Curious histories of generic domain names

Josh Fruhlinger, ITworld.com

Eat.com a corporate shill? Milk.com a statement of individuality and pride? Take a walk down memory lane (courtesy of the Internet Wayback Machine) with these and other generic domain names and get a sense of how Internet culture has changed over the last dozen or so years. ...continue reading 'Curious histories of generic domain names'

UFO UPDATE: Air Force changes story, says Texans have nothing to fear from space aliens

Last week, ITwhirled brought you the story of mysterious objects hovering over a terrified Texas town. Several witnesses claimed that human-piloted jets made up at least part of the collection of craft that they saw zipping through the sky. After several days of denying any knowledge of the incident, the Air Force Reserve suddenly reversed itself this week, stating F-16 fighter jets were conducting training flights in the area at the time of the reported event. But doesn't this switch just deepen the mystery? ...read more

Student-administrator flap goes public online

A high school student called a school district administrator at home to complain that he had to go to school when he thought a school day was in order. The administrator's wife called the student back and left an angry message of her own -- which the student then posted online. So, do you think one side deserves your sympathy? Or are they both behaving badly for no good reason? ...read more

Thief returns Glock, keeps GPS

Just how in demand are those Global Positioning System geegaws? A Wisconsin man whose house was burgled received a phone call from the thief offering to return much of the stolen loot. A laptop, a Palm Pilot, even a gun were returned -- but the crook kept the GPS. ...read more

Tech's 25 biggest flops of all-time

We all take a certain joy in rehashing tales of failure past, and this list is pretty good. Some of these are very well known (push technology, Netscape 6), while others are more obscure but have left just as big a mark on the industry (GNU Hurd, the "compression wars"). ...read more

Geek Comic of the Week: Weird Adventures in Unemployment

If you've ever wished that your dull, white-collar job would be interrupted by something interesting -- a giant squid trying to eat you, say -- this comic may be the cure. But it will definitely suck you into its off-kilter world. ...read more

PC Gone Bad - Version 1.3

Exacting sweet, photorealistic revenge on that miscreant PC is as easy as clicking Anvil Drop, Cherry Bomb, C4 or Plasma Torpedo. Safe! Fun! Satisfying! Play now!

Who owns [your last name].com?

- Me! I was quick on the draw in the '80/'90s and/or I have an obscure last name
- Someone in my family
- An individual I don't know
- Some company or other organization that has my last name as part of its name
- Some company or other organization that owns the domain for puzzling reasons
- A porn site, shamefully
- Who cares? The important thing is that I own [my last name].org, [my last name].net, and [my last name].info!

Vote now!


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

What's your take on UFOs?

28.1% - Swamp gas, weather balloons, and gullibility
32.8% - Most are crackpot sightings, but I keep an open mind on a few
10.9% - They're experimental (but human) aircraft
28.1% - Alien saucers from beyond the moon! The truth is out there!

Answer another poll