The Internet has seemingly gotten a long way with top-level domains -- the last bits after the dot in any Internet domain name, usually abbreviated to TLDs -- essentially limited to country codes (such as .au) and a handful of "global" options (such as .com). However, this week ICANN (which controls domain name policy) is voting on a proposal that would allow a much wider range of TLDs, including company names and trademarks. As the BBC reports, one of the first cabs off the rank if the proposal goes through will probably be .xxx for adult content, which ICANN has rejected previously. An approval committee will block any offensive choices, and in the event that several organisations want to create a new top-level domain, there'll be an auction. If nothing else, that's a good way for ICANN to get funding.
Porn frenzy aside, what new top-level domains would you find useful? Do we need .social for social networking? .hack for code listings? .nsw and .qld, with every other state getting a go as well? Or is a healthy dose of creativity and a dirt-cheap .com domain name still the best choice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Countless opportunities to waste time online have driven essayist and techie Paul Graham to an extreme solution: to disconnect completely. After trying various methods to reduce procrastination with online distractions, Graham writes:

I now leave Wi-Fi turned off on my main computer except when I need to transfer a file or edit a web page, and I have a separate laptop on the other side of the room that I use to check mail or browse the web. [...] My rule is that I can spend as much time online as I want, as long as I do it on that computer. And this turns out to be enough.

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Want to get more than just behind on your work from idly browsing the web? The Simple Dollar weblog shares a few tips for getting both personal and professional value from your "wasted" web time. The post suggests several different methods for getting more from your browsing, most of which revolve around participating on the web rather than just consuming—whether that involves social bookmarking, commenting and sharing your knowledge, or befriending others with similar interests. If you're a pro at squeezing value out of your web surfing (hey, you read Lifehacker, right?), let's hear your tips in the comments.

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Web site Linux.com offers a few tips for taking advantage of the second Ethernet port on the back of your computer. For example, in Linux you can bond your two ports for load balancing and fault tolerance.

...bonding [combines] both of the computer's interfaces into a single interface.... The OS can alternate which interface it uses to send traffic, or it can gracefully fail over between them in the event of a problem. You can even use it to balance your traffic between multiple wide area network (WAN) connections, such as DSL and cable, or dialup and your next door neighbor's unsecured Wi-Fi.

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Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, is the grand-daddy of group chat applications, but it's far from the most inviting and easy-to-grasp apps out there. Mibbit, a free web-based IRC client, aims to change that. Jump right into a chat node if you've got the address or a specific search, or register an account and see what people are talking about. A huge number of tabs can be kept open simultaneously, and registering gives you a Firefox-like ability to launch all your favourite channels upon signing in. If you're looking for tech support, looking for a chance to yak, or just looking to try out IRC, Mibbit is a slick first step.

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The Wall Street Journal tries to understand what makes the web so addictive, suggesting through studies done by neuroscientist Irving Biederman that our attraction to the internet may be evolutionary.

It is something we seem hard-wired to do, says Dr. Biederman. When you find new information, you get an opioid hit (the brain's pleasure-enhancing neurotransmitters), and we are junkies for those. You might call us 'infovores.' "

Biederman goes on to discuss how, like with food, we're hard-wired for scarcity, so we don't have a good sense of limits in the face of an abundance of information. This addiction, as most of us know firsthand, can be a real productivity killer, which requires us to employ self-control when we hit the web. So what do you think? Are you powerless to the web? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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If ever there's an internet outage in your geographic area, all hope is not lost. Thanks to mobile phones, you can do lots of stuff online via email, like post photos to Flickr, access your Remember the Milk task list, upload to YouTube, and more. Weblog Digital Inspiration has a full list. Got any other indispensable mobile email addresses you keep on hand when you can't surf the web? Share them in the comments.

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Security guru Bruce Schneier, who'll be keynoting at Linux.conf.au in Melbourne later this month, has penned an opinion piece for Wired on why he leaves his home Wi-Fi network unlocked. Under the heading "Steal this Wi-Fi" he says he considers sharing access to his internet is basic politeness: "Providing internet access to guests is kind of like providing heat and electricity, or a hot cup of tea." We love the sentiment Bruce, but in Australia at least we have download caps and excess use charges to consider too.

Are you constantly finding yourself unable to get away from the computer because of your Internet addiction? You're not alone. If you're looking to reclaim your life, start slowly. Zen Habits shares three discipline techniques to regain that independence. First, time yourself. You likely have no idea how long you're really sitting in front of that screen. Previously mentioned application Rescue Time is a great way to get started if a traditional clock isn't feasible.

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It's sometimes hard to believe we've come this far, but a good portion of workers now rely on the internet to keep up with their daily grind—which means that when the internet goes down, your work can come to a screeching halt. All of the information you count on pulling from Gmail, all of your quick research lookups on Wikipedia—they're all out the window. For weblog Web Worker Daily, a downed internet connection means an opportunity to do a tonne of work:

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