Blacknight Blog - Hosting

More Cool Foam Stuff

By Michele Neylon on July 2, 2009 11:18 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

The guys in MadeInHollywood have come up with yet another cool concept.

Remember when we had a few Microsoft mugs to give away? Well one of the problems we ran into was that the mugs weren't packed ie. no boxes or anything, so shipping them was a problem.

MadeInHollywood came up with a pretty cool solution that does two things:

Protects the mug
Promotes our brand

I've taken several photos of the packages which are now on Flickr, but here's a couple to whet your appetite:

Pretty cool concept !

ICANN Sydney Photos

By Michele Neylon on July 1, 2009 3:05 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

While in Sydney I did my best to take as many photos as possible, though I also discovered the limitations of carrying a big SLR around with me ...

In any case you'll find my shots over on Flickr.

Other people's photos should be viewable on Flickr here if they're tagged with "icann" (I'm not the only person who put photos on Flickr - honest!)

Last Call! Silly Server 2008 Promo

By Michele Neylon on July 1, 2009 3:00 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Our Windows sysadmins inform me that there are still one or two Windows packages available on our special promo pricing

Signup now for the Windows 2008 Minimus and pay only 29.95 for the first year (when that offer's gone it's gone.. )

If you're using Windows on your desktop - why not upgrade to Internet Explorer 8?

UPDATE: Offer sold out.

Rod Beckstrom Announced as New ICANN CEO

By Michele Neylon on June 26, 2009 4:38 AM | No Comments | 1 TrackBack

At the ICANN board meeting in Sydney this afternoon Mr Rod Beckstrom was confirmed as the new CEO of ICANN. The board passed the resolution with acclamation.

Mr Beckstrom then took the stage to address both the board and the audience. He comes across as a highly intelligent and "clued in" individual with a good understanding of both the technical and political and economic aspects of the internet and how it impacts the world.
During his speech Beckstrom spoke eloquently at length and without any notes, about ICANN's history, current role and future.

ICANN 35 Sees More New Domain Extension Announcements

By Michele Neylon on June 25, 2009 7:38 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Over the course of this week's ICANN meeting in Sydney, Australia, new TLDs (top level domains ie. the bit after the ".") have been "the" topic.

The other evening I was lucky enough to be invited to the official launch of dotfood, which is being promoted by Wolfgang Puck and backed by Minds and Machines (Disclosure: I'm good friends with several of them).

The dotfood is pretty obvious, while other tld projects may need a little more explanation.

So what are we likely to see happen in the next 12 months?

The city TLD projects are not without their little controversies (there being at least two projects for .nyc for example), but by in large they are not as contentious as some of the more commercially motivated ones. They're pushing a "step by step" solution for the new TLDs - more on that later (hopefully!).

The intellectual property lobbyists have been voicing their concerns for months, but even their employers (and clients) have interests in pushing forward with the launch of the new domains.

As an ICANN accredited registrar we hope to be able to work closely with many of the new domain extension operators when they are approved by the ICANN community. The main concern now, obviously, is seeing how much longer this will take.

ICANN Sydney Kicking Off

By Michele Neylon on June 20, 2009 5:27 AM | No Comments | 1 TrackBack

ICANN Sydney Goodie Bag Contents
Originally uploaded by blacknight

Although the 35th public ICANN meeting, which is being held in the Sydney Hilton, does not officially open until Monday, registration opened earlier today.

I picked up my delegate bag in the last hour or so and was delighted to see our material had made it in successfully!

The Sydney Hilton has been "invaded" with delegates from the four corners of the globe who will be here for the next few days to discuss a wide range of issues including the new TLD process that I've mentioned in the past.

I'll try to post a bit more on the outcome of the various meetings over the next few days.

Down Under Special - ICANN Sydney

By Michele Neylon on June 18, 2009 8:43 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Since the ICANN meeting is about to open here in Sydney this weekend and we're one of the sponsors, I thought we'd do a small offer to tie in with the event...

So, from now until just after the end of the meeting (June 28th) we're offering 20% off all annual and 24 month shared hosting plan orders (Minimus, Medius, Maximus)

All you need to do is use the coupon code: ICANN when you place your order!

If you're in Sydney for the meeting take a moment to say "hi".
I'll probably be wearing one a Blacknight tshirt, so I should be easy to spot.