ICANN downunder

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced it will be holding its March 2001 board meeting in Melbourne.

ICANN, a non-profit regulatory body that administers domain name allocation, recently appointed new regional board members. The Asia-Pacific region will be represented by Japan's Masanobu Katoh.

An excited Senator Richard Alston, Federal Communications Minister, jumped on the opportunity to again tout Australia as a new economy player.

"The Commonwealth Government welcomes the opportunity for Australia to play an integral role in such an event," he said. "That ICANN has chosen to hold its meeting in Melbourne is an indication of Australia's standing as a major player in the international Internet policy arena".

In other domain news, the auDA domain authority has appointed former lawyer Chris Disspain as chief executive officer, a position which has been vacant since February.

DJ dot-com take 2

Retail giant David Jones has jumped back into e-tailing, launching David Jones Online. The department store group has launched an initial range of cosmetics, gifts and hampers at www.davidjones.com.au, but promises an extensive range of goods on its virtual shelves in the lead up to Christmas.

David Jones had attempted to be an e-tailing innovator in 1996 when it launched an online catalogue and ordering system designed to foster brand loyalty to the David Jones range. This project was short-lived due to a lack of consumer demand at the time.

The new online strategy has been fast-tracked through David Jones' purchase of online retailer TheSpot. The company has adapted TheSpot's architecture to meet the needs of its new site, which CEO Peter Wilkinson expects to become a "robust e-commerce business".

MS rejigs partner status

Microsoft is rumoured to be announcing some changes to how it recognises and certifies channel partners in the future.

It is expected that the Microsoft Certified Solution Provider (MCSP) scheme will be renamed later this year, to adjust to changes in the structure of the service provider market.

Under the new scheme, Microsoft will offer separate certifications for application service providers (ASPs), independent software vendors (ISVs) and traditional service providers.

Microsoft officials told a US publication that fees for the certification will not necessarily change under the new scheme. Microsoft Australia officials will announce a local strategy at the Fusion Australia conference in Hobart next month.