Skip to main content

Move over, .com! The first 7 new domains launch today

Starting today, you can register a website with a never-before-available domain name. A total of seven so-called generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are now live, with another seven set to launch next week, and potentially hundreds more in the year to come.

The first new gTLDs are: .bike, .clothing, .guru, .holdings, .plumbing, .singles, and .ventures.They are run by gTLD registry Donuts Inc. (yes, Donuts). Next Wednesday, February 5, Donuts will launch another batch of seven gTLDs, which include .camera, .equipment, .estate, .gallery, .graphics, .lighting, and .photography. In total, Donuts has 105 gTLD contracts with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which authorizes the use of gTLDs. By the end of February, Donuts expects to have launched a total of 28 new gTLDs, with a batch of seven launching each week between today and February 26, with many more to follow over the months to come. (See the full list of Donuts’ gTLDs here).

Recommended Videos

“Starting this week, new, relevant and specific Internet naming options will be available on a scale never before seen,” Donuts co-founder and CEO Paul Stahura said in a statement. “This is a unique opportunity for businesses, brands, organizations, and individuals to find an online identity that speaks precisely to their products, services and interests.”

Prior to today’s gTLD expansion, ICANN had authorized the use of only 22 gTLDs (.com, .org, .net, etc.). By the end of 2014, the number could jump into the hundreds. In total, ICANN has 1,903 new gTLDs set to launch – but that includes gTLDs in many languages other than English, some of which have already gone live.

If you want to pre-register for any of the newly launched gTLDs, simply visit one of Donuts’ registrar partners, which are listed here.

(Image via Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock)

Andrew Couts
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
How to change margins in Google Docs
Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content -- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Read more
What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app
A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Read more
Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs
A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.

Read more