ZDNet | Reviews | Shopping | Business | Help | News | Investing | GameSpot | Tech Life | Downloads | Developer
PC Computing
Y2K virus watch
 
Free downloads
 
Technology is...?

 
ZDNet > Business & Tech > PC Computing > URL Whirl
 

 
Click here for this week's top 50!
 
 
Click Here!
 

 
Search For:            • Search Tips
• Power Search
 
 
PC Computing
 

News & Trends
 

Features
 

Equip
 

A-List
 

Hands On
 

Downloads
 

Current Issue
 

Contact Us
 

 
Subscribe
• Free Trial
 
• Subscribe Online
 
• Gift Subscriptions
 
PC Computing
E-Letter

Sign up to receive free undocumented tips, tricks, downloads--and more!
 

X10.com - The SuperSite for Home Automation!

Find the best buys on computershopper.com - click here!

 
URL Whirl
by Christopher Null
January 2000

Whose URL do you belong to?

Much content online is at best questionable. But the very fabric of the Internet itself is a crapshoot. Visit Whitehouse.com (www.whitehouse.com) and you may be in for a surprise. Whitehouse.gov ( www.whitehouse.gov) is Clinton's place; Whitehouse.com has porn. GWBush.com (www.gwbush.com) isn't a site for the presidential hopeful. It's actually a wicked satire designed by guerrilla e-group ®™ark (www.rtmark.com) featuring tidbits like, "Life begins at 40! Gov. Bush will raise the age at which juveniles can be tried as adults to 40."

Some URL confusion is less clear-cut. Consider the URL www.windows2000.com, once a private "education portal" owned by Bob Kerstein. It's easy to assume Kerstein squatted on Microsoft's turf, but Kerstein put up the site in January 1996, long before Microsoft's product was conceived. "It's a problem for both Microsoft and myself," Kerstein admitted. "I'm optimistic we will come to an agreeable resolution. They've been very fair with me." At press time, Kerstein had exchanged the URL for Microsoft's www.bob.com.

Microsoft is perhaps the most common URL target. Another classic site is Micros0ft.com (with a zero instead of the second "o"). It's actually an advocacy site for open source that's been at odds with Gates and Co. in the past (now peacefully resolved). And watch out if you're a poor typist. Mistubishi.com is taken, as are Amazoon.com and Yohoo.com. While not yet the case with any of these sites, it would be a simple matter to set up a bookstore or a search engine or a scam shop under the guise of a respectable company. Watch out, or your typo could cost you, big time.

The Truth Is Out There

So how do you cut through the online nonsense and get to the meat of the Net? It's easier than you may think.

For starters, anything "anonymous" usually isn't worth a second glance. For buying advice, consider only opinions that have a name, and preferably a face, behind them. Always check credentials too. Productopia and Epinions have different but equally valid approaches to solving the online anonymity problem.

And of course, as with anything you type: Don't forget to check your spelling.



  Back    
Five Stars, All Around

 PC Computing Directory
   
 A-ListDownloadsFeaturesHome 
 Contact UsEquipHands OnNews/Trends 
 Current Issue    



 

Inside This Section
Introduction
Five Stars, All Around
URL Whirl
 
Check Prices
All Desktop Systems
 
ZDNet Auctions
Show listings for Desktop Systems
 
Advertisement
NextCard
Get a $20 credit when you open a new NextCard® Visa® account with a balance transfer.
Click here!
 
Related Links
Desktop PC Reviews
Desktop Systems Briefing Center
Small Business Buying Guide -- Desktops
Desktop PC Help
Desktop Macs Help
Family Hardware Guide
 
ZDNet Millennium Watch
Be prepared! ZDNet Help & How-To presents Millennium Watch, your one-stop resource for news, information, tips, and help for when the clock ticks over to the Year 2000.
 
E-mail this story!

Printer Friendly
Check Prices
Application Suites
Business Mgmt. Software
CD-ROM Drives
Communications Software
Desktop Systems
Financial Software
Graphics Software
Groupware, E-mail
Internet Software
Multimedia, Sound
Network Utils
Portable Systems
Utilities
    More...




 Sponsored Links
Dell  Save on a wide selection of computer products.
Gift Guide  Click here to shop for great Holiday Gifts!
Netmarket  Get 2 Free Movie Tickets When You Try Netmarket.com
PrivacyGuard  Get a Free copy of your personal credit report!
Books  Start the new Millennium with barnesandnoble.com!
Notebooks  FREE USB Keyboard&Mouse with Micron TransPort NX!
 
 ZDNet Featured Links
Freebies  50 FREE downloads -- this week's top free files!
NEW  Computer Shopper picks the Top 100 Products of 1999!
Top Tips  Optimize your PC with this week's Top 50 Tips from ZDHelp
 
 Magazine Offers
Shop 2000  Make the ZD Gift Shop your last stop of the century!
 

Tech Jobs |  Digital Coupons |  Free E-mail |  Newsletters |  Updates |  MyZDNet |  Alerts |  Rewards |  Join ZDNet |  Members
Feedback |  Your Privacy |  Service Terms |  Ad Info
Copyright © 1999 ZD Inc. All rights reserved. ZDNet and the ZDNet logo are trademarks of ZD Inc.