A Lighthearted Look Back at 25 Years of .Com

It was a very different world 25 years ago when the commercial Web was born. VeriSign has been marking that noteworthy anniversary with several events this year, and hosted a gala dinner this week to honor pioneering technology luminaries.

And it all came with a bit of levity, with co-emcees Dana Carvey and Scott McNealy cutting up about the lighter side of the Internet and its colorful history. Enterprise Networking Planet has the story.

SAN FRANCISCO — The year was 1985. Think Larry Bird driving to the hoop in those skimpy basketball shorts, Madonna’s “Virgin” tour, and using a dial-up modem to connect to your favorite bulletin board system (BBS). It was also the year a computer manufacturer named Symbolics registered the first .com Web domain address.

The 25th anniversary of the first .com was actually this past March when it was noted at several events. But VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN), the long-time operator of the .com domain, sponsored a special event here Wednesday night in the elegant ballroom of San Francisco City Hall to honor a list of 25 key pioneering .com companies, executives and other notables. Executives from many of the big Internet registrars were also on hand.

Read the full story at Enterprise Networking Planet:


Jokes, Jeers in a Look Back at 25 Years of .Com