyone in
charge! :-)

hes> If IE is the de facto browser on the web, then they might be able
hes> to make this work - and ignore the other registries. (And charge
hes> all the dot-coms and everyone else a new registration.)

Sounds like your friend is probably talking about the RealNames
stuff. Recent versions of IE have always (by default) resolved
ambiguous things-you-type-into-it by going to an MS search place. Now
it's out in the open that one of the technologies behind it is
RealNames.

http://www.idg.net/idgns/2000/03/14/MicrosoftBuysIntoRealNames.shtml

This supplements the DNS system in more or less the same way that Coke
and Pepsi supplement the placement of product category signs in
grocery stores. In other words, they pay someone to nudge customers
toward their product in various ways.
--
bi...@carpenter.ORG (WJCarpenter) PGP 0x91865119
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