December 27, 2008
If you have never heard of IDN domain names, you likely soon will. This is because the most used and popular internet browser in the world, Internet Explorer (IE7), will soon beging to resolve them by default. This means people from all over the world will finally be able to communicate websites, domain names and urls in their native languages. Many people feel this will mark a turning point in internet history. But just what is IDN and why are they so important?
IDNs are domain names that are written in foreign languages like Chinese, Japanese or Russian. IDN stands for Internationalized Domain Name. Most domain names that people are familiar with are written using the latin/english 26 character alphabet (or numbers), in an encoding called ASCII. This is because the internet was designed from the beginning to work using ASCII. IDN allows for the use of non ASCII characters in domain names.
IDN presently acheives this by using what is known as unicode, a foreign language encoding, to display the foreign language domain. The IDN can be converted by the browser via a number of algorithms to what is known as punycode, which is an ASCII version of the IDN, which can easily resolve with the current internet system. Punycode domains can be identified by their “xn--” beginning. The web browser performs the conversions and resolves the domain name into the correct unicode language.
Up until now, only a few browsers could/would convert IDNs. There have also been issues with IDNs regarding security and what is known as IDN spoofing and homograph attacks, where similar looking characters could be used to create look alike domain names. But with IE7 on board, and developing security refinements, the world moves closer to global IDN resolution. With IDN, people all over the world will be able to type domain names in their languages and visit sites that may be there. Businesses will be able to advertise their sites in the correct language. The internet will realize its promise as a truly global, international and diverse medium. Read more about IDN domain names.
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October 16, 2008
There is basically nothing out there in the real world that is equal. Everything has its own distinctions, thus nothing is equal. This is also true with domain names. Not all domain names are designed equal as it is commonly noted. One of the main reasons that show this fact about the domain names is the truth that some of the choices for words in the English language have already been broken up as domains, thus some of the particular domain names worth higher to buyers than the others.
With such fact about the value of the domain names, one of the major processes that exist in the world comes to tackle this matter and that is the domain name appraisal. The domain name appraisal emerged out of the situation of buying and selling domain names. So what exactly is the domain name appraisal?
The domain name appraisal is the manner of weighing up a domain name and recognizing the worth of a certain domain name. This is somewhat like a real estate appraisal and other forms of appraisals. However, unlike the currencies in which a set worth can be recognized; in the domain name worth has no way to be standardized. So with such fact, it is important to know that the domain name appraisal just remains as an opinion. Many domain name experts have noted that due to such condition of the domain name appraisal, there is no way that the domain name’s worth can be conclusively proved.
Even though the domain name appraisal remains as a mere opinion, the domain name appraisal can still be very helpful. They not only give the domain name owners with an opinion but the domain name appraisal also gives certain signals to the owners of what they must charge when they decide to sell a domain name. As such, the domain name appraisal is then believed to add at least a tidbit justification to the domain name price.
In a domain name appraisal, a number of factors are mostly considered. These factors include the domain name’s length, keyword recognition, vividness and range of potential uses. It is also considered that most of the domain name appraisals today charge a certain domain name between 10 to 30 dollars, but with official discounts for bulk domain name appraisals. And to better serve the domain name consumers and holders, certain companies that conduct such service provide some software that will greatly appraise the domain names for the customers.
But still outside from such functions, the domain name appraisals are only means of determining the worth of a domain name. And if the domain name is appraised at a high value, it doesn’t mean that such domain name will sell quickly, it just holds that you picked a better name.
The 12 Month Millionaire Will Show You Everything you did and didn’t want to know about making One Million Dollars by this time next year… revealed LIVE! Active hyperlink must remain w/article.
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There are a number of domain name registrars out there online. For something as simple and yet necessary as domain name registration, price is the main factor. So where can you find the best deal to get your domain name registered? Here are the top 5 cheapest domain name registrars.
There are a number of domain name registrars out there that can get you your name for under $4.00. What separates one from another is the support and extras you get with your price. With that in mind, the first of the top 5 cheapest domain name registrars out there is active-domain.com. For the $3.95 you pay for one year of domain registration, this company also offers you a number of features. In addition to any suffix you need, you get a web-based services account to keep track of your domains, free email forwarding, catch-all email accounts, free sub-domains, parking page, and many other features that make this a definite top five cheap domain name registration company.
A second member of the top 5 cheapest domain name registrars is domainsarefree.com. Despite the name, you will have to pay for your domain name registration, but at $3.99 per year, it is still a good price that comes in under $4.00. Additionally, they offer you a number of other features with your registration at no extra charge. Email forwarding, anti-spam, domain administration, and even some great web hosting deals are available. They also offer you most any domain suffix you could want and are qualified to receive.
Another of the top 5 cheapest domain name registrars you may want to consider is cheap-domainnames.com. Their strength lies in the rates they give for bulk domain registration. You can receive a discount of more than 10% if you register a large number of domains at the same time. Additionally, if you use their other services, they will offer you domain registration for as little as $2.00. In some cases, you can actually get free registration from them. The key is to explore all of the deals available through the company and find the one that matches your company best. In fact, under the right circumstances, this may actually be the cheapest of the top 5 cheapest domain name registrars.
Though their initial cost may be a bit more, fxdomains.com has a place in the top 5 cheapest domain name registrars for a simple reason: you get so much with your registration. Not only to you get the domain name you want for less than $8.00, but also you get a number of free extras that can really make the price a great value. With registration you will get a quick blog, website holder page, email, starter web page, forwarding, total control of DNS, a for sale page if you want it, and a number of other features that make this company worth a look for domain registration.
Finally, Yahoo definitely deserves a spot in the top 5 cheapest domain name registrars. Still coming in at under $10.00, the company offers a number of extras in addition to very good support. Their size and capital make them a solid choice when it comes to service. In addition to your domain, Yahoo will get you a starter web page, 24 hour customer services, complete domain control, and email forwarding in addition to a number of other standard features and available upgrades.
Stu Pearson has an interest in Technology related topics. To access more information on cheapest domain name registration or on domain name registration search, please click on the links.
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October 15, 2008
Subnet mask shows which bits of an IP address (read the article IP Addresses, by the same author) represent the network and which represent the host.
By default we have:
IP addresses - Subnet mask
Class A - 255.0.0.0
Class B - 255.255.0.0
Class C - 255.255.255.0
Example:
IP address 192.168.8.4 ( class C ). The first 24 bytes represent the network
- 192.168.8.0 - and the last 8 bits the host - 4 -.
When a host A wants to be connected to a host B, the host A uses its subnet mask to check if the host B is on the same LAN - local area network -
or on a remote network.
For this purpose it is used the boolean ANDing process.
Example:
Host A IP address ( class B ) 172.16.2.4 - Subnet mask ( class B ) 255.255.0.0
Host B IP address ( class B ) 172.16.2.5
Host A IP in binary:
10101100 00010000 00000010 00000100
Host B IP in binary:
10101100 00010000 00000010 00000101
Subnet mask in binary:
11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000
– ANDing process for Host A
10101100 00010000 00000010 00000100
11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000
—————————————–
10101100 00010000 00000000 00000000 Result for HOST A
– ANDing process for Host B
10101100 00010000 00000010 00000101
11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000
—————————————–
10101100 00010000 00000000 00000000 Result for HOST B
The calculation works in this way:
- 1 when the first and second bits are both 1.
- 0 when they are 0 and 1, 0 when they are 0 and 0.
Since result A = result B the two hosts are on the same network, so the communication is possible without using a gateway ( normally a router ) to
establish a connection to another network.
There are two ways to write an IP address using subnet mask:
Example:
1) 49.22.2.3 255.0.0.0 - class A IP and subnet mask
2) 192.168.1.3/24 - class C IP and subnet mask ( showing its bits )
255 in binary is 11111111 - 8 bits -.
Since in a class C subnet mask there are three 255 groups we have 24 bits.
Subnets
Sometime it is useful to divide a network in smaller networks.
Let’s suppose we want divide a network, with a class B - IP address, in 8 subnets. The class B subnet mask is 255.255.0.0
We must use some of the 16 bits of the host portion ( borrowing process )
to create the 8 subnets. Since the subnets are 8, we need 8 different combinations plus 1 ( the broadcast ): 9 in total.
In binary 9 = 1001, that is 4 bits.
Subnet mask:
11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000
Inserting 4 bits in the third group ( the first of the host portion ):
11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000
the third group becomes 11110000 = 240 ( base 10 )
It means that we have a new subnet mask: 255.255.240.0
Generally speaking:
The calculation for the number of subnets is
2^x -2
where x is the bits number for the subnet mask.
( In the example above x = 4 )
The calculation for subnets addresses is
256 - s
where s is the value of the subnet mask: in the same example s = 240
The calculation for the hosts number is
2^y -2
where y is the number of the remaining bits: in the same example y = 12 because
———————-bits left (12)
11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000
—————– bits
—————-inserted
——————(4)
The IP addresses numbers are between the IP of the first subnet and the IP of the last subnet with the exclusion of the broadcast and network IP.
Broadcast IP have all the bits of the host portion = 1
Network IP have all the bits of the host portion = 0
Final Example:
Let’s divide a network with IP address 192.168.5.0 ( class C ) in two subnets.
The necessary combinations are 3. In binary it is 11, so we have 2 bits.
The class C subnetmask is 255.255.255.0
After the borrowing process, it’s last group becomes 11000000 which is 192 (base 10).
The new subnet mask is 255.255.255.192
Hosts number is 2^6 -2 = 62 ( y = 6 )
Subnets addresses: 256 - 192 = 64 ( s = 192 )
Then 192.168.5.64 and 192.168.5.128
It starts with 64 and goes on adding 64
IP addresses: from 192.168.5.65 to 192.168.5.126 for the first subnet.
from 192.168.5.129 to 192.168.5.190 for the second subnet
Note: the broadcast address for the first subnet is
11000000.10101000.00000101.01111111, the fourth group is 127 (base 10 ) and the broadcast address of the second subnet is
11000000.10101000.00000101.10111111, the fourth group is 191
( base 10 )
Renato Piccini - Florence - Italy
Computers Networks technician
http://www.softgrafic.com
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October 14, 2008
Once you are comfortable with working online, you should buy a domain name for your site or sites. Domain name registration, if you do it right, is one of the key components of having your site rate high in the search engines. The right domain name is memorable, and can get your site to rank higher than other names. The wrong domain name won’t do you any good at all.
The Basics of Domain Name Registration
The first thing you have to do is come up with a good domain name for registration. Don’t even think about a one-word domain name; they’re all gone at this point. Instead, come up with dual-word combos. If you’re putting together a professional site, try your name before anything else.
Don’t get fancy with spelling when selecting your domain name registration, or use 2s and 8s to represent their sounds. You can try the number 1; that sometimes works. You can also try the names of products you offer, or a description of your site content offerings: Romanceforgirls, popcornpalace, fluffykittens. Memorable is always better; short and memorable is best, but very difficult to accomplish.
Come up with a couple of dozen names that will do for your site, and test them on a registry. Don’t buy a domain name for which the .com extension is gone, but you have access to the .net or .info. These domain names are not by any means as valuable as the .com. If you pick up the .com, though, and you expect the site to be lucrative or have a lot of competition, it’s not a bad idea to pick up the other extensions as well. Domain name registration is NOT expensive, and if you register in bulk you can get an even better price.
The .UK Extension
This doesn’t mean you should avoid anything but .com. If you have a business in the United Kingdom, you have access to the .uk domain name set, which UK customers are likely to look at before anything else for UK-specific businesses.
If you anticipate most of your business will come from British customers who are aware your business is in Britain, the .uk extension may be a better choice than the .com; and if your customers are unhappy with Internic’s control of Internet domain registration or they are very pro-Britain, the .uk extension is certainly a better choice.
If you’re fortunate enough to find both extensions for your domain open, and if you run a British company, it doesn’t cost much to buy them both, and you definitely should.
It also gives your online presence an immediate “identity” geographically which can be crucial in building online relationships- where trust is a key component. By being a .UK domain, you are very likely to gain UK clients.
The .UK domains market is one of the fastest growing and lucrative registration areas on the internet.
Tips for Domain Name Registration
Have a website ready to plunk into your domain as soon as you buy it, and submit it immediately to the search engines. The search engines take time to index new sites and your domain name registration is only as valuable as the search engines make it.
You can also have more than one domain name pointing at a single site. If you’ve bought multiple extensions for your domain name (as in the previously-suggested .com/.uk combination), you can set up your site under one domain name and then direct traffic from the others to the main site. This is called web traffic forwarding and has been around for years. It may be as simple as parking your domain name on a server and putting a line of code on the page, or as complex as going through another website to use their online web forwarding services.
When you do register a domain and start building traffic to it, go out and renew for multiple years before your renewal is due. It is surprisingly easy to forget to register your domain name on time, and if someone else sneaks in and registers it, you’ve just lost a ton of work on that domain.
By making your domain name memorable, you will help other webmasters remember your site easily when building anchor texts in their links- a crucial component of SEO.
Final tip: don’t just think about price when looking for a domain registration company- also think about quality of service. While you shouldn’t be paying over the odds, it really is better to be safe than sorry and go with the more established registrars. Then you can have peace of mind that should any problems arise, you will be well looked after.
Adrian Lawrence is the webmaster for http://www.discountdomainsuk.com a leading
Domain Registration Service. Please feel free to republish this article
together with working hyperlinks.
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