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Technology Stocks : Network Solutions (NSOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Boon who wrote (146)	12/11/1998 1:13:00 PM
From: Jerry Miller	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1377

Thursday December 10 12:42 PM ET Centraal gets Network Solutions backing By Chris Stamper SAN FRANCISCO (Wired) - Centraal Corp, the company whose RealNames technology lets users find Web sites simply by entering keywords into a browser's address field, on Wednesday signed a strategic agreement with official Internet names registrar Network Solutions to promote and fund its naming system. Under the terms of the agreement, Network Solutions will market, sell, and service RealNames. In addition, Centraal (http://www.centraal.com) gets about $13 million in funding from Network Solutions, Compaq Computer, and Amerindo Investment Partners in its second round of financing. Centraal, located in Palo Alto, Calif., claims RealNames-already licensed to Compaq's AltaVista, LookSmart, and BigFoot's NeoPlanet-is a more user-friendly way to find Web addresses than standard URLs. Instead of typing periods, slashes, and domains, users type normal words into the browser's address window. Network Solutions Inc (Nasdaq:NSOL - news) gets exclusive rights to sell RealNames subscriptions in the United States and overseas and will provide customer service for subscribers. The new financing will be used to extend RealNames globally. ''We're married at the hip,'' said Centraal vice president Ted West. Meanwhile, Network Solutions remains the exclusive registrar of US domain names. The company boasts a 75-percent world market share and received a two-year extension on its agreement with the US government last September. Doug Wolford, senior vice president of Network Solutions, said RealNames, which debuted last March, won't replace traditional domain names. Instead, like search engines, it will make finding sites easier. ''There's a universal standard around domain names, and it will stay that way for some time,'' he said. Other companies can register words in Centraal's RealNames database-like ''Microsoft Office,'' ''eBay auctions,'' and ''Sony Handycam''-that are matched to the IP address of their Web sites. Centraal typically charges companies $100 a year per keyword. Mega sites are charged more, and generic words like ''books'' and ''camera'' are unavailable. So far, about 15,000 RealNames have been sold. By comparison Network Solutions services 3 million domain name registrations. Centraal said RealNames' servers receive 13 million queries daily. A similar scheme is now used by Netscape, and a competing scheme is in the works from Microsoft. (Reuters/Wired)