The .me domain name went on sale starting today.

Summary:

Beware of GoDaddy, they incorrectly report availability of domain names. Either intentionally or unintentionally, their website will tell you a domain name is available while it is in fact already sold. While buying a few domain names this morning I thought I had gotten my hands on 3 excellent names. After checkout, however, I was surprised to find that GoDaddy could not fulfill my order because the names were sold already. You only know the process failed after you “purchase” the names. After you complete your order GoDaddy will send you a system generated email that says the domain name registration failed because it was already claimed. That means it was never really available in the first place. GoDaddy claims that they will credit you back but I have serious doubts that they will do it in a timely or reasonable manner.

Longer Rant: How does GoDaddy suck? Let me count the ways…

GoDaddy sucks point 1: .me domains must be registered for 2 years minimum. GoDaddy advertises the domains as $20 but you actually have to pay $40.

GoDaddy sucks point 2: The purchasing process is labyrinth of add-ons and marketing opt-outs. I purchased 3 .me domains with a credit card and a coupon code to receive 20% off but had to slog through tons of marketing to (a) purchase the damn names and (b) try to opt-out of all the spam the I’m pretty sure they will send to me anyway, against my wishes.

GoDaddy sucks point 3: After “purchasing” the 3 domains I wanted, I later received a system e-mail telling me that 2 of the domain registrations I wanted failed because the domain names are already taken. What is this bullshit? The service should have checked the domain name availability before they charged my credit card.

GoDaddy sucks point 4: Add insult to injury, not only do I not get the 3 domains that I wanted but I also lose the 20% discount because my purchase dropped below the $75 discount threshold. If I had known that the domains were not available, I would have found domain names that were available in order to get the discount.

Fuck you GoDaddy. As soon as .me domains are available from my regular domain name registrar I’m leaving you faster than Danica Patrick drives. Or something more insulting. Whatever. Fuck you GoDaddy.

As part of the Testing for the Public class that I’m taking I got a binder full of stuff and a copy of The Official Guide for GMAT Review. This is the book published by the creators of the GMAT test. It has a few hundred retired practice questions taken from actual previous GMAT exams. This book is well over 800 pages of practice material and explanations.

Testing for the Public is a preparation course for standardized testing taught in the Bay Area. It is a non-profit . They organization generically prepares students for the variety of standardized tests such as the GMAT, LSAT, and GRE made by the ETS or similar bodies. The class was started by David White, who is also the instructor in many cases.

I have heard good things about the class. it costs $500; about one-third the cost of any other test preparation class. The other courses definitely have more hours of instruction but I’m not trying to get a perfect score or anything. The time and money spent on GMAT is preparation could probably be better spent on honing your essays and providing valuable community service. Here’s the rundown of course costs that I can find.