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The beginning? Google to kill apps in favor of mobile web

by — Services 9 Comments

Company is killing its Adsense iOS and Android apps.

Picture of iPhone screen with app icons with words "Who needs Apps?"

Is it really necessary to have dozens of apps on your phone when businesses can duplicate the experience through a mobile-friendly website?

Here’s one answer to the question that might be a sign of things to come: Google is getting rid of its Adsense iOS and Android apps in favor of a common mobile website interface.

The company says this will allow it to focus its resources on one common interface that supports all platforms rather than managing three separate interfaces.

A lot of apps are merely dressed-up versions of what you can find on the company’s website. Still, I find that apps can be helpful for sites and services you access frequently. It’s nice to be able to just press an icon and be logged in to the service you want with a simplified interface.

At the same time, it seems wasteful for companies to have to manage two apps (iOS and Android) on top of a website. New technologies make it possible to simplify this into one interface with similar functionality.

Eternal September with John Berryhill – DNW Podcast #244

by — Podcasts 7 Comments

Domain investors keep doing stupid things.

dnw-podcastAttorney John Berryhill has seen a lot in his years practicing domain name and trademark law. He sees domain investors do the same silly things over and over. On this episode, Berryhill walks through examples of what not to do. John explains what the best trademark database is, all about those Libra cryptocurrency domain names as well as .org price increases.

Also: Michael Jackson, .UK, Addicting.com, big domain sales, Tucows’ phone deal and more.

This week’s sponsor: NameSilo. Use coupon code DNWPod to save $1 on your next domain.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:25 — 37.2MB) | Embed

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Subscribe via Apple Podcasts to listen to the Domain Name Wire podcast on your iPhone or iPad, view on Google Play Music, or click play above or download to begin listening. (Listen to previous podcasts here.)

Adobe is really annoyed by this Dominican man’s “photo shop”

by — Policy & Law 13 Comments

Photoshop maker takes another stab at getting his domain names. It fails.

Screenshot of PhotoshopCaribe.com, a domain name that Adobe says is cybersquatting on its Photoshop brand

A Dominican Republic photographer has had to defend his domain names twice.

Photoshop publisher Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) has tried (and failed) for a second time to take away the domains of a photographer in the Dominican Republic.

The company first filed a cybersquatting claim against Photoshop del Caribe, S.R.L in 2016, claiming that its use of PhotoshopCaribe.com was cybersquatting. The Dominican Republic company successfully defended that case because Adobe didn’t show that the domain was registered in bad faith. Adobe failed to show that its Photoshop mark was well known in the Dominican Republic when the photographer registered the domain in 2006 and chose his company name years before that.

Fast-forward to 2019. Adobe filed another cybersquatting dispute against both the original domain PhotoshopCaribe.com and PhotoshopdelCaribe.com. Since the original case was filed, Adobe has successfully gotten Photoshop del Caribe’s tradename registration in the Dominican Republic canceled.

The owner of the domains said he had no idea about the tradename cancellation until it received the new cybersquatting complaint. It is appealing the cancellation.

The World Intellectual Property Organization declined to hear the case on PhotoshopCaribe.com since Adobe already lost a dispute against the domain in 2016. It did consider if PhotoshopDelCaribe.com is a case of cybersquatting, but decided that Adobe didn’t show it was registered in bad faith.

Panelist Adam Taylor noted that Adobe didn’t remedy its shortcomings from the first case it lost.

Photoshop is powerful software, but it can’t manipulate old cybersquatting cases to make them look like they never existed.

.NZ domain manager sues Whois API

by — Policy & Law 4 Comments

Company goes after another Whois record seller.

Logo for Whois XML APIDomain Name Commission (DNC), which manages New Zealand’s .nz country code domain name, has sued Whois information provider Whois API. The company is also known as Whois XML API.

The lawsuit is similar to one it filed against DomainTools last year.

DNC alleges that Whois API has accessed and stored .nz Whois records in violation of its terms of use.

The group sent a cease & desist letter to Whois API on December 17, 2018, the lawsuit states. At that time, it also revoked Whois API’s limited license to run any .nz Whois queries. It says it didn’t receive any response after multiple attempts to contact Whois API and its CEO.

Whois API originally sold a lot of data to people that used it for marketing purposes, including Whois database downloads, but has shifted its messaging to security over the years.

The lawsuit filing is here (pdf).

Tucows signs deal with Verizon, lowers 2019 guidance

by — Domain Registrars 0 Comments

Company takes big step to clean up wireless carrier problems.

Verizon Wireless logoTucows (NASDAQ: TCX) has signed a new mobile service deal with Verizon, marking a big shift in its Ting mobile service.

The company offers mobile service, high-speed internet and domain names. It is the world’s second largest domain name registrar, including its OpenSRS and Enom reseller platforms.

Its mobile service is a reseller of large carriers in a relationship known as mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). Think of it kind of like a webhosting company reselling domain names — which is exactly how Tucows’ sells many of its domain names, through hosting companies and other resellers.

Last quarter Tucows noted increased issues with T-Mobile, one of the mobile providers it resells. Drawing another comparison to the domain industry, the challenges it had with T-Mobile remind me a lot of when a domain parking company faces suspect clawbacks from Google.

Tucows is dropping T-Mobile in favor of Verizon. It also has a deal with Sprint that is extended through September 2020.

T-Mobile and Sprint are merging but the merger is delayed as it goes through regulatory challenges. Tucows said it wanted to work with the combined entity but couldn’t wait any longer to resolve the issues. Also, adding Verizon insulates the company from the risks of the pending merger.

Shifting many of its customers from T-Mobile to Verizon will be expensive and adds to woes the company is experiencing with mobile. It expects to spend as much as $15 million transitioning customers over time. About $3 million of that will hit this year.

The company has lowered its 2019 cash EBITDA guidance from $62 million to $52 million to reflect the transition, overall mobile issues and carrier penalties.

It’s a big hit, but the company says it sets the Ting mobile product up for better long term success.

Shares in Tucows dropped 13% to $52.97 yesterday on the news. The stock is up in morning trading today.