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When a sniper ends the life of soldier Paul Bumer in Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front," a laconic situation report from the frontlines recounts an unusually quiet day. In the grand scheme of things, nothing worth reporting has happened. Reading David Kravets' recent article in Wired brought this upsetting ending to mind. U.S. authorities taking down individual domains based on copyright infringement charges is the online equivalent of Remarque's allied snipers: picking off the occasional domain for better or worse has little effect on the overall situation.

The domain community, however, feels differently. Searching for "domain seizure" on Twitter brings up thousands of hits. A domain name website created some buzz by issuing a press release yesterday which "downgraded" its "rating" for the .COM and the .NET TLD from AAA to AA, due to these seizures posing "a threat to any .com domain and the Internet DNS in general."

Crunching real market data, I think these opinions are hyperbolic, and these fears are irrational. Domain registrations are stronger than ever (according to Verisign's Domain Name Industry Brief), and people are not reluctant to register new .COM and .NET domains. Data from the secondary domain market do not show any justification for this claim either.

Figures from Sedo.com, the largest domain marketplace worldwide, show neither a reduction in sales volume (which usually precedes a decline in market prices) nor in sales prices. On the contrary, February showed a very strong upward trend in the total number of transactions, as well as domain prices reaching close to an all-time high (IDNX.com).

If hard numbers still don't convince you, we should take a quick "Tour d 'Europe:"

There is no doubt that the advances of US authorities are problematic. In the U.S., they will certainly be perceived as attempts to censor the Internet. However, concluding that .COM and .NET domains are therefore "precarious" investments is borderline hysterical. Admittedly, if you want to run a file-sharing website with a lenient approach to traditional copyright issues, a domain that is in reach of U.S. authorities is probably not the best choice. Neither is a .CO.UK, a .DE, an .FR or an .ES. But we knew that already, didn't we? The perceived threat of the Feds stealing your domain is no viable threat at all.

All data shows that domain investors have not walked away from U.S.-governed registries as a result of the recent seizures. Uncle Sam will, most likely, continue to leave the world's domain investors alone. All but a handful of domains will manage to evade the cross-hairs, and .COM and .NET values will continue to survive and flourish.

Disclaimer: The seizing of domain names as a way to enforce copyright claims is more than dubious, and I like many working in the world of domain names am not supporting any ideas of government entities deciding which sites remain online and which ones don't. The reaction among the Internet community to the recent SOPA bill should be proof enough that this is the prevailing opinion online. However, claiming that this has an effect on the investment performance of .COM and .NET domains is far-fetched, if not absurd.

By Thies Lindenthal, Product Manager for Domain Pricing, Sedo.com

Related topics: Domain Names, Internet Governance, Law, Top-Level Domains

Original post:
All Quiet on the Virtual Front: Why Domain Investors' Fear of the Feds is Irrational

15-03-2012 00:13 Spitting Fire On A Grime Session

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LyricallyBlessed - K-Dot, Fade, Ghost, Rage D-Dot - Video

15-03-2012 14:00 All New Kia Picanto driving Winner Red Dot Design Awards 2012. Kia Claims Two More Red Dot Design Awards. Kia has been awarded two top honors for its Picanto and Rio models in the 2012 red dot design competition. The five-door versions of Kia's striking A-segment Picanto and B-segment Rio were both winners in red dot's internationally-acclaimed 'Product Design' category, in a competition that saw more than 4500 products entered by 1800 manufacturers from 58 countries across a variety of product sectors.

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All New Kia Picanto driving Winner Red Dot Design Awards 2012 - Video

Apple TV got a makeover this week, too, but, unlike with the iPad, the revamped specs don't have reviewers delighted. Apple went with the same approach for both releases: Same gadgets, better insides. With the iPad, the better display, faster chip and LTE capabilities left reviewers giddy. But, Apple TV, with its new processor and interface left reviewers saying things like "This year's Apple TV is a strange little device," in the words of The Verge's Joshua Topolsky. That's because Apple TV doesn't just need a spec upgrade, it needs a design overhaul. Something we don't expect a post-Steve Jobs Apple to deliver.

Since Steve Jobs death, Apple, a place all about innovation, has only released products with zero design innovations. Reviewers (and consumers) forgive the beloved company for the iPhone 4S and new iPad because these products almost reach perfection, the specs are the limits. Apple TV, on the other hand, hasn't seen the sales or ravings that its fellow iBrethrenhave. Apple has sold 2.8 million TV units last fiscal year, compared to somewhere around 35 million iPads. And, Topolsky's not the only reviewer going "meh" for the updated TV. "The new-model of Apple TV looks and acts exactly like the previous model," says MacWorld's Jason Snell and "So no, Apple didnt give a huge incentive for current Apple TV owners to upgrade to the newer box," from TechCrunch's MG Siegler. Our general reviewer sentiment says the TV is "great," but nothing like the acclaim for the new iPad.

Apple often releases updated versions of old products, with revamped specs, as many commenters pointed out, when we made the case that Apple had lost its famed design flare. But, those are on products that have already revolutionized their categories, like the iPod, for example. Apple TV, though, still hasn't done much of anything revolutionary. "The new Apple TV feels more like a refresh rather than a leap ahead," notes Topolsky. The iPad, of course, was also just a refresh. But, the difference is the little TV box needs a leap ahead.

That leap ahead, specifically, is something that lets users cut the cord, or forget they ever wanted to. Apple still hasn't fixed that problem, explains Topolsky. "Then I reviewed the 2010 Apple TV, my biggest concerns were all about the content: the available content on a device like the Boxee Box or the Roku positively dwarfed the Apple TV," he says. "That's still true." A Steve Jobs-led Apple might've had the creativity and clout to pull off that kind of product creation. He did it with iTunes, after-all. But sans-Steve Jobs? This new TV doesn't do it.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at rgreenfield at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

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New Apple TV Epitomizes the Decline of Apple's Genius Design Theory

Taken Question Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC

Question Taken at the MARCH 14, 2012 Daily Press Briefing

March 15, 2012

________________________________________

QUESTION: What kind of Internet freedom support has the State Department provided in the Middle East region?

ANSWER: Advancing Internet freedom is a priority for this administration. From 2008 through 2011, the State Department and USAID have spent $76 million on Internet freedom programming. This year, at a time when we are making significant budget cuts in many areas, we anticipate spending $25 million in Internet freedom programming. Through these programs, we provide training and tools to civil society activists, in the Middle East and throughout the world, to enable them to freely and safely exercise their freedoms of expression, association, and assembly on the Internet and via other communication technologies.

Across the Middle East, we have seen that access to technological tools enables people to tell their story to the world when they are otherwise silenced by repressive governments. Our Internet freedom programming is aimed at making sure that voices for peaceful democratic reform in the region can be heard.

Countering increasingly active Internet surveillance and censorship efforts aimed at suppressing individuals exercise of their human rights requires a diverse portfolio of tools and training. State Department grants support more advanced technologies, including in Farsi and Arabic. Tools that have received support from the State Department help provide unfettered Internet access for hundreds of thousands of individuals in the Middle East. We also support the development of mobile security software to provide safer ways for activists in repressive societies to communicate, and technologies to enable them to post their own content online and protect against cyber attacks. Recently, State Department grantees have come to the aid of dozens of individuals and organizations in the region that have been victims of hacking or have had their accounts compromised. State has also supported the efforts of organizations that have trained over 7,500 activists worldwide, including many from the Middle East, in cyber-self defense.

In the face of growing repression, we continue to expand these important efforts to advance Internet freedom, in the Middle East and throughout the world.

ENDS

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Internet Freedom Programs in the Middle East (Taken Qn)