Fees for ‘.com,’ ‘.net’ will rise for a second year

Fees for ‘.com,’ ‘.net’ will rise for a second year

NEW YORK — Fees for using two of the most common suffixes for Internet addresses are going up for a second consecutive year.

VeriSign Inc., the company that keeps the master list of domain names ending in “.com” and “.net,” said that effective Oct. 1, the annual fee for “.com” names will go up 7 percent to $6.86 and the “.net” fee will increase 10 percent to $4.23.

The fees are what VeriSign charges companies that sell domain names on its behalf, and those charges are generally incorporated into the prices that companies, groups and individuals ultimately pay to register names.

VeriSign could make up to $37 million a year from the increase, with some 75 million “.com” names and 11 million “.net” names in use. The price increase, however, applies only at renewal and to new registrations, and many resellers offer discounts on multiyear deals.

VeriSign recently announced plans to further improve security and increase capacity for the servers that keep track of “.com” and “.net” names. Computers from around the world check them continually to find out how to reach “.com” and “.net” Web sites and pass along e-mail.

Equipment’s hot air’s used to heat swimming pool

A new computer center in Switzerland is making novel use of the hot air thrown off by its servers and communications equipment: The heat is being funneled next door to warm the local swimming pool.

When computing companies talk about “greening” their energy-guzzling data centers, that usually means powering the centers with renewable sources or using more-efficient servers.

In a few cases, the heat produced by the computers is used to warm nearby offices. In what appears to be a first, the town pool in Uitikon, Switzerland, outside Zurich, will be the beneficiary of the waste heat from a data center recently built by IBM Corp. for GIB-Services AG.

As in all data centers, air conditioners will blast the computers with chilly air — to keep the machines from exceeding their optimum temperature of around 70 degrees — and pump hot air out.

Usually, the hot air is vented outdoors and wasted. In the Uitikon center, it will flow through heat exchangers to warm water that will be pumped into the nearby pool. The town covered the cost of some of the connecting equipment but will get to use the heat for free.

Microsoft Surface to debut at some AT T stores

SEATTLE — Microsoft Surface, the software maker’s coffee-table shaped touch-screen computer, will make its debut as a marketing tool in a handful of AT T Inc.’s wireless stores April 17.

The Surfaces — 22 in all — are programmed to recognize eight of AT T’s wireless phones. When a customer places one or more phones on the table, information about features pops up. Shoppers can also zoom around AT T’s coverage map and learn about calling plans by moving their hands across the screen.

The machines are intended to help salespeople, not replace them, AT T said.

Microsoft Corp. unveiled Surface last May, and said the Windows Vista-based machines would first appear in T-Mobile USA stores and properties owned by Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. Those partners planned to have Surface running by November, but later delayed the launch by several months.

Mark Bolger, senior director of marketing for Surface, said those companies are still working on software appropriate for their own brands and locations. He said all three plan on deploying Surface this spring.

Propertyroom.com offers unclaimed items for sale

DENVER — In the mood to buy a conversation piece? Say, an ancient Tibetan bead? An autographed comic book? Maybe a set of police vehicle lights?

At www.propertyroom.com — where unclaimed items from more than 1,000 police departments are auctioned with most bids starting at $1 — jewelry, artwork, vehicles and electronics are just a few categories.

PropertyRoom.Com of Mission Viejo, Calif., provides an alternative to typical police auctions, held when departments clean out evidence rooms: It will pick up property, refurbish it as needed, auction it and deliver it to the successful buyer.

Founded in 1999 by former police officers, the Web site’s first auction was held in January 2001 when it sold a camera for $20. It had contracts with at least 700 law enforcement agencies by 2006 and has more than 1,000 today.

Chief Executive P.J. Bellomo credits the site’s growth to the decision last year to set a minimum $1 bid on most items.

“Things sell for $1 every single day,” he said.

Money-finding Web site is misleading, lawyers say

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Web site that says it will help people find money they didn’t know they owned is misleading and violates Pennsylvania consumer law, state prosecutors said in a lawsuit.

When investigators plugged in the names of cartoon characters such as Batman, Spiderman and Wile E. Coyote at www.unclaimedmoney.us.com, it told them they had multiple caches of unclaimed money, the state attorney general’s office said.

The catch was that free search provided only vague information, and the Web site charged $24.95 for a membership that would produce details, the office said.

Associated Press