So if it isn't .com then what is it? The answer is the .us domain. This is the official two-letter 'country code top-level domain' (ccTLD) for the USA.
Every country in the world has a two-letter domain allocated to it. In Germany, it's .de. In the UK, it's .uk, in China it's .cn, and in Japan, .jp. These country code domains are all incredibly popular in their own countries. In fact, for most European and Asian countries, the country code domain is much more popular than generic domains such as .com. The same applies to .us in America.
Until recently, .us had been a 'restricted' domain, and has only been available in the 'locality space' at the third level and above.
So for instance, it was possible to register www.county.arlington.va.us but not myname.us or mycompany.us. In other words, nobody could register the .us domain they wanted. Because of the restricted nature of the .us domain, American companies, organizations, and individuals naturally turned elsewhere -- in particular to the .com generic top-level domain. So .com became the de facto country code domain name for America.
But all that has changed. ICANN wisely decided to open up the .us name space, and make it available for people to register second-level domains, or as they're better known, domain names.
Haven't we all had enough of new .com domain names? Surely there are enough to go around now. But .us is unique and importantly at this time, uniquely American.
It is the country code domain for the United States. Given the understandable recent rise in the levels of patriotism in the States, all the indicators are that .us will prove extremely popular to American people and organizations. If Boone Pickens wants a domain name that says 'Born in the USA', purchase this .us domain name and protect your domain integrity.
more...The Department of Energy came out with a study in April of '07 that said we could generate 20 percent of our electricity from wind. And the wind power is -- you know, it's clean, it's renewable. It's -- you know, it's everything you want. And it's a stable supply of energy.
It will be located in the central part of the United States, which will be the best from a safety standpoint to be located. You have a wind corridor that goes from Pampa, Texas, to the Canadian border. And it has -- the wind, it's unbelievable that we have not done more with wind. Look at Germany and Spain. They have developed their wind way beyond what we have, and they don't have as much wind as we do. It's not unlike the French have done with their nuclear. They're 80 percent power generated off of nuclear, we're 20 percent.
Pickens states, "We are going to have to do something different in America. You can't keep paying out $600 billion a year for oil."
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When promoting your message, protect yourself from opponents who may negatively spin your message for their own agendas. ALWAYS register vital TLD's...in this case, .US and .MOBI.
With hundreds of millions of smart phones out there, including the new iPhone, if you do not build your site for these mobile users, they will not see what you want them to see. Your website will be visually distorted and design challenged...these mobile users may tune you out. Check out www.pickens.com on your cell phone...'nuff said.
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Saturday, July 12, 2008
Story last updated at 7/12/2008 -
AUSTIN - For the average Texan, July 17 may be just another hot summer day, but for state Rep. David Swinford, it will be the D-day of wind-energy production in the Lone Star State.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas is meeting Thursay and is expected to decide by mid-August what amount of wind transmission can be built. So, energy companies, from modest ventures to global giants, anxiously await the PUC decision.
In Swinford's view there is too much at stake for Texas and the nation and particularly for the South Plains and the Panhandle.
"We could be supplying energy to the country from coast to coast," said the Dumas Republican who for the past three years has made wind energy and border security his top legislative priorities. "And the best part is that it's renewable and not harmful to the environment."
A growing number of Texans agree. Boone Pickens, the legendary oil tycoon, has hit the airwaves with his plan to cut the U.S. dependency on foreign oil by more than a third in less than a decade. And high on Pickens' agenda, which he spells out on his Web site www.pickensplan.com, is wind energy.
Pickens, who is developing a 4,000 megawatt wind farm in the Pampa area, said wind power could meet 22 percent of the U.S. electricity needs by as early as 2010.
Swinford, Pickens and other advocates of wind energy have key allies and no one is more vocal than Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson.
"I am a big advocate because wind power plays a big role not just in the development of new, renewable energy but in generating tax revenue for the state that will pay for our schools and other needs," Patterson recently told the A-J.
Even environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Environment Texas, which over the years have fought the likes of Pickens, favor wind-energy production - despite the fact thousands of giant turbines would dot the wide-open spaces of Texas. Although most of the turbines already in operation in West Texas are in the Sweetwater area, Swinford, Pickens and other wind-power advocates say the industry's future is in the Panhandle and the South Plains, especially north of Amarillo.
Citing figures Gov. Rick Perry recently gave in speech to the Wind Coalition, an association of companies and interest groups, Swinford said wind power would generate about $25 billion in investments in the next few years.
And no region in the state would benefit more than West Texas. A study that Waco economist Ray Perryman conducted concluded wind energy could generate an $11 billion investment for the Panhandle and the South Plains.
So, if Swinford, Pickens and Patterson are right, in the foreseeable future we will see thousands of giant turbines erected throughout Texas and the state could again become the energy capital of North America.
In addition to lighting thousands of homes and business, Swinford predicted the day will come when wind energy will be a key source of power for American cars because they will run with batteries that can be recharged while the vehicles are not in use.
Time will tell whether Swinford, Pickens, Patterson and other wind-power advocates are right.
ENRIQUE RANGEL is the A-J's Austin bureau chief.. For comment, write to enrique.rangel@morris.com or P.O. Box 12457, Austin, TX 78711-2457.
