How 10 Iconic Tech Products Got Their Names 247
lgmac writes "Think Windows Azure is a stupid name? Ever wonder how iPod, BlackBerry and Twitter got their names? Author Tom Wailgum goes inside the process of creating tech product names that are cool but not exclusionary, marketable, and most of all, free of copyright and trademark gotchas. Here's the scoop on ten iconic tech products and how they got their monikers, plus a chat with
the man responsible for naming Azure, BlackBerry, and more. (What's the one he wishes he'd named but didn't? Google.)"
I bet... (Score:4, Funny)
...it involved a lot of pot.
Quick, someone mail this article... (Score:5, Funny)
... to the GIMP devs.
Re:MSFT (Score:5, Funny)
"If you want to keep us secure, take a page from Linux and open up your OS to public scrutiny so that people can perfect it. What are you afraid of?"
You must be new here
>mfh (56)
or not
Re:I bet... (Score:5, Funny)
and then there is Apple
it's a phone, what should we call it? iPhone
it's a new Mac, what should we call it? iMac
it handles all your tunes, what should we call it? iTunes
great, boys, we're done here
Depends on where you've been (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I bet... (Score:3, Funny)
iPot?
How about the "iForOneWelcomeOur...".
On second thought - nah...
Azure? (Score:3, Funny)
I figured that they were tired of hearing about the BSOD, and "Azure screen of death" would at least sound nicer.
Re:what about the one that concerns us all... (Score:5, Funny)
RTFFAQ.
http://slashdot.org/faq/slashmeta.shtml#sm150 [slashdot.org]
German naming process... (Score:5, Funny)
A couple decades back there was a German man with his own branding/naming company. A Japanese company, not satisfied with their experience for English speaking markets, called him up and asked him to help out with a new car. Naturally, he inquired as to the project timeline, due dates etc.
Nervously, the Japanese marketer replied that they needed something for the following Monday.
After a few moments pause, the German replied "Dat Soon? eh?"
Later that same year he took a trip to London on business. While eating at a local steakhouse, he asked "what's dis here sauce?"
Re:TWAIN (Score:3, Funny)
I'm still trying to find funding for my Tamper Indicative Toggle Switch. I even offered to change the name to Authenticated Smart Switch. For some reason, my boss objected to both names.
Re:I bet... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:German naming process... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Depends on where you've been (Score:3, Funny)
At least if you say twitter and google to a girl and they won't take it the wrong way.
awk, biff, grep, sed, emacs, du, chmod:
I definitely see a drink thrown in my face and a slap in the future. Even from imaginary ones.
Re:TWAIN (Score:3, Funny)
You should stop try to find funding, and just do it. Like liboobs [gnome.org].
Re:His explanation of Google's name is BS (Score:4, Funny)
man those last ones you said are really from the past, im having trouble remembering them too. when was the last time you heard of yahoo?
Re:I bet... (Score:3, Funny)
Hey maygn! Why you buy a car that no go?
Re:I bet... (Score:5, Funny)
So, what kind of names do their children have? Did they spend months obsessively trying to determine a name that conveys "don't beat me up, now, please hire me later"?
Microsoft "Innovates" a lot (Score:4, Funny)
Who cares if we find out that you people at Microsoft haven't done any real work since 1990... we ALREADY KNOW THAT.
Nah, their consumer OSes have seen the addition of memory protection. Beore then, Microsoft did some real doesn't-work.
Re:I bet... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:the new way: (Score:5, Funny)
Hint: it'll probably be spelt strangely.
What do you know? http://www.speltstrangely.com/ [speltstrangely.com] is available!
Finally a name for my OSS speech recognition project!
Re:the new way: (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, by all means someone should start selling a Skami Computer, hopefully via infomercial! I'd recommend filling out the product line with a "Do!Be!Us!" smartphone, a "Krapee" monitor line, the "De-Funk(t)" music player, the "Borkt" series of printers, and the "InnerFierce" wireless networking gear.
But please, if you do this, make sure you set up your "world headquarters" in a semi-abandoned strip mall, and move it every time the landlord kicks you out for non-payment. (And no, you can't ever pay rent when running a scam. A penny stolen is a penny earned.)
The good news is you'll be able to sell Vista on this stuff without increasing your complaint load. Heck, given the target audience, you could probably charge them for two copies and call it Double Vista.
Now if we can just (Score:3, Funny)
get online news websites to understand how the scrollbars work in a web browser, instead of breaking one 'page' into a dozen small ones that, instead of the whole article loading at once, and then being able to scroll smoothly, instead of having to click next, next, next, and have frustrating pauses while trying to read.
After I read the first 'bit' and realized Id have to click, wait, click, wait to read the rest, I just closed the tab instead of bothering.
Occasionally on sites like that there is a 'printable version' that gives the whole article as one, but lately it seems to just give a 'printable version' of that one bit of the story. /. editors - lets not encourage these sites by linking to them and giving them the ad traffic.
Re:I bet... (Score:5, Funny)
it's a toilet, what should we call it? iShit
it's an intravenous drug, what should we call it? iNject.
it's an Apple fan boy, what should we call it? iDiot.
(just a little joke, Macaniacs..)
Re:I bet... (Score:5, Funny)
"it's a toilet, what should we call it? iShit"
In the Health care industy, a shit is callws a 'BM' (stands for bowel movement)
So an Apple toilet would be called... oh wait, you think big blues lawyers would have an iSue with that?
Re:Second? Try third. (Score:3, Funny)
IceWeasel? No no, that is too close to sounding like a trademark law firm.
Re:I bet... (Score:5, Funny)
Mitch Hedberg had a bit on one of his comedy CDs about product naming. Paraphrasing: take whatever the product does and add "er."
"What's this thing do?"
"It keeps things fresh."
"Then that's a fresher. I'm goin' on break."
Re:I bet... (Score:4, Funny)
Hey if there was a patchy helicopter with me in its cross hairs I would be running pretty fast - not that running would do me much good. :P
Re:His explanation of Google's name is BS (Score:3, Funny)
yeah, I've never heard of yahoo either. I'm going to jeeves it.
Re:I bet... (Score:2, Funny)
Years back, I and a few colleagues noticed you could take whatever the product does (or whatever you'd do with it) and add "-ex".
E.g. Kleenex, Earex, Sinex.
We jokingly proposed a new toilet paper: Wipex.
Of course, that name was [office365.co.uk] already [wipex.co.uk] taken [wipex.co.za].
Funny thing is, someone actually wrote a paper [jstor.org] on this very subject.