In response to InternetNZ reducing prices for .nz domain names, Simplename has announced it will reduce prices to match.

Richard Clark, founder of Simplename, ‘Of course we’ll pass on the lower fees, we’re not out to gouge anyone.”.

“Simplename has been advocating for fee cuts on the .nz domain name cost for some time, and we’re thrilled with the extent of the cut. This is a sign that InternetNZ understands how important the .nz domain is for New Zealanders, and that it should be affordable.”

There over 381,000 .nz domain names, all of which stand to benefit from the fee reduction.

“Given the economic climate, it is more important than ever for New Zealanders to be able to make themselves visible to the world market on the internet. Domain names are a key part of online marketing.”

Some registrars, including Domainz, have gone on record saying they would not necessarily reduce their prices to match.

“I think that’s disgraceful. We’re in the middle of an economic downturn, acting as gatekeepers for .nz - something that’s the property of all New Zealanders - and they’re going to line their own pockets? .nz needs more visibility, more marketing, more business. We’re not going to do that gouging NZ businesses.”

Simplename is a .nz registrar focusing on ease of use, founded in 2007. Visit Simplename at http://www.simplename.co.nz/

Simplename now supports Google Apps directly for all domains. To make use of this feature simply select Change services from your menu or, while creating a new domain, select “Google Apps” from the ‘Domain points to’ drop-down.

All you need is the domain verification key you get while signing up for Google Apps, simplename takes care of the rest. You have the option of specifying your own web server in case you’re using an existing web host, but if you leave it as ghs.google.com (the default) then simplename will set up all your web stuff as well so that, for example, calendar.yoursitename.co.nz should go to your Google Apps calendar page (if you’ve got it enabled).

The manage menu has also had a bit of a spring clea, removing and renaming some things so that it’s more intuitive. Feedback welcome.

Please note that the SRS (The core system that manages all .nz domains) is scheduled for an outage this Sunday (30/9) from 7am to 9am.

Simplename customers may be unable to access their control panel or register new domains during this window, however your websites and email will continue to operate as normal.

Added Microformats to simplename, for contacts (whois and management) and events (expiry dates). If you’re using Firefox, you can use the Operator extension to make the data visible and, for example, look up addresses instantly on google maps.

Fun stuff.

I’m giving a lightning talk at superhappydevhouse in Wellington on the 7th of July,related to simplename. Feel free to say Hi if you’re there :)

Quick new release, this one a bit beta. I’ve added a simple API for checking domain availability. Trivial syntax, should be a piece of cake to integrate into anything, does XML and JSON responses.

People should let me know if they end up doing anything with it, I’m interested.

A few basic things this week.

Privacy recommendations for registrants. It’s not complete by any means but it’s a start. The DNC wouldn’t let me resell the Private Box service directly, but I can link to it :)

Reminders wizard helping users create the RSS or iCalendar feeds they need to monitor expiry dates for their domains.

A number of layout and content fixes around the place, trying some small changes in focus to see how new people react. I’ve moved transfers off into the menu - the only people using it were people I knew already, might as well use the real-estate for the reminders service instead.

Also got some interesting stats back from analytics which I hope to integrate into the content this week.

Oh, and a “release” tag for people who just wanna watch for releases :)

New release day!

Dashboard

The new dashboard system replaces the old management page, bringing better focus to each individual area as you work with it. The objectives are:

• To improve the relevant information available when you’re interested in, say, web forwarding.
• To provide room for expansion, given the number of new features still in the pipeline

Referrals

Referrals are in, bringing a simple method of rewarding users who bring others to simplename. In a sense, every user automatically becomes an affiliate, able to refer others to simplename via their own specific URL and obtain credit - which can be converted into a coupon - as a result.

The objective was to make it as easy as possible to gain something from sharing the site with others. While you can’t really make money with this (although I do explicitly condone the sale of coupons on a secondary market like trademe (if they’ll let you :)), it shouldn’t be difficult to cover your own domain renewal and then some if you work at it.

I ran out of ideas :) I’m sure I’ll think some more up later but from now it’ll be an irregular series for a while.

Besides, I’ll have much more interesting stuff to talk about soon regarding the site.

• kittenpix.co.nz - Because the internet can never have enough kitten pictures.
• endtimes.co.nz - Perfect for the devout Mormon or survivalist looking to get the word out there!
• afunnything.co.nz - joke a day? hilarious anecdotes about being stuck in traffic? strange pictures collected from the internet?
• paintpot.co.nz - A pot of paint, or perhaps, painting pots?
• ithinkimparanoid.co.nz - The perfect gift for someone who’s reasonably sure, but not completely certain that They are out to get them.