Previously, 'whois' queries for obtaining the domain-related information were made through command-line interfaces. However, nowadays, a number of web-based interfaces exist which provide the relevant information and can be accessed with the help of an Internet browser. "Project Whois" is an endeavor to integrate this utility into your local desktop.
Developed by "DomainTools", the simple application will be residing as an icon in your system tray. Upon a right click, you get options for configuring the software, accessing whois lookup, and updating the tool. For performing a whois lookup, you need to provide either a domain name or an IP address. The program will perform a whois lookup and display the result in a new window in your default browser. It is clear that the program uses the same whois service as provided by "www.domaintools.com", as the result page is exactly the same as you would get by performing a lookup from their home page. In that sense, it does not provide anything new. However the resulting page is quite detailed, with the requested domain-related specific data displayed in multiple sections. It should be noted that the tool did not work as it was after installation, and prompted Firefox to download and install a related plugin. It can, however, be configured to work with Internet Explorer or Firefox, or both. There is an option to associate the client with domain tools, so that you can monitor your existing project whois clients on any computer. However, I could not get it to work as it probably needs some kind of subscription to whois source.
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