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Filed under: Developer, Internet

.ly domain name registration final.ly open

indubitab.ly!I'm not exactly sure how fresh this news is, but apparently the company that was supposed to be handling registration for Libya's .ly top-level domain name but had utterly failed to do so since April 2004 has been given the boot. As of October 14 of this year, .ly registration is in the more capable hands of GPTC, Libya's General Post and Telecommunications Company. Why is this news? Because now .ly domain name registration is open to everybody, everywhere, at LibyanSpider.com, and there are a ton of great names still available, especially if you're a fan of "domain hacks" a la del.icio.us and peter.roj.as. Over at his blog Duane Johnson lists a bunch that are still available, like emi.ly, bare.ly, real.ly, gnar.ly, simp.ly, superb.ly, and unfortunate.ly. And if that's not enough, here's 10 freebies from me: pear.ly, whee.ly, wry.ly, queer.ly, tragical.ly, magical.ly, fol.ly, mol.ly, sole.ly, and gol.ly.

So, what's the catch? Well, whether you'd consider it a catch depends on how much cash you have: a .ly domain name will cost you $150 per year. So if you're just looking for a vanity domain, you might consider looking elsewhere. However, if you're looking for a memorable domain name for your new Web 2.0 start-up, $150 might be a steal.

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm, Web services, Google, Social Software, Unix

Google unites Apps for Your Domain with domain registrars

Google unites Apps for Your Domain with domain registrars
Google has just announced a partnership with GoDaddy and eNom, two leading domain name registrars, to allow new users of their Apps for Your Domain service to register a domain right from within Google's signup process. This is a killer idea that, in hindsight, sounds like a completely logical step to take, but I bet most didn't even see it coming. After you sign up for a Google Account or log in to their service signup page, you are how offered the ability to enter your existing domain to get the process started, or search for and purchase a domain if you don't already have one. As icing on the cake, Google is even including private registration (typically ~ $2-3/year/domain) if you buy your domain through this new feature.

Filed under: Utilities, Web services

Domjax: Another Ajax domain search tool

Domjax
Ajax domain search has been done before, but nevertheless I'm fond of Domjax's shiny interface. Like other services, it pulls up domain information as you type, but presents rather more information in a nice, clean interface. In addition to telling you if the domain name you enter is available with any TLD and giving you three registrar options, Domjax also shows SEO tools like Google and Yahoo! information, code and usability validation tools, and research tools including WHOIS information and links to Alexa and the Internet Archive. For available domains, it also has a "domain list," which is just a handy scratch pad for you to save domain names you're interested in buying. Oddly enough, Domjax completely omits .org domain names, which may be a deal-breaker for some, but the slick interface might be enough to keep me coming back.

Filed under: Web services

Instant Domain Search

Instant Domain Search

Ah, Ajax. How fond I am of thee. Instant Domain Search is what it sounds like: As you type in the entry field, it shows you in real time whether the .com, .net, and .org domain names are available. If the domain is available it presents you with a number of registrar options (I wish it showed prices next to each), and if it's not available it gives you options for back-ordering, Alexa query, and so on. Instant Domain Search also has a handy feature that lets you save searches (in a cookie) by pressing Ctrl+S. Of course, Instant Domain Search is getting referral bonuses for every domain registered through it, but I can't fault it for making some money. I think for brainstorming the name of your next web startup it could definitely come in handy.

Filed under: Internet, Web services

Whois.sc becomes DomainTools.com

DomainToolsI do a lot of domain name lookups, some for actual business or research reasons, many just out of curiosity. For quite awhile I used Whois.sc because it was handy: you could type in whois.sc/example.com in any browser's address bar to go straight to the WHOIS record without any fuss (no EULAs, TOSes, CAPTCHAs, or logins), and it had some other nice features like looking up .com/net/org/us/etc. domain names at the same time and prominently displaying expiration dates. Yesterday, however, I did a domain lookup in the usual way and found something completely new: DomainTools.com. For a second I feared the worst—that Whois.sc had been bought out by some company that was going to rain on my parade—but as it turns out, Whois.sc just got rebranded and retooled, and, believe it or not, it's better than ever. The page layout is much improved, the thumbnail images are much bigger and, perhaps best of all, the whois.sc/example.com shortcut still works (and DomainTools assures us that it will stay in operation indefinitely. Unfortunately, some of Whois.sc/DomainTools' services, like reverse lookups and domain histories still require (free) membership, but it always makes me happy when a free service changes and it turns out to be for the better.

Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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