This blog has often been silent for long periods while I’m working hard on something. This time I think it was worth it. With a few good friends, I’ve started Minds + Machines, and from now on most of my posting is happening on the Minds + Machines blog.

While I was searching for a registry provider for .NYC (see the Registry Speed-Dating series), I wasn’t happy with what I was seeing, so I decided to roll my own. Well, not quite, because I didn’t build registry software — but I did find an even better solution.

I’ve been a fan of CoCCA for years. The low price, the emphasis on serving the Internet community, the customer-first attitude, were all in marked contrast to other registry options. That’s why CoCCA has quickly become the most widely-deployed registry platform on the planet.

A light bulb went off. A dim bulb, perhaps, but sufficient. It came in the form of an equation, which is usually highly dangerous for me, but in this case was exactly correct. “Red Hat is to Linux as X is to CoCCA.” Solving that equation, X became Minds + Machines.

I went to Garth Miller of CoCCA and licensed the CoCCA platform for gTLDs, which we redubbed Espresso (CoCCA is for ccTLDs, Espresso is for gTLDs). With Jothan Frakes and Elaine Pruis I formed Minds + Machines in January 2009 and off we went with our hair on fire to get ready for the ICANN Mexico City meeting.

Result so far? Resounding success. Time will tell, but having former Vice President Al Gore partner up with our client .ECO is a great start.

Check out the new site, and join us at the Minds + Machines Facebook group.

Posted by Antony in: Guide to new TLDs