Meanwhile, companies registering under the still unreleased seven domains are stuck in limbo while a revolution rages next door. Whether a company backed by Idealab, a legendary Net incubator, can pull it all off is another question. Pasadena, Calif.-based Idealab, on the other hand, likes to take big risks. If the idea is embraced by IPs, New.net will offer dozens more TLDs to the masses. New.net is an elegantly simple and rebelliously democratic work-around, but plenty of obstacles lie ahead.
Privacy is another issue.
It was recently disclosed that VeriSign was selling its registry database to third parties. New.net has a privacy policy, but one that can be modified. In the future, competitors could accomplish a similar domain hijack. All they need is a critical mass of willing IPs or users. For now, though, New.net has the fire.