The newly elected ICANN chair, and one of the internet’s founding architects, has been announced as the keynote speaker at the upcoming “newdomains.org – The Munich Conference on new TLDs” meeting in September. The two-day conference will kick-off in the Bavarian capital of Munich on 26 September and will bring experts in the fields of technology, trademark law and business from around the world. The focus of the conference will be the recent approval of the new TLD programme that ICANN approved at the beginning of their recent meeting in Singapore. The announcement of Steve Crocker as the new ICANN chair replacing Peter Dengate Thrush was one of the last announcements of the meeting. Being the first of its kind in Europe, the conference offers a unique opportunity for all interested parties to build valuable connections and network with experienced industry professionals. Additionally, it will deliver answers to all questions concerning this major change for the internet The conference organisers are anticipating over 400 applications for new TLDs from cities, regions, brand names and special interest groups. “Who better to open the only event in Europe focusing on this important topic than one of the people who has had such decisive influence on the development of the internet–a tool we all now so commonly use,” said Markus Eggensperger, co-founder of united-domains, the host of the newdomains.org conference. Regarding the upcoming event, Dr. Crocker stated, “The internet has experienced unprecedented changes in its 40 year history and the introduction of new top-level domains will be one such challenge. I’m delighted that I can contribute the keynote and hope we can all make the most of this unique moment for the good of the global Internet community.” More information about the conference at www.newdomains.org

Web Hosting – DALLAS — SoftLayer Technologies® , the innovation leader in Cloud and Dedicated hosting, today announced the launch of SoftLayer Managed Hosting . The new offering provides enterprise-class computing environments with expert, 24×7 management and support of those environments’ core services, including database, security, monitoring, backup, and storage management.

An image from a vendor whitepaper shows the functions of SoftLayer’s hosting management team (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting giant SoftLayer ( www.softlayer.com ) announced on Tuesday that it has introduced SoftLayer Managed hosting, offering enterprise-class computing environments with 24-hour management and monitoring support for core pieces of those environments, including database, security, monitoring, backup and storage management. SoftLayer, formed last year by the merger of SoftLayer’s previous operations with those of The Planet, created an enormous hosting organization out of the two biggest players in the unmanaged dedicated server hosting business.

Web Hosting – Austin, TX – Data Foundry, a leading provider of data center outsourcing and colocation services, announces participation at two upcoming energy events in April 2011, SPE Digital Energy Conference and Exhibition and Alliance Expo. Data Foundry will be showcasing its premium data center and disaster recovery solutions for the energy industry.

Web Hosting – Ann Arbor, Michigan – Continuing with their commitment to offering educational cloud computing webinars and seminars, Online Tech will host a free webinar “Controlling the Cloud” on Tuesday, April 12th at 2pm. David Barton, Principal of UHY Advisors, will lead the presentation that will explore the unique risks associated with cloud computing and provide suggestions for addressing them.

Web Hosting – PALO ALTO, CA — VMware, Inc.

With blocking of internet content pervasive by many regimes around the world, the most well-known being the Great Firewall of China, Minds+Machines’ Antony Van Couvering examines the issue in light of ICANN’s approval of the .XXX Top Level Domain and the Indian government’s announcement that they will block access to any .XXX website. Writing on the Minds+Machines blog, Van Couvering says “the creation of new TLDs which are offensive to someone, somewhere, will probably increase it. But will it fracture the Internet?” He asks the question in light of ICANN George Sadowsky’s dissent when ICANN approved the .XXX TLD at their board meeting that concluded the recent Silicon Valley San Francisco meeting.