new.net: yet another dns namespace overlay play

Tue Mar 6 10:14:40 UTC 2001

On Mon, 5 Mar 2001, Steve Rubin wrote:

> 
> > Through strategic relationships with leading Internet Service Providers
> > (ISPs), including EarthLink, Excite at Home, and NetZero....
> 
> God I love BizDev people.  
> 
> > New.net is able to provide use of these new, top-level domains through
> > innovative, patent-pending technology that allows the New.net names to live
> > within the existing Internet domain name system. 
> 
> patent-pending technology? oh brother.
> 
> I thought VC's started doing research before handing out $$?  If this was
> 1999, it wouldn't surprise me.  But my god, you would think these fools
> would learn.  Anyone want to start a free colocation facility?  Free dial,
> free colo, whats the difference.  I'm sure whoever funded New.net will 
> fund us!

Dude, it gets better.

>From the release:

> Internet easier to navigate. Based in Pasadena, California, the
> company was started in May 2000 by idealab!, a leading Internet
> incubator. Since that time, New.net has developed propriety technology
> that allows its

Ah, another idealab! company.  Lets see, what OTHER idealab! companies
have screwed themselves lately (according to FuckedCompany.com[0])?

* idealab! itself
* eToys.com - still doing their final closeout sale
* refer.com - closed
* cooking.com - 20% layoffs (rumor)
* utility.com - all offered services suspended
* CarsDirect.com - webserver's gone
* petsmart.com - pulled IPO
* modo.net - closed
* firstlook.com - 30% layoffs (rumor)
* eve.com - webserver's gone.

And there's a couple other notable mentions, including lawsuits and other
funness.

idealab! is making a name for itself in funding lots of companies that are
tanking left and right.  And they don't even have the decency to remove
their fallen children from their homepage (utility.com, netzero, and
carsdirect being notables)...

-j

[0] - I take FuckedCompany with a grain of salt (as I assume everyone else
does), but many of their reports on idealab! have been shown to be true
(or very close to accurate) as reported.

-- 
-Jonathan Disher
-Sr. Systems and Network Engineer, Web Operations
-Internet Pictures Corporation, Palo Alto, CA
-[v] (650) 388-0497 | [p] (877) 446-9311 | [e] jdisher at eng.ipix.com