Teen Fights To Keep MikeRoweSoft.com

[leftchick]

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/01/20/rowe.fight/

<snip>
(CNN) -- Mike Rowe just wanted to keep MikeRoweSoft.com running.

But the 17-year-old student and Web designer from Victoria, British Columbia, has attracted worldwide attention after refusing to comply with Microsoft Corp.'s demands that he give up his domain name, which phonetically sounds the same as the software giant's name.

Rowe had to take his site down Monday when more than 250,000 visitors flocked there in 12 hours and his Web host told him that the bandwidth would be too costly.

By Monday night, MikeRoweSoft.com was back in business. A note on the site from Rowe said that a Web-hosting company called Deafening-urge.net had "come through with a great offer."

[RobertSeattle]

1. Hmmmm

Perhaps some DU'er that is about to have a child should name the newborn "Bushcheney04" and sue www.bushcheney04.com over the name...

:evilgrin:

[pscot]

2. I know this is politically incorrect

because this sounds like a classic case of the big guy picking on the little one, but it seems to me like this kid has calculated it very shrewdly. He has the sympathy vote. He has all of Canada on his side. Everybody loves to hate Microsoft. I think the kid-figured just right, but that doesn't make him any kind of hero. If I were Bill Gates I'ld squash him like a bug, then hire him into marketing and put him to work developing competitive strategies to crush the competition.

[damnraddem]

6. If Microsoft crushes him like a bug, or tries to ...

I profoundly hope that we will all make Microsoft pay for it. Of course the kid is shrewd in how he used his name. I would hope he would turn down any offers to market for Microsoft. Go MikeRoweSoft!

[JailForBush]

3. Wow, I envy this kid!

I wish I could get that kind of publicity! In fact, I've come up with a somewhat similar domain name, but the media will probably ignore me - especially because I hate Bill Gate's guts.

The article you linked to says Mike Rowe thinks Bill Gates is a great guy! Sheez, get a clue, kid!

Sheez, if he got 250,000 visitors in 12 hours, couldn't he make a little money from advertising? Could he say, "If you hate Bill Gates, send me a $1 donation and earn about $200,000 overnight?

[SpiralHawk]

4. Go kid go

Kick MS in the shins. They deserve it.

[damnraddem]

5. Hah!

Screw Microsoft! Go MikeRoweSoft!

[sendero]

7. I would like...

... Microsloth to explain just what legal basis gives them the right to own any domain that sounds anything like Microsoft.

As long as the kid does not try to pass his site off as having anything to do with MS, I don't see what legal standing they have.

I've heard idiot congressmen talk about domain names as if they were a copyright issue. Bullsh*t. Owning a company does not give you automatic rights to a domain name. If you want a domain, be the first to register it. It's really that simple.