False. You can use Ethereum Name Service. ENS is an on-chain version of DNS that is not controlled by a centralized gatekeeper.
>I still need a server, I still need storage
False. You can use IPFS and Filecoin to store and serve files not controlled by a centralized gatekeeper.
That all said, this article is embarrassing. If you want a some critical ideas of web3, read Moxie's piece: https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html
DNS lives on the core DNS servers and is replicated elsewhere. DNS being "down" would mean that the core DNS servers were taken down.
ENS [1] lives on the Ethereum blockchain. ENS being "down" would mean that Ethereum itself was down. ENS names (.eth) resolve to address hashes on the Ethereum blockchain.
So to answer your question, they are parallel systems, so one going down doesn't affect the other.
However, the thing I'm wondering is if DNS goes down, does it take ENS with it? I'm not sure how the whole ".eth" part works, is that on DNS.
Yep, it's as expensive as all hell, I can't figure out why people will really want to use it that much either. But the author is still incorrect.