We all use domain names everyday -- every time you browse the web or use email.  There are millions and millions of them, and anyone can buy one.  Some of our great listeners surely own some.  So what are they and what do they do?  This morning we exploree this topic with Paul from his perch on the balcony at the Rensselaer Train Station.

Thank you to everyone who called in  Send your questions to talk1300@wsg.net or call us again next week.

As promised, here is some more information on domain names:

Domain names in the news recently:

Newt Gingrich’s Lawyer Blames Tucows for Tweet
Politician Uses Generic Domain (and Wins)
Bank of America Gets Split Decision in Domain Name Dispute
Jay Leno Tries to Tackle Cybersquatting Problem

This video is a good overview of how domains work.

According to the Domain Name Journal, below is a list of the top 10 most expensive domain names.
1. Fund.com, $9.99 million
2. Porn.com, $9.5 million
3. Diamonds.com, $7.5 million
4. Toys.com, $5.1 million (I was wrong on the air when I said $10 or $14 million for this one.)
5. Vodka.com, $3 million
6. CreditCards.com, $2.75 million
7. Computers.com, $2.1 million
8. Seniors.com, $1.8 million
9. DataRecovery.com, $1.66 million
10. Cameras.com, $1.5 million
10. Tandberg.com, $1.5 million

According to iWhois, these are the 100 oldest registered .com domains
1. 15-Mar-1985, SYMBOLICS.COM
2. 24-Apr-1985, BBN.COM
3. 24-May-1985, THINK.COM
4. 11-Jul-1985, MCC.COM
5. 30-Sep-1985, DEC.COM
6. 07-Nov-1985, NORTHROP.COM
7. 09-Jan-1986, XEROX.COM
8. 17-Jan-1986, SRI.COM
9. 03-Mar-1986, HP.COM
10. 05-Mar-1986, BELLCORE.COM

Head over to DomainTools.com to see their updated count of how many domain names are in existence and how many have been deleted.  Very interesting.