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New Domain Name Extensions on the Way

Internet users are currently restricted to a limited number of domain extensions, for example the popular .com, .co.uk, .net and suchlike. ICANN’s proposal will mean the removal of this restriction, enabling registrars to apply for new extensions that are more appropriate to their customers.

However, applying for a new domain extension (TLD) will be very different from registering a new domain name, with each new top-level-domain costing a minimum of $100,000, strictly limited to companies and entrepreneurs.

In addition, the ICANN proposal will also mean that domain extensions could be supported in new languages, no longer restricted to the current 37 Roman Characters.

A final version of the proposal will need to be approved by the ICANN Board before the changes begin to take place - this is expected to be in early 2009. Applications for new domain extensions are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2009.

Fasthosts is very excited by the opportunity that this major change will present for our customers and of course, we will keep you informed of developments as they happen, through into 2009.

 

Get Ready for IE8

Get ready for Internet Explorer 8

Microsoft is currently preparing to release a new version of its Internet Explorer web browser. Version 8 is set to be released for all Windows users early in 2009, meaning that web masters may have some work to do now to ensure that their websites will display correctly in the new browser.

How IE8 affects your website
With IE8, Microsoft has enhanced how the web browser displays and renders websites. Previously, the company had been criticised for not complying with internet standards for HTML and CSS; the languages used to create websites. Within the latest version, however, the company claims to have massively improved web standards support, bringing Internet Explorer in line with web browsers such as Firefox, Opera, Safari and Google Chrome.

This brings a problem: your website may break in the new version of Internet Explorer. Luckily though, there’s an easy fix that you can put into your HTML:

The easy fix
Somewhere between your <head></head> tags of every page on your website, insert the following snippet of XHTML:

< meta http-equiv=”X-UA-Compatible” content=”IE=7″ />
This tells Internet Explorer 8 to build your website exactly how it did in IE7.

The advanced fix
For the most part, your website will only break if it doesn’t adhere to web standards. If you hand code your website, we always recommend developing your site using CSS and XHTML standards to ensure that your website is future proofed.

Find out more at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956197

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