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HOME TOPICS ABOUT ME Can a sexy name help bring in sales? You bet. Ford knows by now that all of its cars need names that matter. It would never change the name of the Mustang, for example. |
technofile Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983 The name's the game, and Apple's on a rollSept. 1, 2002 By Al Fasoldt Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard Microsoft has XP. Apple has Jaguar. In the name game, score a big win for the scrappy company that invented the modern personal computer 18 years ago. Apple's big-cat name is catchy and clever -- after all, a Jaguar prowls the jungle looking for prey just as Apple Computer is prowling the PC world looking for converts to its new Unix operating system -- and it even reminds us of the British car with the sexy styling. Microsoft's Windows XP has no such heritage in the naming race. It doesn't evoke lithe jungle cats or fast British sports cars. XP merely stands for "eXPerience." Dull, dull, dull. Score two zeroes in a row for the world's largest software company. The last time it introduced a new consumer version of Windows, Microsoft also made a fool of itself. Windows Millennium Edition was supposed to have reached consumers as Windows ME, but someone at Microsoft realized that "ME" isn't just an acronym for "Millennium Edition"; it spells the word "me," if you ignore the capitalization. But Microsoft couldn't ignore the capitalization. That would not be its style. It rewrote the dictionary. Windows Millennium Edition became "Windows Me" -- as in "Barbie, Ken and Me," I suppose. Software that should have been treated quite seriously was turned into something with a silly name. Fate has a way of treating such nonsense in its own way. Windows Me was a bomb. It was the worst version of Windows since the original Windows 95. Many independent Windows experts, myself included, advised consumers against accepting Windows Me on their new PCs. Poorly chosen names can be disastrous. Ford Motor Co. had many problems with its new Edsel automobile in the late 1950s, but only one of them could not be repaired -- the name. It made the car seem foreign and silly. But can a sexy name help bring in sales? You bet. Ford knows by now that all of its cars need names that matter. It would never change the name of the Mustang, for example. And Apple has a winner in Jaguar. Good name, good software. It's a combination that's hard to beat. Apple's even come up with a name for the successor to Jaguar. It's just as sexy, and maybe even more memorable. Keep this in mind when Microsoft introduces Windows XP 2 or whatever mindless name it comes up with for the successor to XP. That's when Apple will be unleashing its new operating system. The name? Panther. Apple's on a roll. |