The latest

This just came in from the Washington Post

( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/digest/tech1.htm )

NSF Approves Non-Profit Internet Registry
     Plan

     By Elizabeth Weise
     AP Cyberspace Writer 
     Tuesday, June 24, 1997; 4:22 p.m. EDT 

     Moving to privatize the Internet, the National Science Foundation says the
     assigning of numbers for Internet addresses will be turned over to a non-profit
     organization. 

     The NSF on Tuesday approved a plan that will establish the American Registry
     for Internet Numbers. It will keep track of which numbers are assigned to what
     computers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. 

     Responsibility for registering and tracking numbers and names is currently
     handled by the private firm Network Solutions Inc. of Reston, Va., under
     contract with the NSF. 

     Every computer on the Internet has a numerical address, an Internet Protocol
     address. To make it easier to remember, it's also assigned a "domain name."
     Thus, 192.220.250.1 becomes nike.com. 

     The NSF plan will separate the assignment of names and numbers, as is already
     done in Asia and Europe. 

     One reason to separate names and numbers is the legal controversy over who
     has the right to assign and create Internet domain names. 



                                        Regards
                                        Marshall Eubanks
                                        tme at casa.usno.navy.mil