In my opinion, domain name (tld) are overrated in general. Because great content will always find its way to the users no matter how weird and long the domain name is.
I watched a close friend of mine log into her gmail the other day. To do so, she clicked the Home button in an open browser window and then typed gmail into Google. Obviously, this made my head explode.
But as someone who remembers trying to finagle Yahoo, Astalvista, and Excite into giving me the address for something I knew existed (let alone something I was trying to find for the first time), I'm indescribably happy that just about everyone with internet access can find what they're looking for 99% of the time on the first try.
Like you pointed out, things we used to take for granted as important in many cases aren't anymore. And the internet is a better place because of it.
I've had a similar reaction in the past when people use Google to find sites they frequently visit. However, I've become so disenchanted with the 'net by domain squatters and typo spam/porn sites that I will type a company name into Google now before I try CompanyName.com, just to avoid potential typos or squatters (Dropbox would be the first example I would cite if asked).
What do you mean? Was dropbox.com once owned by a squatter? Just curious.