The latest word on the upcoming iname “launch” is that it will definitely be delayed at least a few weeks from it’s May 1 schedule. Late May to early June is the new timeframe.
Watch this space for updates.
Here’s an email from Drummond Reed, just sent to the Identity Commons Community mail list, announcing a major chunk of documents that define services and terms for the global iname registry. We’re posting it here in case folks are interested. For those that don’t read through the docs, we’ll post any juicy bits we discover. Now, over to Drummond:
“Members of the GSS Comment List (with apologies for cross-posting to the Identity Commons Community List and Identity Commons Developer’s List):
After many months of work it is a pleasure to announce that Release Candidate 1 of the XDI.org Global Services Specifications (GSS) has been uploaded to the GSS wiki at:
The former wiki-based GSS specs have now been replaced by a single page listing of the GSS documents in PDF and Word format. This list includes the main GSS specification (including Appendix A – Definitions) followed by listings for each of the rest of the Appendicies (B through N) as separate documents.
What has been posted so far is:
* The main GSS specification document including Appendix A (68 pages)
* Appendix N: GRSP Service Level Agreement (5 pages)
12 additional appendicies, which are primarily legal documents, remain to be posted. These are currently in the final stages of editing by the legal team (Scott Blackmer of XDI.org, Brian Lewis of Cordance, and Jeff Neuman of NeuStar). Each will be posted as soon as it is ready, with the goal of all documents being in review by the XDI.org trustees by the end of this week.
We strongly encourage review and feedback as quickly as possible as integration testing has begun in preparation for the launch of the Global Registry System (GRS). Please send comments to any of the lists cc’d above, or post them directly on the GSS wiki.
Thank you,
=Drummond (http://xri.net/=drummond.reed)
If you have a global iname, then you also have a contact page with it’s own unique web link (URL to you techies). The link consists of a public address followed by your iname. Folks who sign up at 2idi.com are (still) told that their link is:
old: http://public.xdi.org/=inamers
This is out of date (but still works).
As announced on the Identity Commons community list in December, a new address has been created for these links and it is highly recommended that all inamers update their links to:
The old form of the link continues to work, but the new domain xri.net is preferable (not to mention shorter and easier to type!).
When the iname global launch happens, iname prices will be changing. Here’s what inamers can expect.
Community inames will continue to be free (or whatever the community offering them wants to charge). Think of these like email addresses - if you register a domain you can crank out as many as you want. The same with inames; if you have one (especially a global one), you’ll be able to create as many community inames as you want.
Global inames (inames that start with an = or @) which are top-level names, will not be free. Global inames will be sold through ibrokers who purchase the names at wholesale rates and mark them up as they choose. Estimates of street prices to register an =name for a single year vary between $10 and $20 dollars (USD).
Contrast the single year price above with the ongoing special deal still available at 2idi.com: a 50-year iname registration for only $25 (USD).
The special price on 50-year names will end with the global launch so if you’re tempted to get a global iname you might want to act now: better deals are highly unlikely.
50-year names will continue to be available after global launch until the Identity Commons supply is exhausted, however the price will definitely go higher. How much higher is still being negotiated but prices as high as $100 (or more) have been discussed.
The official iname global launch (aka Global Resolution Services or GRS) is scheduled for May 1, 2006, less than 2 months away and coming up fast. This is big news for all inamers.
It’s bit funny to be “launching” a product that has been available for over a year, but terminology aside, the upcoming “global launch” milestone is significant in a couple of important ways to current and future iname users.
First, while it has been possible to register inames at 2idi.com (and still is!) for over a year, the iname infrastructure has been in ongoing and constant development during that time. In fact, about the only thing that hasn’t changed is the format of the inames themselves; most everything else “under the hood” has been constantly evolving; it’s been a major time suck for all the innovators. Thus, the upcoming global launch represents a major milestone in the stability of the underlying technology. With a stable platform in place, developers can turn their attention towards building iname services that benefit us inamers.
Second, with global launch the capability for multiple i-brokers will finally exist. This means that 2idi.com will have other i-brokers competing to provide inames and competition for inamers’ business will help stimulate the creation of more services.
We’ll post more details on the upcoming launch as they become available. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them on the wiki or mailing list at inamers.org.
Inamers.org, a users group for inames, is now up and running.
Vist the wiki, subscribe to the blog, join the maillist and learn all there is to know about inames from other iname users.
Since inames are still brand new, us users can do alot to help each other figure out what they can do and advocate for what they should to better.
Whether you are a current or future inamer, we hope you’ll check us out.