Though I am not a firm believer in Murphys’s Law, there are times when services on the Internet seem to go down or not be available when you need them most. One of them is usually email. Even the split-second unavailability of a server can send people – and companies – into a tailspin in this world with split-second expectations.

As someone who relies more than I should on email, I have dealt with such problems for many years and going on decades. One thing I have learned with email, not to mention most aspects of business and life, is to have a backup plan. When it comes to email, it is always handy to have a backup email account with an alternative service provider than your main email accounts.

Backup email is just that – an account to use when you cannot use your main one. You don’t have to spend big money on this either – a free Gmail or Yahoo Mail account will do the trick. For myself, I have accounts with many of the free providers in the event I am not able to connect with one.

As it is a backup account, the idea is it is available if your primary account isn’t. Therefore it is not a good idea to give out the address unless absolutely necessary. In order to best utilize it, you should keep a backup copy of your contacts database so that you can easily access it if your primary account is down. Even if it is a paper printout and you have to manually type each address, it is much better than not having one. Your backup account can be also used for people to forward email messages they tried sending to your primary account but did not go through for some reason.

Backup email accounts are a key component of your overall technology backup strategy. I’ll be talking more about backups and my own strategy over time.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

In my continuous effort to declutter my life of the myriad of spare electronics laying around, not to mention earn a few dollars, I have decided to put some of these items on sale on eBay. The first is my XO OLPC One Laptop Per Child Notebook.

This barely used machine was bought more for good intentions and curiosity of the hardware rather than my intent for using it as a day-to-day computer. It is designed for kids in rural areas, thus the rugged case and small keyboard. I would occasionally use it to surf the Web, but now that I have my Nokia E70 with WiFi I use that as there is no boot time required.

Here’s your chance to get your hands on an XO laptop if you are curious yourself – bidding starts at US$.01!

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Announcements • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

What is a TLD and why should you care? If you have anything to do with the Internet or are a businessperson, you should know what it is.

TLD stands for “top-level domain” and is the last part of a domain name. For example, in the domain name thehotiron.com, the TLD is “com.” Where those who register and manage domain names use the acronym frequently, many others do not. As I plan on using it in many future blog posts on domain names, I wanted to define it ahead of time.

The acronym is sometimes used by itself or it can be prefixed by other letters to further quality a type of TLD. A gTLD is a “generic” top-level domain, and generic means anyone can register a domain name with a gTLD. Examples are .com, .net and .org. A ccTLD is a “country-code” TLD, and are ideally for entities which reside in a specific country. Examples are .us, .au (for Australia) and .dk (for Denmark). An sTLD is a “sponsored” TLD and they are only available to certain groups or classifications. Examples are .aero (for the air transport industry), .coop (for cooperative associations) and .museum (for museums). For a complete list of TLDs, view the list from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for all global TLDs.

Knowing about other TLDs is helpful in choosing domain names to register or in analysis of a URL with a TLD you may not be familiar with. Each TLD is managed by an organization which sets the rules for registrations. For example, some ccTLDs require the registrant to be based in that country, and others do not. If you are a business and have operations or sales in a country, it may be of interest to register the name of your business or brand with a specific ccTLD or sTLD as appropriate.

TLDs of all forms are approved and assigned by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). There have been cases where a TLD was requested but not approved, and a notable example is .xxx and .sex. Some TLDs have been retired, such as .cs (for Czechoslovakia), which were replaced by .cz (for Czech Republic) and .sk (for Slovak Republic).

Of interest to many is a move by ICANN to open the floodgates on any gTLD. For example, .pizza, .beer or .gum. This has been met with much controversy, as it would require an effort for a company to register its name and brands with all new gTLDs, and the opportunity for violation of trademarks by entities who may register domain names with their brand for some random gTLD. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is a staunch defender of its brand for the word “Olympics” globally, has already contacted ICANN with its concern over open gTLDs and to “take action” as required. My guess is the IOC would have an issue with a name like olympics.beer?

In the future, I will reference this document on TLDs in other posts here at The Hot Iron as well as follow-up on news and activities surrounding TLDs, especially the opening of gTLDs.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Business • Domain Names • Technology • (1) Comments • Permalink

Congratulations to the Boston University Mens Hockey team for winning the 2009 national championship last night in Washington, DC! The accompanying photo was taken by my friend Adam, who was at the game last night, shortly after they got a goal in overtime to beat the University of Miami of Ohio 4-3.

It was an outstanding game to close out an amazing season for the Terriers. BU was behind to a formidable opponent in the Miami RedHawks 3-1 when they scored 2 goals in the last minute of regulation to tie it up at 3 all and send it into overtime, when Colby Cohen’s goal broke the tie and sent BU to win its 5th national title. This capped off a season where they won every tournament they were in, including the famed Beanpot tournament, and Terrier Matt Gilroy won the Hobey Baker Award, the Heisman Trophy of college hockey.

As a longtime fan and season-ticket holder of the Terriers, it was an awesome night. Congrats to Coach Jack Parker, all the players and Terrier fans near and far on another exciting season, and here’s to a banner-raising party in the fall at Agganis Arena!

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Announcements • Diversions • (0) Comments • Permalink

The next likemind will be Friday, April 17, 2009 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Argo Tea, 140 S Dearborn St. at the corner of Dearborn & Adams in the Loop at 8:00 am. Note this is a new location! The previous location, The Spa Cafe, closed and rebranded itself as a sandwich shop opening at 10 am, thus we needed to find a new place.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

Did you enjoy reading this? You are welcome to subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS feed or by email.

Announcements • Business • (0) Comments • Permalink