[Novalug] semi-OT: free/cheap highly flexible DNS recommendations?

[Dave Aronson]

Dear NoVaLUGgites:

I am looking for recommendations for DNS providers with the following 
qualifications:

1)  FREE, or at least very cheap!

2)  Able to forward HTTP requests with path translation.  I'm not sure 
this is standard terminology, so let me explain what I mean.  Say I've 
got the domain davearonson.com, and some pages hosted at my ISP under 
myisp.com/~dave.  I want all requests for davearonson.com/whatever to go 
to myisp.com/~dave/whatever, AND for it to act like davearonson.com had 
its own server.  That is, the URLs at davearonson.com, not myisp.com, 
are what show up in the user's address bar, and in the status bar if 
they hover over any links, and in bookmarks.

I've seen plenty where you can certainly point davearonson.com wherever 
you want.  The ones I've seen, seem to come in two kinds.  The first 
just redirects right away to the "real" address (at myisp.com).  With 
the second, they use frames so that the domain name itself is all that 
will ever be on the address bar, unless the user opens a link in a new 
tab or window.  In that case, the "real" address (at myisp.com) will be 
what shows up.  Neither is what I want.  I want to hide where it really 
is (so I can change it freely), and still let people bookmark pages.

3)  FREE, or at least very cheap!

4)  Able to handle mail forwarding for me, with several specifics and a 
catchall.  Better would be *partial* wildcarding of the username, 
preferably doable at the end (such as a regexp).  Ideally, I'd like to 
be able to set it up so:

  - several specific addresses go to specific places
  - several other specific addresses get *bounced*
  - everything with usernames matching pattern A go to address A
    (e.g., if it ends in 2dave it goes to me)
  - everything with usernames matching pattern B go to address B
    (e.g., if it ends in 2marv it goes to my dad)
  - several more of those
  - everything not caught above goes to me

I've seen a gazillion that just do the first and last.  That's OK.

5)  FREE, or at least very cheap!

Of course, many of you will say "just put up your own customized 
nameservers and SMTP servers, and might as well put up your own web 
server", but I am no longer willing to pay the price for a static IP 
address.  Been there, done that, never had time to figure out how to 
hand-weave the cloth and make a properly fitting pattern for the T-shirt 
I intended to use it for.

Any other ideas?  (Why yes, I do want the world, and want it now, 
preferably for free, though I'll accept it on a paper plate instead of a 
silver platter....)

Thanks,
Dave

-- 
Dave Aronson
"Specialization is for insects." -Heinlein
Work: http://www.davearonson.com/
Play: http://www.davearonson.net/