News from PANUG/BizNix - February 10, 2003
http://panug.org - http://biznix.org

MEETINGS

The Resume Workshop is tomorrow. If you haven't RSVP'd,
please do so now by replying to this message.

This Thursday evening is the BizNix meeting and next
Thursday (February 20) is the PANUG meeting. The
main presentation for the BizNix meeting is still being
worked out but it will not take the entire time. If you
have a short presentation you'd like to do, please
contact us by replying to this message.

The PANUG presentation is described next. Please RSVP
for the PANUG session by replying to this message.


BEYOND .COM - THE ALTERNATE ROOTS

Most users of the Internet are locked in to Web and
email addresses that end in names like COM, NET, ORG.
These are called Top Level Domain names or TLDs. TLDs
are tightly controlled by a non-government organization
that operates as a government-sanctioned monopoly. It
takes years for this organization to allow new TLDs,
such as BIZ. Why so long?

The excuse is that technical issues have to be worked
out but the real reason is money and politics. The same
organization controls our DNS so there's little we can
do. Or is there?

Numerous people and companies have created an
alternative to this monopoly. They offer lots of TLDs
- many are free and some are not. These alternate TLDs
are supported by an alternate DNS. We call these the
"alternate roots". Some articles and white papers on
the subject claim that, if we use the alternate roots,
we put the health of the Internet in jeopardy. But
remember - it's not technical - it's about money and
politics. Truth seldom flourishes in that environment.

This presentation will bring you up to speed on the
issues, and DEMONSTRATES LIVE that we can easily use
the "standard roots" and the "alternate roots'
together to access any of the TLDs - without affecting
the health of the Internet.  


NEW SYS ASMIN WORDS
submitted by Steve Coan

BLAMESTORMING: Sitting around in a group, discussing why
a server went down, and who was responsible. 

SEAGULL MANAGER: A manager who flies in, makes a lot of
noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.
 
CUBE FARM: An office filled with cubicles. 

MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation's answer to
the couch potato. 

STRESS PUPPY: An admin who seems to thrive on being
stressed out, whiney, and complains about stupid users
all day. 

SWIPEOUT: An access card that has been rendered useless
because the magnetic strip is worn away from extensive
use. 

PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the
crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again. 

OHNOSECOND: That fraction of time after hitting Enter, in
which you realize that you've just permanently erased a
big database. 

INOCULATE: Taking coffee intravenously when you are
pulling an all-nighter getting that database online from
the backup tapes. 

Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease.