The first .com domain to be registered is symbolics.com. Back at those days, not everyone can afford to register a domain name as it definitely will not cost just USD$10 per year and hence majority domains on the list are owned by Multinational Corporations (MNCs). Surprisingly, Microsoft.com isn’t part of the list as it was not registered until May 1991.

Our very own, sq.com (Singapore Airlines) is on the list but I have no idea whether they registered it or bought it from someone later on.

It takes about 2 years just to get 100 .com domains to be bought up, but now I guess it takes like few hours?

During 1985 I was just 1 year old! Imagine if you have purchases a few 3 letters domains, I think you will be a millionaire by now.

1. symbolics.com: March 15, 1985
2. bbn.com: April 24, 1985
3. think.com: May 24, 1985
4. mcc.com: July 11, 1985
5. dec.com: Sept. 30, 1985
6. northrop.com: Nov. 7, 1985
7. xerox.com: Jan. 9, 1986
8. sri.com: Jan. 17, 1986
9. hp.com: March 3, 1986
10. bellcore.com: March 5, 1986
11. ibm.com: March 19, 1986
12. sun.com: March 19, 1986
13. intel.com: March 25, 1986
14. ti.com: March 25, 1986
15. att.com: April 25, 1986
16. gmr.com: May 8, 1986
17. tek.com: May 8, 1986
18. fmc.com: July 10, 1986
19. ub.com: July 10, 1986
20. bell-atl.com: Aug. 5, 1986
21. ge.com: Aug. 5, 1986
22. grebyn.com: Aug. 5, 1986
23. isc.com: Aug. 5, 1986
24. nsc.com: Aug. 5, 1986
25. stargate.com: Aug. 5, 1986
26. boeing.com: Sept. 2, 1986
27. itcorp.com: Sept. 18, 1986
28. siemens.com: Sept. 29, 1986
29. pyramid.com: Oct. 18, 1986
30. alphacdc.com: Oct. 27, 1986
31. bdm.com: Oct. 27, 1986
32. fluke.com: Oct. 27, 1986
33. inmet.com: Oct. 27, 1986
34. kesmai.com: Oct. 27, 1986
35. mentor.com: Oct. 27, 1986
36. nec.com: Oct. 27, 1986
37. ray.com: Oct. 27, 1986
38. rosemount.com: Oct. 27, 1986
39. vortex.com: Oct. 27, 1986
40. alcoa.com: Nov. 5, 1986
41. gte.com: Nov. 5, 1986
42. adobe.com: Nov. 17, 1986
43. amd.com: Nov. 17, 1986
44. das.com: Nov. 17, 1986
45. data-io.com: Nov. 17, 1986
46. octopus.com: Nov. 17, 1986
47. portal.com: Nov. 17, 1986
48. teltone.com: Nov. 17, 1986
49. 3com.com: Dec. 11, 1986
50. amdahl.com: Dec. 11, 1986
51. ccur.com: Dec. 11, 1986
52. ci.com: Dec. 11, 1986
53. convergent.com: Dec. 11, 1986
54. dg.com: Dec. 11, 1986
55. peregrine.com: Dec. 11, 1986
56. quad.com: Dec. 11, 1986
57. sq.com: Dec. 11, 1986
58. tandy.com: Dec. 11, 1986
59. tti.com: Dec. 11, 1986
60. unisys.com: Dec. 11, 1986
61. cgi.com: Jan. 19, 1987
62. cts.com: Jan. 19, 1987
63. spdcc.com: Jan. 19, 1987
64. apple.com: Feb. 19, 1987
65. nma.com: March 4, 1987
66. prime.com: March 4, 1987
67. philips.com: April 4, 1987
68. datacube.com: April 23, 1987
69. kai.com: April 23, 1987
70. tic.com: April 23, 1987
71. vine.com: April 23, 1987
72. ncr.com: April 30, 1987
73. cisco.com: May 14, 1987
74. rdl.com: May 14, 1987
75. slb.com: May 20, 1987
76. parcplace.com: May 27, 1987
77. utc.com: May 27, 1987
78. ide.com: June 26, 1987
79. trw.com: July 9, 1987
80. unipress.com: July 13, 1987
81. dupont.com: July 27, 1987
82. lockheed.com: July 27, 1987
83. rosetta.com: July 28, 1987
84. toad.com: Aug. 18, 1987
85. quick.com: Aug. 31, 1987
86. allied.com: Sept. 3, 1987
87. dsc.com: Sept. 3, 1987
88. sco.com: Sept. 3, 1987
89. gene.com: Sept. 22, 1987
90. kccs.com: Sept. 22, 1987
91. spectra.com: Sept. 22, 1987
92. wlk.com: Sept. 22, 1987
93. mentat.com: Sept. 30, 1987
94. wyse.com: Oct. 14, 1987
95. cfg.com: Nov. 2, 1987
96. marble.com: Nov. 9, 1987
97. cayman.com: Nov. 16, 1987
98. entity.com: Nov. 16, 1987
99. ksr.com: Nov. 24, 1987
100. nynexst.com: Nov. 30, 1987

Source: http://www.iwhois.com/oldest/ via Neowin: First 100 .com domains ever registered

December 2008 Total Traffic

• Total Hits: 10,101,880
• Total Files: 8,967,489
• Total Pages: 691,791
• Total Visits: 170,341
• Total KBytes: 42,551,253
• Total Unique Sites: 137,608
• Total Unique URLs: 17,594
• Total Unique Referrers: 25,856
• Total Unique User Agents: 6,246

December 2008 Daily Traffic

• Hits per Day: Average: 325,867 - Max: 391,865
• Files per Day: Average: 289,273 - Max: 361,267
• Pages per Day: Average: 22,315 - Max: 28,964
• Visits per Day: Average: 5,494 - Max: 6,365
• KBytes per Day: Average: 1,372,621 - Max: 1,812,057

Note: Green denotes increase and Red denotes decrease when compared with November 2008.

Previous month site traffic: November 2008

I am back from Taiwan! After following the tour from the 15th December 2008 to 21st December 2008, the remaining 12 days (21st December 2008 to 1st January 2009) are on our own free & easy.

Quite lazy to blog everything instead I will make it brief and let the pictures do the talking.

21st December 2008 to the 26th December 2008
We are in Taipei from the 21st December 2008 to the 26th December 2008 and hence we spent the Christmas there.

26th December 2008 to the 29th December 2008
From the 26th December 2008 to the 29th December 2008, we are in Taichung for the Fengjia Night Market (台中逢甲夜市) and on the way to visit my mom’s business partner there. Transportation in Taichung is quite a problem as there is no MRT and we have to take bus, but the problem with Taiwan is that their bus stop sometimes do not look like a bus stop. Luckily Taichung got quite a number of popular mountains as well as the Fengjia Night Market. If not I don’t really see a need to go there.

29th December 2008 to the 31st December 2008
From the 29th December 2008 to the 31st December 2008 we are in Kaohsiung. Transportation in Kaohsiung is much easier as they have MRT there called KMRT, but they are using their own system and hence the Taipei Easy Card is not applicable there. Kaohsiung is not really cold, normally the temperature hovers above 20° Celsius.

31st December 2008 to the 1st January 2009
From the 31st December 2008 to the 1st January 2009 we are in Taoyuan as it is closer to the airport. There is also the 2nd largest countdown in Taiwan after Taipei and we are there to witness it. It was fantastic!

My Summary About Taiwan
It is a difficult task finding public dustbins, public toilets and money changers! Also it seems to me that Taiwanese do not have the habit of helping people to press the “Door Open” button of the lift when people are moving large objects. Communication is a problem to me as my Mandarin is just average. I can speak but it seems that some of the terms we used (we always mixed Malay, English and Mandarin together) is not applicable there. I can’t really read Mandarin characters and most of their menu are in Mandarin and only sometimes there are English “subtitles” to go along with it. Taiwanese are quite poor in English.

I LOVE the weather day, I hardly perspire during my 18 days there but the moment I landed in Singapore, I perspired.

Taiwanese love beef and pork! Other meat types are a little bit more difficult to find there.

Somehow, the taxi drivers there give me a better feeling that they are more honest, friendly and helpful when compared with those taxi drivers in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

The myth that Asus EEE PC are cheaper in Taiwan is a hoax. Singapore is definitely cheaper and if you get it there, the warranty is in Taiwan only. Luxury brands and some most of the “above average priced stuffs” are also cheaper in Singapore than in Taiwan.

Pictures

• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 1 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 2 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 3 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 4 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 5 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 6 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 7 (Taipei & Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 8 (Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 9 (Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 10 (Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 11 (Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 12 (Taichung & Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 13 (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 14 (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 15 (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 16 (Kaohsiung & Taoyuan, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 17 (Taoyuan, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy - Part 18 (Taoyuan, Taiwan & Singapore)

Today is the first day of 2009 and I just came back from the countdown at Taoyuan, Taiwan. The countdown was FANTASTIC, Singapore’s countdown is NO WHERE near it.

The temperature in Taoyuan now is between 10° and 12° celsius. Shiok!

• 2009 will be a big year for me as I will be graduating at the end of this year and hopefully I can find a job and start work in February/March 2010. I will leave January 2010 to be my graduate trip hopefully.
• 2009 will marked my 25th birthday, I am halfway through to being 30.
• 2009 will marked my 5th year together with Li Xiang.
• 2009 will marked the 7th year of lesterchan.net.
• 2009 is the year that my younger brother is going to enlist into National Service for 2 years.
• 2009 is the year that my dad starts retiring.

Wishing all my readers a Happy New Year 2009!

Wishing all my readers a Merry Christmas 2008! Hope you all got the Christmas presents you wanted!

There are are a total of 2 tour groups for this Taiwan Trip. Group A went on the 14th to 20th December 2008 and Group B went on the 15th to 21st December 2008. We belong to Group B.

Day 1 - 15th December 2008 (Monday)
Had breakfast at Changi Airport Terminal 3 and meet up with the tour group at Row 10. Flight SQ878 suppose to depart at 12:25pm but it was delayed till 12:50pm. Plane took off at about 1pm and reached Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (台北中正国际机场) at about 5.15pm. The temperature is about 19 degrees!

The buffet dinner was at 海霸王 and the food kinda suck. That was my first meal in Taiwan!

It is about 2 hours drive from Taoyuan to Taichung. We proceed to Fengjia Night Market (台中逢甲夜市). The tour guide only give us 1 hour to shop there which is definitely not enough!

Checked into Howard Prince Hotel at Taichung at about 11.15pm

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #1

Day 2 - 16th December 2008 (Tuesday)
Had breakfast at Howard Prince Hotel. I think it has the best breakfast among all the hotels that we stayed.

We proceed on to Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) at Taichung and on the way we have lunch at Tai-Yi Ecological Education Farm (台一农场). Lunch was average but the ambiance was good. We (Singaporeans) are still not used to the food in Taiwan as we did not even finish half of what is served to us.

We went to Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village (九族文化村) to learn more about Taiwan Aboriginal Heritage and Cultures. This part is damn boring, but opposite the entrance of the village there is this very nice European style garden called European Gardens (歐洲宮廷花園). Due to the limited time, we only manage to take a few photos there.

Checked in at Sun Moon Lake Fenisia Hotel (雲品酒店日月潭) and we stayed there for the remaining part of the day going to Hot Spring and Spa at the hotel. There is even a inbuilt bath tub where the water flows from the hot spring right in your hotel room. The buffet dinner was at the hotel and I am surprise that the ice cream included is Häagen-Dazs. You can even take cans of coke and bottles of Yakult as it is included in the buffer.

This is the BEST hotel we stayed in. Heard it cost SGD$350 per night and it is the 2nd most expensive hotel at Sun Moon Lake area at the moment.

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #1 & Day #2
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #2

Day 3 - 17th December 2008 (Wednesday)
Breakfast was at the hotel and after that we took a boat ride around Sun Moon Lake and we visited Wen Wu Temple (文武庙). There was some Fa Lun Gong members camping along the stairs along Wen Wu Temple.

We visited 毛王爷之家 where it was like a sales pitch asking us to buy Royal Jelly and Dried Baby Deer grinded into power form, it was said to cure Asthma. Of course we did not buy them as we are totally not interested in it.

Lunch was at 原住民攴厅, it kinda suck.

We visited Chung Tai Chan Monastery (中台禅寺) where we donated NT$180 for good luck. The view was fantastic as it was situated high about the mountains.

Dinner was at the Fenisia Hotel’s ballroom, it was a gala dinner and we played Bingo, the first prize was NT$10,000. The game was really exciting!

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #2 & Day #3
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #3 (Part I)
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #3 (Part II)
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #3 (Part III)

Day 4 - 18th December 2008 (Thursday)
Breakfast was at the hotel as well and after breakfast we checked out of Fenisia Hotel.

We went to Taichung Station to take the Taiwan High Speed Rail train to Taipei Train Station.

Lunch was at 顶厨, finally this lunch was something that is more suitable for our taste buds.

We visited Yeliu Stone Park (野柳) to see unique geological features, such as rock formations sculpted by nature, with names that echo their shapes such as Queen’s Head and Fairy Shoe. I kinda like Yeliu, it is windy and the view is excellent!

After that, we wisited Taipei 101 (台北101最高摩天楼). We went up to the Observatory at level 89 as well as the outdoor roof at level 91. The outdoor roof is very windy and freezing cold! The tour guide only give us 1 hour there and we spend the whole hour at the Observatory taking photos and enjoying the view. The lift is amazingly fast, it takes about 40 seconds to go up 81 floors (starts at level 5 and ends at level 89).

We checked in at Taipei Garden Hotel (台北花园酒店) after Taipei 101. The hotel is new and it is near a 24 hours Carrefour! But I hate the hangers the most because you can’t hang in anywhere except the cupboard and the place to put my bath soap is so small! Worst of all, they DO NOT provide free Internet Access. You have to pay NT$300 for a day worth of Internet Access. I managed to tap onto a unsecured wireless network from my room and managed to connect it to the Internet. This is the ONLY hotel that I stayed in that do not provide free Internet Access.

Dinner was free and easy at Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). We tried the famous extra large chicken cutlet (好大大雞排). It was big but the bone was included and that makes up 1/2 of the size. I still prefer the Singapore’s version. Tried the Big Biscuit wrap Small Biscuit (大餅包小餅） but it tastes kinda plan. For dessert we have the banana milk shake and Peanut Snow Ice (花生泡泡冰). The 花生泡泡冰　is fantastic!

After we are back at the hotel. We went to opposite the 24 hours Carrefour to buy instant noodle as Li Xiang was craving for it!

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #4 (Part I)
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #4 (Part II)
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #4 (Part III)

Video: Taiwan Trip Day #4 - Taipei 101 - Going Up to Level 89
Video: Taiwan Trip Day #4 - Taipei 101 - At Level 91
Video: Taiwan Trip Day #4 - Taipei 101 - Going Down to Level 5

Day 5 - 19th December 2008 (Friday)
As usual breakfast was at the hotel. It seems that all the hotel that we stayed served VERY similar food. We got kinda sick of it!

After breakfast went to take a group photo with both Group A and B at 自有廣場 as Group A is leaving to Taoyuan later in the day.

Went to Fisherman’s Wharf (渔人码头) where the place is used in the filming of Meteor Garden. Nothing much to see there in the day.

Proceed on to Tamshui Old Street (淡水老衔) where we bought some Metal Egg (阿婆鉄蛋) to bring back to Singapore.

Lunch was at 五角船板. The food there was unique and I love the ambience and the design of the building. See the photos and you will get what I mean!

After lunch, we went to Pi-Siou Arts Center (天禄艺品中心). It is not really an arts center but a place where you will get to spend money on Feng Shui (風水). I gave my Chinese name and Chinese Zodiac to the master and it predicted some things correctly! I was SHOCKED! It was my first time trying something like this (fortune telling).

He said I am smart, I got money but I will not save it, I am extremely good in one area and I am healthy. Basically what he said are all true! He then asked me to buy a jade pendant to counter the “I will not save” part, but it cost like NT$8999 (SGD$450). I rejected and he was not pushy at all.

Even Li Xiang fortune was also told correctly. He said Li Xiang like to save money and she is not healthy especially around the stomach area (Li Xiang got gastric). I was shocked x2! Of course he asked Li Xiang to buy a different colour jade pendant to counter the “not healthy” part.

We are brought to Ximenting (西门盯) to do some shopping. The things there are not really cheap, in fact some of the stuffs are more expensive than Singapore. There are quite a lot of movie theatres there. Watching movie in Taiwan is really an expensive hobby. It cost like SGD$12 per ticket.

Dinner was at 夏慕尼. It was a Teppanyaki dinner and it is the BEST teppanyaki dinner I have ever eaten! It cost NT$980 (SGD$50) per pax.

After dinner, we went to 五分埔 to do some shopping. There are quite a lot of things there, prices are quite reasonable but you can’t really bargain with them.

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #4 (Part IV) & Day #5
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #5 (Part II)

Day 6 - 20th December 2008 (Saturday)
After breakfast at the hotel, we proceed on to National Palace Museum (故宫博物院). The museum houses the largest collection of priceless Chinese art pieces collected over many centuries by Chinese emperors and royal families. This part is so boring that I almost fall asleep walking from one exhibit to another!

After the boring part, lunch was at 金品茶楼小笼包. There are so many types of 小笼包. As Li Xiang do not eat pork, I have to eat her share of 小笼包 as well and I practically eat like 12 original flavour 小笼包 alone! The 小笼包 is nice!

We are suppose to go to Wulai (乌来) to see the Wulai Falls (乌来瀑布), but instead we went to 九份 to do some shopping as some of the group members wanted to buy the Pineapple Tarts (鳳梨酥). The view is kinda nice and it is cooling as 九份 is basically at the top of a mountain.

Dinner was at 海霸王, the food is just average only!

After dinner, we proceed on to Taoyuan as it is nearer to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Checked in to Holiday Inn Express. The hotel is not bad, kinda small but I like the business decoration within the hotel room. It has a proper desk to place your laptop with a table lamp. There is even an alarm clock plus music player for you to dock your iPod!

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #5 (Part III) & Day #6

Day 7 - 21st December 2008 (Sunday)
Breakfast is at the hotel, the cafe area is very small and they didn’t even check to see if I am staying at the hotel. Of course the breakfast variety is very limited as well.

We left together with the tour group to the airport and later on the coach uncle fetch us to Taipei Train Station. We paid him NT$200. A total of 5 of us stayed backed. The remaining 3 alighted at Shilin.

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #6 & Day #7

Part 2 of my Taiwan Trip, Free & Easy coming soon!

2008/2009 Sem 1 Examination for COMPUTING 3

» CS3251 Technology Strategy and Management B+
» CS3361 Service Science B+
» CS4251 Strategic IS Planning B+
» CS4254 IS Project Management B-
» CAP: 3.69

I will be away to Taiwan for a total of 18 days from the 15th December 2008 (Monday) to the 1st January 2009 (Thursday).

My flight, SQ878, will depart on the 15th December 2008 at 12:25pm and I will be coming back via the flight, SQ877, on the 1st January 2009, reaching Singapore at 18:45.

During this period, http://forums.lesterchan.net will be in a read-only mode, meaning you can only search and read topics/replies. Registration of new account, replying to an existing topic and posting a new topic will be DISABLED.

I WILL NOT entertain any WordPress support questions that are sent to me via email during this period as well.

Four Christmases was not bad, much better than I thought, but the storyline is pretty predictable once the movie starts. I don’t really think this is a spoiler. The 4 Christmases is derived from the couple parents, both parents are divorce and hence they have to visit each parent house one by one and hence the title 4 Christmases. Some parts are funny, it will make you laugh for sure.

The Day The Earth Stood Still was pretty crap in terms of storyline but the visual effect is fantastic. The only funny part in the show is when Keanu Reeves speaks Mandarin! I seriously don’t understand most of the Mandarin words that he speaks. lol

Going to watch Twilight in Taiwan, hopefully is good!

Here is my December 2008 WordPress plugins update containing all my 15 WordPress plugins update and 1 new WordPress plugin. All of them should work on WordPress 2.7 as I did not test them on any WordPress version below that.

I am introducing a new plugin called WP-CommentNavi which basically paginate your comments similar to how WP-PageNavi paginate your posts. I am also retiring WP-Sticky as WordPress 2.7 has a sticky post feature built in. WP-Sticky 2.31 WILL NOT work on WordPress 2.7 due to a conflict function “is_sticky”. If you renamed that function to “is_sticky2″ or something else, it should work, but as usual I did not test it.

*UPDATE* Due to the large number of requests, I decided not to retire WP-Sticky and I have updated it to 1.40 and it is now compatible with WordPress 2.7.

Be sure to read the readme.html and checkout the changelog for more information and most importantly NOTE THE TABS AT THE TOP

WP-Ban 1.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-CommentNavi 1.00
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-DBManager 2.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-DownloadManager 1.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-EMail 2.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-PageNavi 2.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-PluginsUsed 1.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-Polls 2.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-PostRatings 1.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-PostViews 1.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-Print 2.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-RelativeDate 1.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-ServerInfo 1.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-Stats 2.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-Sticky 1.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

WP-Useronline 2.40
» Readme/Changelog
» Demo
» Download Mirror #1
» Download Mirror #2
» Support Forum

If you like or love my plugins a lot, do consider making a donation to me. My Paypal email address is lesterchan AT gmail DOT com. Thank you =D