There's a new top-level domain available. Normally, this would be an exciting moment for Mr John Smith, who had missed out on snapping up johnsmith.com, johnsmith.net, johnsmith.org and all the others, because this would give him another chance to get his own personalised domain for his website. But .tel, which was introduced at the end of last year for corporations to start buying, and has just opened a "landrush" grab for us normal human beings (albeit at an eye-watering £325 for 3 years until prices get more sensible on March 23rd) isn't designed for normal websites. It's designed to hold contact information. And despite it being heralded as a "revolution" by the people who are paid to say such things, it's such a monumentally weak idea that I'm hard pushed where to start picking holes in it.( Read more... )