It was not until the late 1990s that it really took off but today the internet celebrates the 25th birthday of the dotcom domain name.
On 15 March 1985, the first company to add dotcom to its name was a computer maker named Symbolics.
Today, 100,000 dotcom sites are registered every day and there are nearly 86m active sites.
And the man behind the company looking after the dotcom domain is predicting changes in the way we use the internet.
For most of the late 1980s and early 1990s hardly anyone knew what a dotcom was, yet today it is part of the fabric of our lives and is regarded as the hallmark of the commercial internet.
In 1985, a total of six dotcom domain names were registered.
Now, as well as the millions of active sites currently operational, there have been another 113m that have come and gone over the last quarter of a century.
Today, people go online to dotcom sites to shop, connect with people, engage with government, be entertained, learn new things, exchange ideas and plan holidays.
Mark McLaughlin, CEO of Verisign, the company responsible for looking after the dotcom domain, said: "Who would have guessed 25 years ago where the internet would be today and the number of businesses that have been built on it."
He also predicted changes over the next quarter of a century.
"I think that the way we access information today, mostly still through PCs and laptops is highly likely to change; that the voice will be more important than text input.
"I think the whole fabric of how we access, search, find and get information is going to be radically different."
The million mark for dotcom domains was not achieved until 1997, well into the internet boom.
And then came the dotcom explosion with nearly 20m names registered in the following two years.
But what of Symbolics, the first company to claim the dotcom domain?
It went bust and was bought in 2009 by a company that buys and sells dotcoms for a living.
The Definitive Birthday Thread
Moderator: moderators
- Slipper1
- Rob Kearney
- Posts: 8862
- Joined: January 26th, 2006, 2:13 pm
- Location: I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
- Contact:
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy Birthday dotcom.
Get in the f%~king bag.
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy Birthday to Rex and Cianostays!
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy Bithday Rex & Ciano!
- Slipper1
- Rob Kearney
- Posts: 8862
- Joined: January 26th, 2006, 2:13 pm
- Location: I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
- Contact:
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
So thats why you needed the cash Ciano! - HB to you both.aisling7 wrote:Happy Birthday to Rex and Cianostays!
Get in the f%~king bag.
-
- Rhys Ruddock
- Posts: 2859
- Joined: April 20th, 2008, 1:48 pm
- Location: Blackrock/Croke Park
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Go raibh míle maith agaibh to you all!
The sport that unites Catholic, Protestant and dissenter has had its day of days. Pity anybody who can't enjoy it. Some day.
Gerry Thornley 23/3/09. 'Nuff said.
Gerry Thornley 23/3/09. 'Nuff said.
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
happy birthday Rex. Hope scotland haven't ruined the day completely for you.
- sarah_lennon
- Jamie Heaslip
- Posts: 15372
- Joined: April 19th, 2006, 4:14 pm
- Slipper1
- Rob Kearney
- Posts: 8862
- Joined: January 26th, 2006, 2:13 pm
- Location: I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.
- Contact:
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
+1sarah_lennon wrote:Happy Birthday aisling
Get in the f%~king bag.
- Hickiefan
- Rob Kearney
- Posts: 8654
- Joined: August 21st, 2006, 10:48 am
- Location: Behind Leinster all the way
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
HBNo7
May you get your birthday wish
May you get your birthday wish
Qui me amat, amet et Leinsterum meum.
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
happy birthday! Hope it's a top birthday week
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy Birthday Aisling...
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Thanks!! All I want for my birthday is a Leinster win on Friday!!
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy Birthday aisling8aisling7 wrote:Thanks!! All I want for my birthday is a Leinster win on Friday!!
"You'd better watch who you're calling a child, Lois. Because if I'm a child, you know what that makes you? A paedophile. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna be lectured by a pervert"
- Grumpy Old Man
- Shane Jennings
- Posts: 6636
- Joined: February 22nd, 2006, 3:22 pm
- Location: Home for the Slightly Bewildered
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy Birthday to Sarah Lennon!
- Avenger
- Seán Cronin
- Posts: 3789
- Joined: February 9th, 2006, 3:57 pm
- Location: lost in thought; it's unfamiliar territory...
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy birthday Sarah
“The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.” - JOHN MADDEN
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy Birthday Sarah!
"It's all fun and games 'till someone loses an eye, then it's just fun you can't see" - James Hetfield
Re: The Definitive Birthday Thread
Happy birthday Sarah! May it be full of chocolate, beer and cake!
And may your teams win tonight & tomorrow
And may your teams win tonight & tomorrow