domain

You know me: I like free. Domain registrations aren't exactly pricey (many places will set you up for under $10), but when I can get one for nothing, well, I'll take it.

If you're looking to carve out your own personal corner of the Web, start a new business, set up an e-mail address for life, that kind of thing, 1&1 Internet is offering a free one-year .com domain registration.

Yep, free. This is good for new domains only, not renewals, and it's limited to one per customer. After the first year, you'll … Read more

The first non-Latin domain names made their debut on the Internet on Wednesday.

Choosing Arabic as the initial language, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) picked Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as the first three regions able to use country-code specific top-level domains (TLDs). This means people in those countries will now be able to type addresses for regional Web sites using their own native language characters.

In an effort to make the Internet more user friendly to more nations around the world, ICANN approved the measure to adopt international domain names (IDNs) last … Read more

Facebook is taking a lot of heat — again — about failing to protect the privacy of its users. (See Caroline McCarthy's The Social blog for a recap of the service's most-recent security gaffes.)

No matter what safety precautions Facebook and other social networks and Web sites take, eventually somebody's private data will become public, whether due to human error or a successful hack attack. Either way, your Web activities and the personal information you post to an online profile may be viewed by strangers, regardless of the account's security settings.

There are ways to minimize the risk … Read more

Hey 404 listeners, we're having some trouble with the iTunes feed, so we're hoping this new blog will address the issue. Thanks for your patience!

Your friends, The 404

Check back soon for video, sorry for the delay!… Read more

Natali Del Conte is back from a quick trip to Europe and will be on the show every Thursday to get down with the nerdy dirty. We're hoping that she'll also help us raise $1,000,000 for a bid on Sex.com. The domain has a rich history of ownership and even spurned a book based on its popularity. The site originally belonged to Gary Kremen, founder of Match.com, then changed hands for 14 million dollars to a company called Escom, and is up for auction next month as part of a foreclosure deal. We each have our own ideas about what we would do with it, but we can all get into the idea of broadcasting the Official Sex.com Podcast. If nothing else, the SEO would work much better than The 404.

Rock Band 3 has already been confirmed for the 2010 holiday season, but fans of the franchise can get their Gaga on next week singing the pop star's hit singles "Bad Romance," "Just Dance," "Monster," and "Poker Face." Being the unabashed Lady Gaga fan that I am, I'm obviously ecstatic, but since I don't personally own a gaming console, the best solution would be for YOU to buy it, send me a Twitter message with your address, and I'll be there within the hour. See you soon!

While we're on my favorite topic of conversation, Sony deserves a mention for unveiling its new PS3 motion controller called Move at this year's Game Developers Conference. Phallic though it may appear, the light on top of the handheld device apparently serves a purpose, although you'll have to listen to Jeff's explanation to get the full story, because I'm still scratching my head. Sony hopes that the move will gain popularity among both casual and hardcore gamers, with games that let players simulate sword fights, bows and arrows, guns, and more. You can purchase a Move starter kit this fall that includes the controller, a PlayStation eye camera, and a game all for less than $100. More details to follow!

A very special thanks to 404 listener Bernard in Ottawa for sending us one of the best voice mails we've ever played on Calls From the Public. He calls in reference to Monday's discussion about "Legend of the Guardians," aka Owl Movie, and his delivery has Jeff in tears. It's so good, in fact, that we posted it online for you to hear, so check it out!

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) board at its meeting Friday will consider a proposal from ICM Registry for adult sites to use the .xxx top-level domain instead of or in addition to .com.

This is hardly the first time ICANN has dealt with this issue. It rejected similar proposals in 2000, again in 2006 and most recently in 2007.

In an telephone interview Wednesday night from Nairobi (scroll down for podcast), ICM President Stuart Lawley said he successfully appealed the 2007 decision, paving the way for ICANN to reconsider the proposal on its merits.

The proposal … Read more

Want to carve out your own personal corner of the Web? Set up an e-mail address for life? Launch a new business? (I hear app development is a gold mine.) It all starts with registering a domain name.

Here's your chance to do it on the cheap: GoDaddy is offering 99-cent domain registrations (when you use coupon code BUY2010 at checkout).

The good news: The coupon works with all available domains: .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, and so on.

The bad news: The coupon is good only for new registrations, not renewals, and only for one-year registrations. Any extra … Read more

In the world of URLs, www.sex.com was the sure thing.

Whoever owned it was guaranteed riches beyond measure, pleasure beyond pain. And yet, ever since it was originally registered by Gary Kremen, founder of Match.com, the great domain has been a house of hurt.

It has been the subject of one book that describes a brutal battle over its ownership. Then another came along in an attempt to satiate those who cannot believe that it is not the most popular domain in the world. Even being the subject of a civil-liberties case has not helped Sex.com … Read more

If you've got multiple websites that you want to host on MobileMe, the manual tells you that's not possible. MacFixIt tells you that it is--with a small caveat. If you have not already read my quick tutorial from earlier this week on setting up a domain name with GoDaddy, you should check that out first.… Read more