It’s not 00, it’s a +

I am getting tired complaining and explaining the difference between 00 and a + in the telephone and fax numbers.  It’s quite simple actually and I wonder why the mistake is so frequent.  So, here it goes in written form, so that I won’t have to explain it anymore – just provide a URL.

If you are writing phone number as 0035799513109, you are doing it wrong. It works for some, but not for everyone.  00 in this case is international dialing code.  Many countries are using 00 for international dialing code, but not all of them, by far.  For example, in Russia, the international dialing code is 810.  So the phone number should be 81035799513109, not 0035799513109. See?

So, how are you supposed to know all these codes for each country and how are you supposed to provide your phone number so that anyone in any country can dial it and get where they are supposed to?  The answer is simple: use ‘+’ for the international dialing code, followed up by the country code, and then the rest of the number.  Each telephone company in every country will replace the plus in the beginning of the phone number with the appropriate international dialing code.  Write the phone number as +35799513109. This will always work.  And where it won’t, the person will at least know what to do with the number.

Day in brief

  • I favorited a YouTube video — A day in the life of GMP on Twitter http://youtu.be/aulazCNbaDQ?a #
  • Browser app stores are just bookmark managers on steroids. I see no difference so far. #
  • iPhone/iPad/Android app stores make sense, cause iPhone/iPad/Android are DEVICES. Browsers are not devices. Browsers are APPLICATIONS. #
  • Segate announced a 3TB SATA HDD for less then $240. Soon OS and applications will remove 'Delete' functionality as obsolete. :) #
  • Nice online project management tool with Google Apps integration – http://www.manymoon.com/ #

Automattic becomes domain registrar

Matt Mullenweg reports in his blog that Automattic became a domain registrar.

As some folks have noticed alreadyAutomattic is now a “real” domain registrar (ID #1531). This has been a goal of mine for several years now, chiefly because I am a bit of a domain collector myself and I’ve never been completely satisfied with the domain buying or management experience on any of the usual players. Second, custom domains are a popular feature on WordPress.com and should become even more popular with some changes we’re introducing this month and it’ll be good to be able to provide a fully integrated experience for our users there. It’ll be a few months while we build all the tools necessary to begin taking advantage of our registrar status so in the meantime we’ll continue to use Godaddy, who has been an excellent partner.

These are excellent news!  I do agree with Mutt that current domain registration and maintenance experience is a pain in the back.  No matter which registrar you choose, there is always something awkward about it – prices, support, control panel, etc.  I am using GoGaddy for a few years now, and while they provide excellent discounts and DNS hosting uptime, their control panel is horrible.  Yet, it’s still better than most.

Automattic on the other hand, is a company known for it’s humanity in policies and user interfaces.  WordPress being just one of such examples.  Them becoming a domain registrar gives me great hope of having a better domain registration and maintenance experience one day.