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i-Names Pick Up Steam

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the reserve-your-name-now dept.

There's been coverage in LJ on the whole "Identity Commons idea. Basically, it's a domain registrar for your unique name - with them on sale already. ASN has published a whitepaper on the topic as well.

8 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. What about XNS names? by Meostro · · Score: 2, Interesting
    The i-name you have requested is an XNS "reserved" name. If you are the orginal XNS name registrant, you can reclaim it and convert it to a new global i-name here. If the original registrant of that i-name doesn't claim it during the EGS period, the i-name will become available again for registration on a first come first serve basis.
    I haven't found in the FAQs or anywhere on the site what that EGS period is... anyone out there have an idea of when I can register myself?
  2. Re:Well.. by Meostro · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I believe that's what an i-broker is...

  3. Central database? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Interesting
    From a brief look at the site, it seems that this is yet another single sign on thing. Having my personal data stored in a single place is a good idea. That single place should be my computer (or, perhaps, a USB pen drive). The Apple Keychain (most of it is open source, and a BSD-licensed work-alike is currently number 4 on my ToDo list) is a good implementation of this. What is really needed is not another single sign-on registry, but a standard for attaching semantic information for web forms allowing the browser to autocomplete them. Safari makes some relatively good guesses, but is far from perfect.

    Oh, and public lynching of people who use Flash for forms (*cough* UCI Cinemas *cough*).

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    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    1. Re:Central database? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      > i realise some of you have javascript turned off.
      > congratulations, you have no room to bitch.

      And we won't be using your web forms either, learn something about standards, accessability and web application development before misleading clients into putting your garbage on the web. If your web form *needs* javascript, it's broken!

    2. Re:Central database? by jc42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      ..., it seems that this is yet another single sign on thing.

      To paraphrase an old computer-industry saying:

      The nice thing about single-signon schemes is that there are so many to choose from.

      --
      Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  4. Good Reasons... by dpilot · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Thank you for listing the reasons simply and succintly. There has been a growing "Why do you keep senselessly bashing Microsoft?" voice on Slashdot, lately. Your post highlights that much (though I can grant not all) of the Microsoft bashing is NOT senseless, and IS based on their past corporate conduct.

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
  5. i-Anything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Is it just me, or does the whole i-Something naming scheme make anyone else want to vomit? Everytime I see i-This or i-That, I want to hurl all over my monitor. Is anyone attracted to that?

    PS The e-Thing shit is starting to get annoying as well. Get some creativity and get a real name.

  6. Answer 50 years. BTW, THIS IS TRUSTED COMPUTING! by Alsee · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I haven't found in the FAQs or anywhere on the site what that EGS period is

    From the FAQ: In this program, individuals may purchase a 50-year global personal i-name What isn't in the FAQ is that you are only reserving the name for 50 years and getting 2 years of free "managment services". After that management fees are around $10 a year.

    Now that I have answered your question and justified leeching off of the first high rated post (chuckle) I have an important message:

    IT IS A FRONT FOR TRUSTED COMPUTING AND DRM!!
    IT IS A FRONT FOR TRUSTED COMPUTING AND DRM!!
    IT IS A FRONT FOR TRUSTED COMPUTING AND DRM!!

    The organisations involved, OASIS (oasis-open.org), XDI.ORG and the others, they are all TRUSTED COMPUTING groups creating "open standards" for ENFORCING DRIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGAMENT systems.

    One of OASIS's primary projects is:
    Extensible Rights Markup Language (XrML): 'The Digital Rights Language for Trusted Content and Services'.

    XDI.org's FAQ
    What does XDI.ORG do ...vision of an accountable, trustworthy layer on the Internet

    This "Identity Commons" wants you to sign up and created a "Trusted Identity" (which is conviently tied to the CREDIT CARD you used to register!), and in the future DRM files will be locked to that identity, and software installations will be locked to that identity, and access to websites will be locked to that identity (single sign-on oh joy) and on and on. And they are offering you an opportunity to sign up and reserve your name before the system is fully deployed, gee thanks.

    The system will not be fully operational unless you are running Microsoft's Palladium operating system, or if you are running a Palladiumized version of Linux or other operating system. Palladiumized TrustedLinux is already under construction. And these new operating systems will only work on the new TrustedHardware. IBM and HP and others are already shipping PCs with this new Trust chip. Intel has already embedded a version of the Trust chip inside the Intell Prescott, although it is in an inactive form. The expectation is that the Trust chip will soon be standard on all motherboards, and then move into the CPU itself. Intel, AMD, ARM, Transmeta, and the rest, all of the CPU makers are on board.

    The Trust chip spys on your hardware and what software you are running and reports it to other people (remote attestation), the Trust chip makes it impossible to read your own files except with the approval and under the restrictions imposed by the software you were given (sealed storage), it prevents you from modifying the software on your own machine (code identity and sealed storage), the Trust chip even DEFEATS THE GPL! Having the source code and being able to modify and compile it is USELESS when that recompiled code DOES NOT WORK. The Trust chip forbids the recompiled code from access to the required encryption keys. The recompiled code will "run", but it will not WORK because it cannot read it's encrypted files and it cannot interoperate.

    I know this sounds like a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory, but IBM is already shipping ThinkCenter, ThinkVantage andNetvista desktops, and Thinkpad laptops with this chip embedded. HP/Compaq are already shipping dc7100 and D530 Desktops and nc6000,nc8000,nw8000, nc4010 notebooks with these chips embedded. Acer Veriton 3600GT/7600GT. Toshiba Tecra M2 Series. Fujitsu Lifebook S7010 and E8000 series and the T4000 Tablet PCs. Samsung all X model laptops. And more every day. As I said, the expectation is that is will soon be standard hardware on ALL motherboards.

    EFF on Trusted Computing
    GNU.org on Trusted Computing
    Wikipedia on Trusted Computing

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    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.