ICANN : Chinese Community Steps Forward for Chinese TLDs – Forms Generation Panel for Root Zone Label Generation Ruleset (LGR)
ICANN is pleased to announce that the Generation Panel for the Chinese Script Root Zone Label Generation Rules (LGR) has been seated.
Following the Call for Generation Panels to Develop Root Zone Label Generation Rules published on 11 July 2013, the Chinese script community has developed and submitted to ICANN, on 27 August 2014, the Proposal for the Generation Panel for the Chinese Script Label Generation Ruleset for the Root Zone (Proposal [PDF, 235 KB] Appendix A [PDF, 167 KB]). ICANN staff has reviewed the proposal including panel composition and scope, to ensure that requirements set forth in the LGR Procedure [PDF, 772 KB], and in particular the criteria set forth in the Call for Generation Panels to Develop Root Zone Label Generation Rules, are fulfilled.
On behalf of ICANN, we would like to use this opportunity to thank each of the members for offering their time and expertise to volunteer for the Chinese Script Generation Panel.
With composition and work plan approved, the Chinese Script Generation Panel will start its work on the label generation rules. According to the LGR Procedure [PDF, 772 KB], the starting point of any Generation Panel’s work is Maximal Starting Repertoire (MSR1) released on 20 Jun 2014. The full specification of Generation Panel’s tasks can be found in the LGR Procedure [PDF, 772 KB] in particular, Section B.3 “Variant Rule Generation Procedure”.
ICANN will provide a central public location workspace on the project website where Chinese Script Generation Panel composition, work plan updates, public reports, contact details, and any other relevant information will be included.
As a reminder, and to highlight the importance of script community involvement required in the development of the IDN Root Zone LGR, we would like to reiterate the Call for Generation Panels to Develop Root Zone Label Generation Rules. A successful development of the IDN Root Zone LGR depends on having Generation Panels for each script represented in the Root Zone. In the IDN Root Zone LGR development, in addition to ongoing efforts with the Arabic and Chinese script, Generation Panel formation is expected to cover other scripts including Armenian, Bengali, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Ethopic, Georgian, Greek, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Hebrew, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Latin, Myanmar, Oriya, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Thai and Tibetan.
This announcement was sourced from :
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2014-09-24-en
Minds + Machines Issues Financial Report For The Six Months Ending June 30,2014
Minds + Machines issued recently its financial report for the first six months ending June 30,2014.The report shows a 4,114% increase from the same period a year ago.
Operational Highlights
Significant growth in revenue (up 4114%), operating profit (up 255%), cash and cash equivalents (up 120%) and net assets (up 89%);
Participated in 12 private auctions auctions for new domain name extensions, securing an additional 4 gTLDs raising our portfolio of wholly owned or partially owned gTLDs to 24;
First domains within portfolio successfully launched; and
Expansion of consumer-focused registrar services, due to launch in early Q4, progressed.
“These are exciting times and we are still only at the very early stages of the new generic TLD roll-out programme. During the first half of the year, we have focused both on how best to grow our portfolio of wholly or majority owned top level domains and how best to address the markets for our existing portfolio of TLDs. We believe that the overall performance of our new TLDs, and the Group as a whole,greatly benefits from our having our own additional registrar channel through which to market and sell our new TLDs including our portfolio TLDs, directly to consumers,” said Executive Chairman, Fred Krueger.
You can see the entire report here.
.SCOT Sees 4,000 Registrations In First Hour
The .scot gTLD went on General Release yesterday (23 September) at 14:00 and 4,000 domains were registered within an hour, 1,500 in 60 seconds.
Director of the DotScot Registrar Gavin McCutcheon said while the recent referendum debate has helped, .scot transcends politics and the proof of that is in the thousands who have signed up.
“There’s been huge interest in .scot since July when we went public,” said McCutcheon. “We’ve seen strong interest from many sectors but it’s particularly pleasing to see the international digital giants like Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram get on board.”
“But it’s not just about the businesses – international and local – it’s about individuals and I’m hearing lots of individuals are getting involved which ties in with the whole ethos of the web being for everyone.”
“That’s not to say the Indyref didn’t help. People on both sides are now wanting to express their Scottish identity more and I think it’s going to be really exciting to see what is registered tomorrow and then what websites go live quickly.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said: “With .scot domains now generally available, people at home and abroad have a new opportunity to express their Scottish identity or affinity online.
“I also look forward to www.gov.scot being adopted in the coming months as the primary web address for the Scottish Government.”
.LONDON Purring Along With Over 40,000 Registrations
The .london gTLD is purring along and has made it into seventh place on the nTLDstats.com list of all new gTLDs with 41,922 domains registered. The gTLD has had widespread appeal, partly due to their being no eligibility requirements, with 15 percent of all domains registered outside the United Kingdom according to figures released by GoDaddy.
Registrants in the United States account for 5.9 percent of all .london domains registered, 1.9 percent are from Germany and 1.1 percent from Australia. The diversity “show that London is one of the most attractive cities to businesses worldwide” said Stefano Maruzzi, VP of GoDaddy EMEA.
“The .LONDON domain was always going to prove popular with local businesses as it gives them a great opportunity to personalise their digital identity and build greater ties with their location,” Maruzzi went on to say. “However, we’ve also seen a large number of businesses outside the UK acting swiftly to boost their profile in one of the world’s largest and most competitive business hubs.”
Interest in Dot London has been strong from the start and on the first day the new domain name went on general availability over 9,000 domains were registered making a total of over 44,000 registrations now received. Leading businesses that have signed up include Fortnum & Mason, KPMG, Metro Bank, Cath Kidston, ZSL London Zoo, the menswear clothing firm dunhill, The Royal College of Art, and Storm Models, who represent models such as Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne.
“The launch of Dot London is one of the most exciting things to have happened on London’s digital scene for many years, and it’s thrilling to be right at the centre of this ground-breaking moment,” said Boris Johnson, The Mayor of London. “London’s new domain name provides a phenomenal opportunity to link businesses all over the world with our city’s powerful brand.”
A number of London and UK-based sports teams and associations, including West Ham United and Harlequins, have also registered their Dot London names with the aim of bolstering their links with London’s reputation as one of the world’s leading international sporting arenas.
“Deciding to adopt a Dot London domain name was a very easy decision for us at Harlequins. We are the London rugby club with a vibrant history in the city and a real heritage within the capital,” said Harlequins Head of Marketing and Communications, Imogen Gaunt. “This domain reinforces our London position and augments the relationships we have with our supporters and partners in the city.”
The new domain name has also, as expected, proved to be popular with many of London’s SMEs, with applications from companies like Highgate-based classic car dealers, Hexagon Classics; family-run organic butchers, Grahams; and Southeast London-based The Cake Store, who have been baking since 1945.
“For over 50 years we have been in the business of dealing with iconic luxury British motoring brands, such as Jaguar and Aston Martin, so having a Dot London domain name will allow us to stand out from the rest and strengthen our link with one of the most seminal brands in the world – London,” said Paul Michaels, chairman of Hexagon Classics.
.SAARLAND Starts One-Month Landrush
The .saarland gTLD commenced its so-called Landrush phase on 23 September, which allows any interested party an early registration until 22 October. During this phase, Saarland residents are granted first rights to their desired domains.
Then as of 30 October, .saarland domains will be generally available to all and can be registered on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Pre-orders for the General Availability of .saarland domains can already be submitted to several registrars.
Saarland is located in the south west of Germany, has an area of 2,570 square kilometres and around 1.01 million inhabitants. It is also Germany’s smallest federal state apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg.
For those without a trademark or similar right to protect but desire early or preferred access to a specific domain, they have the possibility to register their desired domain names in the Landrush. Special preference will be given to interested parties with a domicile or business address in the Saarland to further promote the regional character of the TLD, not unlike the process for .london.
“The Landrush provides a unique opportunity to Saarland people to secure their desired domains before anyone else registers these”, said Alexander Siffrin, CEO of the dotSaarland GmbH, the registry of .SAARLAND.
The Landrush will be structured as an application process and will not be “first come, first served”. Applications for identical do-main names will be resolved in an auction process; however local applications will have precedence over other Landrush applications.
