Elaine Pruis and Jothan Frakes talk TLDs
Mar 9th, 2009
With huge thanks to the folks at Dynamic Network Services here are interviews with Elaine Pruis and Jothan Frakes. Good questions, good answers, lots of information.
Elaine Pruis
Blog: Jothan Frakes
Press Release: Minds and Machines Launches Low-Price, Full-Service Domain Name Registry
Mar 4th, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DOMAIN INDUSTRY LEADERS ANTONY VAN COUVERING, JOTHAN FRAKES AND ELAINE PRUIS LAUNCH “MINDS + MACHINES”—REGISTRY SERVICES COMPANY BASED ON COCCA PLATFORM WILL OFFER INEXPENSIVE, FULL-SERVICE SOLUTION FOR NEW TOP-LEVEL DOMAIN APPLICANTS.
MEXICO CITY (March 1, 2009). Domain name veterans Antony Van Couvering and Jothan Frakes announced today the formation of Minds + Machines, a domain name registry services company for new top-level domains (TLDs). Minds + Machines will offer full-service consulting (Minds) combined with Espresso, a top-tier domain registry software platform (Machines).
The Minds + Machines consulting solution extends from application to operations, and offers a full rebate of consulting fees from eventual registrations. Application preparation services, sales channel establishment, intellectual property protection (Sunrise Period) design, investment assistance, contention and objection resolution, staffing, ICANN liaison and other services will be offered. Minds + Machines has assembled a choice of best-of-breed partners into a complete registry package to make multiple vendors easy to manage. Auction services, DNS resolution, data escrow, trademark verification, design, and marketing partners are available to Minds + Machines clients, often at preferential rates.
Espresso, the Minds + Machines registry solution, is a cousin of CoCCA, the leading open-source solution used by dozens of country-code top-level domains and all the top ICANN registrars. Espresso extends the robust CoCCA platform to make it available to communities, organizations and entrepreneurs seeking to apply for a new top-level domain from ICANN.
“We’re cheaper, quicker, easier, stronger, and complete, as suggested by the Espresso brand,” said Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines. “After looking at all the current registry solutions, we saw a real opportunity to provide a better service. The combination of our consulting model, layered into CoCCA, which is a very inexpensive open-source software with a proven track record, is a key differentiator.”
Espresso is available as a hosted or locally-installed solution, and is customizable to any TLD business model. Espresso features an inexpensive flat “per registration” fee, with no setup fees and no lock-in. For corporations who envision just a few registrations, Minds + Machines offers an inexpensive setup fee and a low flat annual fee.
Minds + Machines has signed an exclusive agreement with CoCCA to provide Espresso to gTLDs, while CoCCA will continue to provide services to country-code TLDs. “We are thrilled that Antony, Jothan and Elaine are extending the CoCCA platform to the gTLD space by introducing Espresso,” said Garth Miller, CEO of CoCCA Tools. “This company launch will provide gTLDs applicants of all types and sizes an inexpensive and reliable alternative to existing legacy registry service operators.”
Espresso is fully compliant with ICANN requirements and has been thoroughly field-tested by over 20 currently-operating TLDs. “The Espresso platform fully supports key Internet standards related to registry operations, such as registration, resolution, and WhoIs, and works with important new standards like DNSSEC, IPv6, and IDN. The code is elegant. It is written in Java, can support any unicode language, is compatible with all major currencies, and can work with any of the anycast DNS providers,” says Jothan Frakes, Minds + Machines COO. “CoCCa, Espresso’s cousin, is in use today by more root-listed TLDs than any other software, and has most of the planet’s registrars already integrated to our EPP API, so new TLDs added to Espresso benefit from the large base of current registrars. This means they can go to market quicker because the registrars have already done the technical integration.”
Contact: Antony Van Couvering at avc[at]mindsandmachines.com
