On June 30, 2005 the .NET Top Level domain registry agreement between ICANN and Verisign will effectively terminate. I have been watching the proccess off and on, staying informed, but not getting involved. This change is so different from the .ORG transfer of several years ago. With that transfer there was a specially created organization (PIR) under the guidance of a trusted internet authority (ISOC) who was almost certain to win the appointment.
The reassignment of .NET will be a much more major issue. The primary factors involved aren’t relevant to the operation of the TLD though. The issue of focus for this fight amoung potential registries is the cost of registration per domain. I personally think that the issue should be the amount that ICANN can trust the operator and the amount that the operator respects ICANN and IETF. The TLD registry function has become too much of a bussiness, it really shouldn’t be. The operator functions used to be totally non-commerical, until the creation of InterNIC. InterNIC was created because it had to exist to keep the number of registrations in .COM, .NET and .ORG to a managable number and to fund a more stable root level TLD DNS system. Once the Internet reached a level where it was no longer just some noble experiment that was being funded by the government and educational institutions, it basicly became responsible for its own funding. During the change from the open registry (pre-incorperated InterNIC) to the days of InterNIC and Network Solutions one TLD was spared the evil fate, .US, also reffered to as US-DOM. The .US TLD was adopted and operated by Dr. Jon Postel from its conception in 1985 to 1998, when Dr. Postel died. During that time there were no registration fees in .US and everything was conducted on a very personal level. When Dr. Postel died ISI continued on with his tradition until March 2001 when Verisign was appointed to succed them, in an attempt to make the TLD more widely used. On October 29, 2001 the Department of Commerce expanded the namespace to allow commerical registrations in the TLD, however, the locality namespace was preserved, allowing the tradition to continue. There is room for commericalism in the operation of a TLD, but it cant be the only reason for being a registry operator and be able to do it effectively. Verisign-GRS has burned too many bridges to retain its position, which is the reason for the selection proccess occuring instead of the registry agreement simply being renewed quietly. The application proccess for the new registry position has gotten quite ugly in the past few weeks, every applicant (with the exception of Afilias, “the Irish applicant”) is using the application forums as a place to mudsling against the other applicants. Aflias is currently my choice for .NET successor for that very reason. Judging from the letters to ICANN from various forces in the domain universe, the general concensus is that DENIC is the prefered successor, although I haven’t seen why yet. I can’t tell from the poor quality of the letters (see http://www.icann.org/tlds/dotnet-reassignment/dotnet-correspondence.htm) what the reason for this overwhelming support is for DENIC. Anyone who is for keeping Verisign wants to do so due to the simplification of the proccess by not breaking up the COM/NET team. I’ve got big news for those people, the team was COM/NET/ORG, and if one member can be removed, so can the others. On the other hand, it is very possile that COM/NET will be back together in 2007 when COM is considered for redelegation.
Many people are probably wondering why I care about this issue so much, well, its very simple: Chris and I both own three domains in the .NET TLD. I want to see the TLD treated well and operated with dignity. I don’t feel that Verisign has done very well at that. Sometimes things just need to change…
Category: Technical
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.NET Registry Successor
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The Written Word
I used to think that the art of the written word was dead and would never come back to life. This blog entry may shock some, as I am writing this from a pen and real paper. I am using a Logitech IO Pen. This evening I found myself writing letters to people, something that I haven’t done in an while. This technology brings the human factor back into things. The Keyboard can never replace the connection between the writer and his mighty pen. We are in a digital world but we weren’t able to interact with our digital “stuff” naturally, I am laying on my bed with this pen and a notebook. What could be more natural? One day humans might have a better way to manage digital communications, but for now this is my preferred method. I used to write all the time, but when I met the keyboard I moved away from the pen, but my love of the instrument seems to have come through unharmed. I am now noticing so many quirks in my handwriting techniques I go back and write over things, have different ways of
writing the same letter and stuff.
You can view what I have actually
written at curtis.kularski.net/public/pen1.jpg Wow, this really long in long hand. 3 lines for a URL is a bit nuts.
I can get my handwritten document in Logitech PEN format, JPEG or converted text. As I write this I wonder how much I’ll have to correct later. The program is supposed to adapt and learn. This could be interesting. The personal touch of handwriting is certainly better for me than harshly banging my keyboard for a blog entry, but somehow I am missing a train of thought when writing with the pen. I guess in time that will return.
The pen is mightier than the sword, and now the keyboard. -
In Search of an Email Server
Last night it was determined that Ipswitch IMail on my server is no longer serving my purposes well because of its weird records system (using Windows Registry) as well as its harsh handling of large SMTP loads and IMAP requests. I have determined that I need to replace it with something a little better. My biggest issues are the cost of good email server software and the fact that the server I want to run it on at this time is Windows. Then there are other issues that occur, such as my need for a highly customizable email soloution. I have a special alias-based system working against a wildcard that I have to consider as well as the need to deliver email to a Perl-based bot that I have to think about when considering new email server solutions. I know that Microsoft Exchange is a hell no because it would probably try to fondle the bot in the proccess of delivering email to it. I really wish i could just convince myself that my network can run on a Linux server, but at the moment I don’t understand Linux enough, or have enough of a clue as to how to do what I want without Active Directory existing. Perhaps I can do something with it when Novell released their new server software. Unforuntately the email situation seems a little more critical at the moment than Novell’s release schedule.
Since I first started using Imail I have been very happy with it and wish I could justify its long term continuation on this network, but I can’t. At the same time I need a good email server that meets my requirements. Outsourcing is not an option here, because I like for things to be my fault when things fail, also, outsourcing would cause the bot to not be happy because it would no longer be able to get its mail direct from the server.
This is something I have a lot of thinking to do for. I don’t know how I will find the answer, but I will keep at it until I do. If all else fails I will learn to write source code better and I will modify some open source email solutions to make them fit my needs. -
Studying for Microsoft Exam 70-217
OR Preparing To Intergrate with the Hive Mind
I have spent a great deal of time in the great complex that is the Active Directory Group Policy utility over the past few years. Now it is between me and that utility for me to become an MCSE. I have been looking over the test-prep tools for test 70-217, and not finding much comfort in them. I think for once I am going to hone my knowledge by improving the in-place-network practice that I have. If there is something I should be doing for the exam, I should be able to do it on my network for a similar purpose and have it make sense. One of the most unusual things I have run across so far in preparing for the test is modification of the schema to include custom objects. I have never done that before, nor have I felt the urge to do it. I’m not sure what I can be practical about adding to my domain schema, but there must be something with the way I like to over-organize things. Perhaps a listing of a “database” object to keep up with the changes I make to my MySQL databases, something which currently cannot be tracked using AD (unless I use MS SQL). I consider myself highly knowledgeable of Windows and Active Directory, but there is a lot I still need to learn about it. I want to learn this material and be able to become a competent Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, not just a paper-certified moron incapable of performing what he has been certified to do.
I now have a Linux system present in my native network environment, this causes some oddity, but also a great opportunity for me to learn to get Linux (with Samba) and Active Directory to work together.
My final two exams are both on Active Directory, so I need to learn this material well and know what I am doing. I want to be able to enter the 70-219 (Designing Active Directory, my final exam) feeling just as confident as when I entered the room for 70-215 (I, A, and C Windows 2000 Server). It has been a long time since I began this journey, starting back on April 10, 2003. I had thoughts of stopping with my MCP certification, because that was the easy thing to do. I didn’t take any other exams after I had exhausted my supply of exam vouchers for over a year until I was challenged by my school’s network administrator to complete the next certification by the time I graduated. On May 19, 2004 I recieved the status of Microsoft Certified System Administrator. I shouldn’t have had to rely on an outside challenge to get me to finalize that goal in my life. I am usually so much more self-motivated than that. This time I am going to be self motivated and pass both of my remaining exams on the first try (especially important for 219). I am this close to my certification goal, I can complete the goal in 2 exams and then close the Microsoft era in my life forever if I decide to do so.
More certifications are likely in my future, but not in the Microsoft realm.
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Change to the GITI v2 Plan
Early this morning at around 6am, before I went to bed I began rethinking the GITI v2 project.
I have decided that the best thing to do is to change the focus of the project and bring it back to being primarily focused around me. I am a fairly unique person and so far am the only one capable of seriously using GITI. GITI started as only being able to support a single user, ME. Through the development of what has become known as GITI v.1 the focus went to being a multi-user system that could possibly be released as open-source. I think this decision was made because I didn’t see GITI as being a valuble use of my time if it was only for little me. Well, little me has some pretty substantial life issues as well as some odd compulsions that can only be answered by GITI. Because of this I will be refocusing GITI v2 to being for me and based on the concept of making my life easier and more managed.
One of the major things that confirms that GITI isn’t for anyone but me is the way I adapted the Education module to handle college level assignments and courses and not high school level once I began having college courses. If GITI is my private utility, then I can advance it without fear and let it further be an expression of me. I guess GITI is sort of like art, it reflects the mood and vision of its creator (me).
I know I sound extreamly selfish in this post, but oh well, this is my life, my blog and GITI is mostly my code (im not that great at PHP, had to steal some from Chris ;-).
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IT’S ALIVE!!!!
Getting It Together Interface version 2 (GITI v2) is now in an almost functional state. I have fully implemented the Education module on the v2 test site. A lot of the componentes are merely rigged together to function now, but that will be chaning soon. I have a lot of work still left to do, but the existing GITI modules are converting to v2 with minimal effort. I have moved away from the module-specific design of GITI v1 and moved toward activity-centric (add, view current, view all, etc). This should be make the navigation easier for the user as well as for administration and development.
The next step in the development of GITI v2 will be actually establishing the menus that will be attached to my cute little tab items. Once that goes into place there is nothing that GITI v2 can’t do that v1 can. This is where the project becomes a truely forked code base, once I transplant all modules and convert them they will start taking on characteristics of v2 and become farther from v1. I am having problems controlling myself on v1 when I do something really cool to v2, I feel like I need to do it to v1 also, but I have to remind myself that v1 is to be locked except for bug fixes and extending functionality where it is imperitive that such functionality exist. For example, if I write decent custom field value modification code, then I will connect it to v1 also, if it is compatible. I spend a lot of time on GITI as both an end user and a developer, mostly as an end-user. Because I am the #1 GITI user it is a lot of fun watching things in the GITI code break as I manipulate GITI. One huge difference in v1 and v2 is that v1 was the only GITI that existed during its development, there was no stable code, only the crap I was producing at the time. Since then GITI has grown and has become mature in v1. As I develop v2 I can spend a lot less time worrying about time management (an imaginary clock ticking, reminding me I need GITI running by X time), and more time developing high quality functional code.
My vision for GITI eventually is something like the borg queen, an all-knowing entity that makes everything make more sense and has a desire to get as much information as possible. One aspect of the borg queen that I don’t want in GITI is the lack of free will. The GITI user should have complete control of scheduling and be able to manipulate it as they like. GITI needs to be very reliable, but also allow for flexable scheduling and alterations in a user’s schedule.
The biggest pain with GITI will be the conversion and intergration of the Address Book Dastabase system. It was never desgined for a multi-user situation, especially not like GITI. The end-user portion of the utility WLL NOT be changing, it is how it is because thats how it is. The admin components will likely become less adminish and more of a split end user system. At the present time ABDB (Address Book DataBase) relies on the information in the database itself for authenticating users for updating their info. One thing that I have given thought to is integrating the addressbook table and the users table of GITI, having a single reposity for all information, and sort of making all users peers of each other. In doing this I would probably find it neccessary to have a seperate GITI contacts tool, which is sort of duplicate, but sort of not. At this point I just don’t know. There are so many aspects to explore for the module. GITI and ABDB work perfectly for me at the current time as they are because they are both designed to be focused on me and my needs. One thing is certain though, if I make ABDB become a multi-user tool I will have to make the username system a little better for it, so that more than one user can have the same real name as another. I know that if I didn’t then in the first week of GITI being accessible by more than just me we would run into John Smith syndrome.
Many more lines of GITI remain until I can rest… -
Future of GITI
“Welcome to The Interface”
“Good Evening, Curtis. Today is Saturday, September 18, 2004”
It took so many lines of code and so much time coding to get those 2 lines to show up exactly like I wanted. That was over a year ago, when GITI was still under primary development. GITI PIM – Gettting It Together Interface Personal Information Manager has been a primary project of mine since the joint completion of Address Book Database utility in Spring 2003. In my quest to learn PHP I started the project. It is now one of my most prided accomplishments, but I find that its needs are quickly outgrowing its current limitations as well as my developmental knowledge. GITI v2 was esablished a few days ago in its own little development space. So far its design is becoming more complex, but at the same time more limiting as far as GITI module inclusion. Im going with the file drawer approach with little tabs used for navigation, there is potential for more than 1 row of tabs, but moving to 3 rows would be pushing asthetic design rules I impose on myself.
For GITI v2 I invision a smooth design with all menu options availible from all pages via a hover menu. Catagories (or Classes for EDU module) should be located on the side of the page where they can be easily accessed when needed. GITI will have to become a lot more user customizable (for additional users as well as for my own convienience). Because of the reinvention of GITI I will be able to fully utilize CSS and make GITI able to have themes. This could be really cool for holidays and stuff.
In additional to the layout changes I have some proposed modules that could be added: Shipment status (via XML manifests availible from shippers), Recipe Manager (per my mother’s request), Wardrobe Inventory (this one might not make it if the usefulness isn’t there), Bookmarks, and a re-write of Journal. One of the things I have considered is having the ability to link all items between modules if needed. This would be most helpful between Schedule and Journal I believe. I theorize that based on the concept that GITI keeps a running record of your life, so why not let it also keep your narratives about it stored in relation to scheduled events in your life?
After I started working on the screen shots for my last post (which are still availible at http://curtis.kularski.net/GITI) I determined that GITI is a very good record keeping system for knowing all of my past events and other things. I didn’t think of it that way when I originally created it and as such doesn’t have nearly as many datestamps in it as it should. I think with version 2 I will have a lot more notations and transaction tracking. I am sort of inspired by IETF’s Internet Draft Status tracker for that aspect. Every major action that occurs with a document that is submitted for the RFC Editor is logged. This could be a nice system for tracking the status of different types of records in GITI. Recipes in the theoretical recipe module obviously wouldnt need it, but ToDos and schedule items could use that ability. A lot of the statuses themselves were written to be binary values, but through much experience with GITI I have determined that statuses can’t be Yes, No or On, Off. There are a lot of in-betweens. More In-Progress things would probably be helpful.
In preparing for this redesign of GITI I am learning a lot more about practical coding than I ever thought I would. I will be posting more screen shots of GITI as it nears being ready for active use in v2.
I guess I will be off to my world of writing GITI for now… -
My present life projects.
A few months ago I submitted an Internet Draft to the IETF and RFC Editor for review, and I pre-maturely requested publication. In the past few weeks as I have reviewed what went on during that time I have decided that I need to work on some of the weak points of the document and submit it to the IESG once again and actually work with the Area Director and Document Sheperds to get the document up to RFC quality and maybe have a shot at getting it published in the RFC archive for eternity. Its probably a stupid idea, but it will give me an aditional project to put some energies into.
On to another project, I walked longer than normal tonight, which is a definate plus for me. I now just have to get myself to do all of the various crunches, reverse crunches, etc. I have given some thought to building a small set of railings for me to use for suspended workouts. Suspended workouts are very efficient, they allow for upper body workouts at the same time as an abdominal workout.
Today I had my normal Monday, Wednesday classes; Logic, Physics and English 1102. Logic was just logic, as always. Dr. Presler doesn’t change much. Physics was another lovely day of notes being taken, and some teaching took place. I am starting to like the way Dr. Naeini is using technology in the course, he can see how all of us are doing and adjust schedules, deadlines, etc based on that to make the course move at the right speed. He actually cares about how we do, which is kinda cool for an instructor at a University like that. English was a wild experience. Betsy had us to act out fallacies that we were assigned to read about. It took nearly the entire class time, but was a lot of fun, plus I think we all know what all the fallacies are now. The rain made today suck a little, but its required, so I guess no complaints can be logically filed against it.
Tommorrow I have my Physics Lab and Abnormal Psychology. This has been a really short week for me. Next week will probably be painful in comparison.
I must now and go in search of future complications of my life… -
Got web space, got domains. Now what?
In recent years I have collected domain names, let some go, obtained new ones and kept that cycle going. I have had so many domains but so few sites. I am now presented with another new URL that has come under my possession, at least temporarily. I should really think about doing some major web-development. Perhaps since my laptop is with me most of the time now (at least, on Thursdays) I should find a quiet spot and begin a few creations. My newest address is http://webpages.uncc.edu/~cmkulars. This is my campus page, it currently has nothing on it, but maybe one day it will. I am thinking about making a page about my academic interests to fill this space, could be interesting to see what I come up with. The content for the page must be static HTML pages, so I guess I will use FrontPage 2003 as provided by the generous labs at UNCC for this project. I know that just because I have web space doesn’t mean I have to use it, but I feel like in my major and areas of interest I should do it. It looks like I am going to have a few hours to kill each Thursday, in addition to my break on Monday and Wednesday. Monday and Wednesday breaks are really more of just breaks though, not a major gap of time. By the time I seek nutrition and navigate across campus there isn’t much time left. This is my first blog entry direct from my home away from home, Barnard Computer Lab. Other than blogging I have so far checked email, verified practicality of using CMK4 to host my data, and added some of my notes from Tuesday’s LBST2101 course to Microsoft OneNote. I am seriously considering the Dell Axim now, I rely heavily on being in contact with a computer to keep myself organized. My laptop’s role has been redefined from what it previously was speculated to be in this situation. Primarily it exists to be useful in a non-class environment (except Physics lab, too many Macs in there) where I can actually utilize its resources over the lab (such as say, SPEED!). I really love being able to have my own personal computer here with me, makes me feel less lonely on campus sometimes.
On a less technical note, I made a social discovery earlier. I don’t really lack social skills as badly as I think, this environment just isn’t conducive to me being socially active. All of my classes are Lecture classes, and they pretty much are just that, lectures. No time to talk for anyone except for the instructor. English is a little better because Betsy encourages us to interact with each other, especially when she is being spastic. In the physics lab today I started talking to Ryan, the person I assume will be my lab partner for the semester. He is a really nice guy, he is a fire protection major, and seems to know his way around a science lab. For me today the lab sucked, we were expected to messure mass with manual sliding scales. I am an electronic scale kinda guy personally, it is faster, more acturate and doesn’t require me to think that much. Press tare, put object on scale and then read the number. The lab instructor is MORE understandable than Dr. Naeini. Kamran Ahmad is his name, he is very helpful, speaks clearly and is very nice to students. My biggest complaint about the lab is that only Mac computers reside in it. I can’t take myself seriously if I am having to write scientific reports about experiments on a MAC!. I now know why this campus is on Novell, there are Macs in Burson (as well as college of Arts and Sciences), Unix based systems in the engineering areas and about the only place to find a decent PC on campus is in Barndard or floating around campus in an instuctor’s hands.
This concludes my report from Barnard lab, I must now go out into the world, seek caffine and read abnormal psychology. -
Birth of a Web Log
I just finished installing MovableType 3 with much assistance from my best friend. The mission of this blog will be to document the next few years of my life as I enter real college life. I am a person of my personality quirks and oddities in the way I handle my life. I don’t presently do a lot outside of my bedroom, but I hope with my newest academic endevour I find many ways to amuse myself that don’t include a keyboard, mouse and multiple LCD monitors. Let the blogging begin…. [insert gun shot sound here].
