July 3rd, 2000

[9:00 AM] Wanna Buy A Domain? MacOSX.com Is For Sale by Kyle D'Addario Have you visited www.macosx.com lately? If you have, you realize that there is, essentially, nothing there. On a hunch that Apple would indeed choose the "OS X" moniker for their new operating system, Scott William registered the macosx.com domain back in 1998. Mr. Williams, a self proclaimed Macintosh lover, has not done anything with the domain, and has decided to put it up for sale. Mr. William sent The Mac Observer the following note: In May of 1998 Scott William registered macosx.com when he realized Apple, who had just announced to the public their future operating system name, hadn't. "Back in 1998 when I was running a technical support oriented website, I had prospects of offering support for Mac OS X once it was released, freely to users." comment William. "Since then, much has changed and I find myself in a non-compete agreement, limiting me from providing tech support, which includes support of Mac OS X." William is currently considering private offers for the domain. "I want the domain to be used by someone with good intentions toward the Macintosh community. I feel bad holding onto a domain which currently gets around 5000 impressions a month, and not making it of service to the Macintosh community." When asked why he doesn't offer it up on eBay, William commented, "I'd feel cheap and dirty by doing that. I have high respect for the Macintosh community and this domain, and what the name stands for, as to the future of the platform. I am personally excited about the release of Mac OS X and look forward to learning as much as I can, hopefully on macosx.com. A huge interest in Mac OS X exists. Each day William receives numerous emails of people who visit the site hoping to find information pertaining to Mac OS X. "It is fun getting emails from people who tell me they were bored and found the site. Most people are excited about what the site could potentially be." Confidential offers can be sent to Scott William at <mailto:scottw@macosx.com>. If you have an interest in the macosx.com domain, and presumably LOTS of money, contact Mr. William. The Mac Observer Spin: It is curious to see how this will play out. Mr. William does not seem, from this letter and his posted message that the www.macosx.com site, the type to be hoarding money. However, he has found himself in a potentially fortunate position, and we certainly can not blame him for trying to play that to his advantage. We are curious as to how the trademark laws will play out in this situation. OS X was not officially adopted until after Mr. William registered the domain, but OS X is registered to Apple Computer. It is not known whether Apple has an interest in purchasing the domain, but we imagine bidding could get very high if they did. Either way, we hope to see the macosx.com domain prove to be a valuable stopping point for Mac users somewhere in the future. MacOSX.com - Apple