For one thing, they’re barely more than a press-release regurgitation service. Check out the first grafs of this story and see if you can spot the problem. Note: You should be able to play even if you have no idea what they’re talking about:
A broadband provider’s claim of superfast speeds may only be as good as its weakest link, which could be its domain name server software.
A report issued Thursday by Nominum, a company that sells domain name system (DNS) server software, indicated that some broadband service providers need to bulk up their DNS servers to ensure that broadband users actually get all the benefits of their high-speed connections.
Kinda gibberishy, I’m sure, for folks who don’t know anything about this. Let’s break it down:
A broadband provider’s claim of superfast speeds may only be as good as its weakest link, which could be its domain name server software.
“Whoever sells you high-speed internet — your cable company, your phone company, whatever — probably says you have speed of X. However, if they’re fucktards and don’t know what they’re doing with DNS, you won’t get the speed they’re promising.” It is totally ok if you have no idea what DNS is. It’s important (it sure SOUNDS important, right?). Actually, it really is important. But keep reading.
A report issued Thursday by Nominum, a company that sells domain name system (DNS) server software, indicated that some broadband service providers need to bulk up their DNS servers to ensure that broadband users actually get all the benefits of their high-speed connections.
“Some people who sell DNS software say that many Internet company DNS servers suck!” **And, presumably, they ought to upgrade to Nominum. Er, no.
Like we said, it’s a recopied press release. It’s like CNet is Fox and Nominum is the GOP. Paying any attention to this story is like asking a barber if you need a haircut.
Now: we here at Heathen actually use OUR OWN DNS servers. Most of you don’t have that option, and that’s fine. We do it for other reasons that 99% of our readers have no interest in (we host lots of other domains — see? We already lost you.). However, the real kicker here is this:
There is no market for closed-source, proprietary DNS software, at least among people who know what they’re doing. Everyone WE know who does DNS does it with BIND, which is free and open source. It’s the standard. Paying for DNS is like paying for a web server — i.e., a sucker’s game. Nominum probably knows this, which is why they’re feeding bullshit PR to a halfass “tech” news service like CNet.