The latest

marshall eubanks wrote:
> 
> 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
Marshall:

Does this mean that all the people who have been praying that
internet works will lose the domain names they have?

Right now if one taps into the computer a "dot com" address
the "internet" is programmed to go out and search for the long
goobledygook address:   http://www.somedomain.com
if one simply types     somedomain      into the "go to" box.

Does that programming dissappear?  Is there another operating system?

Sincerely,

Rey Blanco