Brave new world of new gTLDs readies itself

Predictions, new companies and - finally - the release of information

With just a few hours to go until details of the thousands of applications for new Internet domains is finally released, those that have spent the past five years working up to this day are, tentatively, allowing themselves to get excited.

The process run by ICANN has been one of the more convoluted, painful and at times, downright frustrating experiences that many of the companies in the Internet field have ever experienced. But tomorrow at least everyone will be able to revel in the fact that it has finally happened.

ICANN, and particularly its outgoing CEO, is trying to make as much of the launch as possible. Sadly, the right of ICANN to be excited and proud was lost some time ago - somewhere between the fourth version of the Applicant Guidebook and the six-week delay in closing applications.