The Corporate Lame Name Game 647
daniel-san writes "I've always wondered where names like Lucent, Aptiva, Infiniti, Agilent, Aquent, Naviant get invented. Not just pertaining to e-commerce companies, the article at Salon describes some of the silliness and the willingness to pay for these names. With companies like NameLab, NameBase, Name/It, NameTrade, Namestormers and TrueNames behind the scenes, I now understand the source of my comedic relief (and sometimes utter horror.)
" What are your choices for lamest names for companies or products?
Windows Powered!!! :) (Score:2)
This would be like
Funny Internet Names (Score:4)
Needless to say, they said *thank you* and went somewhere else.
Companies named after people (Score:2)
So this... (Score:2)
Lame Names (Score:2)
Well, I worked for MacTemps (now Aquent, *shudder*) back in the spring, and when I got the new corporate brochure with the new name and logo, my first reaction was "What the #&$@* does "Aquent" mean!!??"
The USAir -> USAirways change strikes me as lame to the extreme. How much money did that take? Oy.
Note that not all the ideas these guys come up with are lame: PowerBook is brilliant, and I really like the name Lucent. It's just after the inital blast of smarts comes the followers: Livent, Aquent, etc.
As for my choices of lame-ass product names, any new car of the past decade pretty much qualifies! Tercel, etc.
Pope
Lame Names (Score:2)
Aeron (Cool Chair though)
Solara
Acura
Proliant (Nice Servers though for the most part)
InDesign
NetWare (I really don't like the name of Novell NetWare)
IntraNetware
Groupwise
RAV4
Integra
IROC-Z (I know it's named after a race...still...bad name)
Those are just some of the names I hate...I'm hungry...can't think of more.
Where have all the names gone (Score:4)
You either have to make up a word, pull something out of another language or Norse Mythology, buy it from someone else for the price of a small country, or choose to go for a meaningless acronym.
Ask the people at BZET, they'll tell you
They're not *that* bad. (Score:3)
Badly named products... (Score:2)
I still think Xeon sucks too as a name, but what do I know?
Re: (Score:2)
Forgot the worst offender IMO! (Score:2)
Clarica.
Take a big guess what they are.
They used to be The Mutual Group.
Take a guess what THEY do.
This is the worst example of "rebranding" since Silicon Graphics changed to SGI. At least SGI kept consistent.
"Clarica" means jack-shit.
At least with a name like "The Mutual Group" you could expect them to be related to finance.
Now they sound the name of a crappy subcompact.
Pope
Re:Names (Score:2)
funny, offtopic, what's the difference?
The Good Reverend
mmmm...coffee (Score:3)
ay wah-lar
that's why they have the mermaid.
not relevent really, but at least they had brought in some literature.
On another point...any company that is an iBar or an eFoo, gets immediately filed under c for clueless IMHO
Bell Bottoms (Score:2)
Of course, this coming from a guy who calls himself Effugas and runs a website named DoxPara Research...Look mah! Mid-Name Capitalization, the Almighty X, and *Gasp* RESEARCH!
;-)
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http:///www.doxpara.com
Amazon.com - the ultimate in name engineering (Score:4)
I mean, why would someone type in 'Amazon' into their web browser? To search for 'sexy amazon babes', of course.
Amazon.com obviously grew into the commercial giant they are today solely because they engineered their name to grab the most 'net pr0n boys possible without offending the others. ;)
Well, I have a friend... (Score:2)
Of course, the reason for all the goofy names is to try to come up with something than can be trademarked and hasn't been used before. Its impossible to search every state for every trademark, so you don't bother with real words -- any useful real word has probably been used. Hence things as goofy as "Athlon" and, let's face it, "Pentium."
Pentium III? Fiveium three?
I think intel ranks up there... (Score:2)
What the hell is itanium? almost itanium??? It just does not convey any meaning in the world to me...
Re:Windows POWERED (Score:2)
Well, maybe not the last thing, but it's only marginally better than "Campus Inquisition for Christ"
---
Re:Lamest Name for a Company/Organisation (Score:4)
GeForce 256 (Score:2)
Globalization ... (Score:4)
... is to blame for a lot of these names. If you plan on doing business worldwide, your name needs to be pronounceable by people with many different native languages, and needs to lack bad connotations in those languages.
For example, Federal Express officially changed its name to FedEx in part because people in many countries had trouble pronouncing Federal.
So we get the worst of decision by committee -- only names that have no chance of offending or confusing any one among the world's 6 billion people will survive.
Re:Lame Names (Score:2)
The name was changed in inticipation of a merger between USAir and British Airways. The name was a logical combination of the two others. It's just that the deal never went through and they'd already made the effort to change their name.
LK
Don't blame Intel... they're not bad! (Score:2)
I remember when I first heard the name Pentium, I though fuck, why not just call it 586.
It got called "Pentium" because Intel wanted to trademark the name of their chip, and you can't trademark a number -- 3rd party competitiors could have made chips called "Ultra 586" or something (which is just what happened anyway with Cyrix). By picking an actual name for the chip, Intel was able to have brand-name protection.
(ob-hypothetical company name suggestions:)
Re:mmmm...coffee (Score:2)
or it could be worse [go.com]
Hey, I can do that! (Score:2)
Want to use these names for your company or product? I'll give you a discount
Re:They're not *that* bad. (Score:2)
A potato is better for you than a slink. I think. Manhattan is great but what's a Hedwig? I've got a Neptune board but think I'll move to a Seattle. Coppermine, I really dig that one.
The military comes up with great names: Battle of the Bulge, Operation: Just Cause, Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Roundhammer (Space above and Beyond Rocks!).
And what's with this silly trend to spell stuff wrong? Changing an S to a Z. My company sells labels not labelz.
The Pentium name was Intel's desire to start selling themselves as a brand. I don't think you can copyright, or trademark, whatever it called, a set up numbers. So, they sell Pentiums, not a 586. The silly part is to have Pentium II's, and III's. They are afraid to give up on the market recognition of the name Pentium. Sad.
Same thing goes for this crap about Office 2000, Windows 98, WordPerfect Office 2000. I hate identifying it by a year. Pretty soon, Dell will sell Dimension 2001. Come 2002 you will feel SO COMPELLED to upgrade. Look, it is Word 9.0, Excel 9.0, etc. Flash those numbers around and people will start to say, hey, I don't need to upgrade, I'm at version 8.0 by God, what could be so much better in 9.0 that they couldn't fit into the previous 8 versions? Answer? Bugs! Bloat! Feature Creep! Don't miss out, get your copy for only $549!
I say, piss on them all! I won't fall for all that marketing hype and name branding. I'm going to stick with an OS which has arguments about how to even pronounce, not to mention about whether it should have a prefix of GNU which 1000's more probably don't know how to pronounce.
NOW! Pass me a Potato!
Re:LAME NAMES (Score:2)
Maybe the centris got it's name because of the lc near the Center of the word.
LK
dumb names like Winstar? (Score:2)
You know, the one with the ant commercials and red blocks that make you think it's a Dodge [4adodge.com] commercial, but the name that sounds like a Ford [ford.com] minivan.
Of course, they have that loopy logo that looks like a Meta key on an Apple [apple.com], and of course the obvious similarities to the name of a Microsoft [microsoft.com] product or fifteen...
What is Winstar [winstar.com], anyway?
Great Article (Score:2)
"But if it's your own brand, how can you possibly be objective? I mean, would you name your own baby?" Redhill thinks for a minute, then backpedals. "I mean, of course you would name your own baby."
That cracks me up.
Someone should write some perl scripts to scan the dictionary and randomly chop words together. Call it GNUName or something; hell, that's probably already trademarked.
An example of this silliness .. (Score:2)
-Crutcher
Re:naming (Score:2)
Robin "roblimo" Miller
Proprietor & Driver,
Robin's Limousine
Elkridge MD USA
http://way.nu/limo
Stupid names (Score:2)
Anyone else find it ironic... (Score:2)
It's funny, because unlike many
Itanium (Score:4)
----------------
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein
I Laughed, I Cried (Score:2)
Re:Globalization ... (Score:2)
They did this becouse they couldn't trademark FedEx becouse it was being used as a generic term to ship something overnight. Hence, they changed their name, and can now use/own the term, FedEx.
"Hey, I need to FedEx this package to Florida"
"Ok.. UPS Next day ok?"
Commadore Vic-20.. (Score:2)
Re:NOVA (Score:2)
So what's with this urban legend about No va?
Patrick "Funny, he doesn't *look* Latin" Draper
Re:LAME NAMES (Score:2)
let's choose the next one in the line... hmmm Pentium... Sexium... d-OH! um, how's ITANIUM catch ya. Sounds like a metal, with a vague flavor of silicon (I hate that FDIV aftertaste, though)...
Re:Lame Names (Score:2)
Hate to say it, but "Microsoft" (Score:2)
Think about it. "Micro", I guess from "microcomputers" (which they aren't called anymore
But again - it doesn't sound strange really since it's so common in the language. But I guess you'll find out that if you say a word over and over, and don't focus on its meaning but rather just the *sound* of it, anything starts sounding very strange. Try "salad" which has absolutely no composite parts that I can see.
Reminds me of The Fountainhead (Score:2)
So here you have all these naming firms. Apparently all the good (English) words have been taken already. Their task, as they see it, is to simply merge existing words (note how everyone seems to think of Greek and Latin as the penultimate source of style -- I guess English or Italian or Russian or Chinese or Swahili isn't established well enough to be allowed in corporate naming circles). It doesn't matter whether or not the client likes the new word or if the word fits the client, the word simply has to adhere to a certain set of rules and taste. Thus the end results are as ugly monstrosities, quite similar to the dominant architecture "style" in the book.
I guess I have no point to all this, it just seemed interesting. It'd be interesting to know where all these supposed rules for naming things come from. Also, if the goal is brand name recognition, a good brand name isn't going to create recognition. Only a good and seemingly omnipresent product will (though a bad brand name could damage that, I suppose). The best these names can do is offer some vague ideas of what the business's attributes may be. People fear blunders like trying to sell a car named "Nova" in a Spanish speaking country, when a name is only going to cause problems when it's very blatantly bad. I guess if it only brings to mind vague ideas then it's safe. Vagueness also suits these companies very well. God forbid they actually state what they do in their name! People might actually remember their company, and then they'd get business, which means more work for them. We certainly don't want that happening!
logan
Re:My vote goes to (Score:2)
Re:NOVA (Score:2)
Spanish nova is the same as the English nova, which is an astronomical term for a star (or car) that blows up.
So, I guess a car that blows up is even worse than a car that doesn't go.
Patrick "what does Pinto mean in Spanish?" Draper
Nags Head (Score:2)
BS - (They sell bathing suits.. either that or BullShit, I'm not sure)
Awful Aurthurs - (The sell food. Oh yeah, I just love my food awful. I hate that good tasting stuff)
Birthday Suits - (Not quite sure but I think you pay them to steal all your clothes.)
And the king of all time stupid business names:
Dirty Dick's Crabs - (It's a restaurant. Let me tell you seeing a biplane carrying a banner that reads "Dirty Dick has Crabs!" is very very dangerous when you are in the ocean holding a body board. A wave caught my board, it popped up and... well lets just say it hurt. Although the people that some my near lifeless body corkscrewing toward the shore thought that I was just a really good bodyboarder. hehe)
Re:mmmm...coffee + rant = something long winded (Score:2)
I someday hope that I'll have something happen to me that is clearly my fault, that will get national media attention, that has everyone telling me to sue for "huge tracts of land", so that I can tell everyone: I'm an idiot and I'm the one who caused this to happen. My mother, father, sister, brother, nephew, uncle, government, teacher, priest, wife, mistress, daughter, son, friend, airline, restraunt, car, neighbor, etc, had nothing to do with it. I am the one to blame. I cannot sue for the land because I'm to blame.
I spilled the damn coffee on myself. I knew it was hot, but I did it anyway.
I rear ended your car, let me pay for you doctor's fees, but screw your emotional distress cause gump happens. I've got a burn on my face from the airbag, but I'm just thankful I didn't get impaled on the fschking steering column.
I'm an overweight weenie who closed the toilet lit down on my schlong (and ladies, it is a schlong!) and then sat on it, then twisted around a bit for good measure. I mean, c'mon fellows, how many of us don't know where our one eyed Jack is at all times?
My baby swallowed a penny and choked. I think I'll sue the goverment for not putting a child warning label on it. 20 years later that child is going to shoot up a post office over a 1 cent stamp increase, I just know it.
Pretty soon, people will be sueing Microsoft for charging too much for their products, even though no one forced them to buy the damn thing! So what if Dell didn't let you get a computer with something else on it, punish Dell, tell them you are buying a computer somewhere else. I don't get too upset with Honda for not having ALL the options on my Prelude that I wanted, I still bought the car. But, but, Chrylser offered that on their car, why don't you on yours?
Hey man, you can have any color car you want. As long as it is black--Henry Ford.
Damn, monopolies. I'll show him, I'll pick a white horse over his black car.
Build a toilet seat that even an idiot can use, and only an idiot will sit on it.
Re:Phone Companies (Score:2)
Well I would guess because NYNE would be pronounced "ninnie" hehe.
Bad service model, business plan (Score:3)
Ooh, sign me up for this service! That's just what I want, someone who not only doesn't give a hoot about my wishes, but is willing to tell the press so much.
Sadly, I participated in one of these "naming" focus groups once; it was when I was doing about weekly "focus groups" for a market research company that paid me about $75 for 2 hours work a week. You get into these groups, they've just handed you (or are about to hand you) a good lump of cash, and then ask you how you feel about this-or-that. Frankly, I would have dis'd all the names I heard - that was my first thought - but I wanted to get invited back so I could keep making the bucks. So, I chose the least stupid name, sounded really excited about it, told them it conjured up all these images of [insert adjective or verb here], got my $75 bucks cash, and forgot about it. Yeah, and I can't even remember what names I picked! That's how effective those focus groups are.
Eventually, this self-aggrandizing attitude will catch up with them, I hope. There's just no room in this economy for more self-aggrandizing holier-than-thou business models. Once the fame and money wears thin, this crowd will be back doing real work somewhere.
My $0.02.
Re:So this... (Score:2)
Yeah, yeah, real creative that, you say. I just don't remember any of the nested structs I used to create that.formed.complete.sentences. But I'm sure somebody around here could provide an example or two of their own.
But nothing like that *ever* could be allowed to show to the "outside world", could it?
Re:NOVA (Score:2)
IIRC, it translated as `Goes well'. Don't remember what it was in spanish, though...
Jedi Hacker (Apprentice) and Code Poet
Of course we won't like the names (Score:4)
These names aren't just chosen randomly. Their parts and their meanings and the feelings associated with them are taken into careful account. Copious market research is done. So I guess the point is all these comments about how much we hate this name or that name aren't really an indicator of anything besides individual taste: they don't really matter very much. The names are not designed for us. They're designed for PHBs and airhead shoppers. And they work.
My candidate for the lamest names: (Score:3)
"Inprise"
"TurboLinux"
"Netlojix"
"Equinix"
"SmartForce"
"Metacreations"
"Metalink"
Itanium -- what the hell is that? Can I make a boat hull out of it?
Inprise -- sounds like a combo on "internet" and "surprise", which I suppose is pretty meaningful
TurboLinux -- come on. Like they'd name it "supercharger linux" or "carburator linux" or "really slow linux" or "nitrous oxide linux"
Netlojix -- corporations have ruined my scrabble game. Now all the words I know either aren't real or or spelled wrong
Equinix -- maybe some kind of equal-opportunity gelding service for horses?
SmartForce -- you know, like "military intelligence"
Metacreations -- what the hell does that mean? I suppose paint and canvas are both metacreations, in the way this company uses that "word," but they are called "paint" and "canvas," not "metaart"
Metalink -- sheesh.
Car Names, Especially Toyota (Score:5)
How about Kia? They make the Sportage, Retona, Clarus, and Pregio?!?
Here's some cars that should have been introduced during the nineties:
Geo Scrotum
Geo Speculum (would compete with Ford Probe for "Car most likely to make women squeamish"
Infiniti Q45 Explosive Space Demodulator
Cadillac Coupe de Soixante-neuf
Solaris Java, a solar-powered "smart car"
Ford Excessive, an SUV bigger than the Excursion
and, of course, the Isuzu Hemos
Bravery, Kindness, Clarity, Honesty, Compassion, Generosity
Longest Name (Score:2)
-
<SIG>
"I am not trying to prove that I am right... I am only trying to find out whether." -Bertolt Brecht
Re:local band (Score:2)
Hellified Funk Crew
Their logo is the Colonel with a pitchfork and horns.
Kinda silly, but cool, in it's own little dimented way
Jedi Hacker (Apprentice) and Code Poet
Re:Lame Hardware Names (Score:2)
Athlon *does* sorta inspire thoughts of fleetness (for me, at least) - sorta that Athlete thing in the back of my mind... Athens... gods... it's all good...
GeForce 256... I've never heard anyone say the 256 out loud, only in type... I mean, really - there's no GeForce 128... and I'm one of those poor people who still thinks that G-Forces are cool - maybe I've watched too much Top Gun, and still hope to be in a plane, but if you want a 3D accelerator, don't you want it to "throw you back into your seat" (I always picture those Maxell commercials...
hmmm.... Maxell... Teac...
just my $.02...
Re:Hey, I can do that! (Score:2)
Lame in Name and Use! (Score:2)
Blech!
Re:Names (Score:2)
How did you get a triple word score on a seven letter word that used all your pieces? The only time a seven letter word can use them all is the first word, and the first word has to be put right in the middle of the board, no triple word there. Then of course quixtar is a name not a word, but anyway..... So, nope, it can't work
(that's the problem about geek humor, it not only must be funny, but *correct* as well...)
The Name has nothing to do with it. (Score:2)
And the guy ripping Yahoo? What is he high? Yahoo is the only internet company whos brand name is strong enough that they make money on it alone. Yahoo continues to turn a profit like most of the other iThis and eThat companies. I think maybe those Yahoo guys were onto something.
Who do these guys think they're kidding? The most successful companies of this century are almost all abbreviations, GM, IBM, GE, AT&T, all the television networks, etc. Of the ones that are left, they're usually people, Chrysler, Disney, Warner Bros. Over the last 20 years or so we have even more foolish names... Intel? Microsoft? HBO? Who in their right mind would name an entertainment company almost the same as a homeless transient? Or a submissive term like small-soft. Or name a chip company like a phone company? About the only guys who get it right were Apple, and they named it themselves on a whim.
I just dont get it.
-Rich
"sgi" (Score:2)
Names are very important (Score:2)
Besides, Aptiva is a much better name than Slashdot.
Re:Names (more scrabble) (Score:2)
Okay, so its a lame example, but that's the first example I can think of...
Making words for abstract concepts. (Score:2)
First some examples of electronic music names:
Names like:
Heliosphan (aphex twin)
zeiss contarex (autechre)
entresol (sun electric)
Versivo (bola)
The reason these kinds of weird names are chosen is that in both the case of electronic music and technology firms, the product is extremely abstract. Most normal language deals with relatively specific concrete terms and concepts.
These companies don't have one concrete or specific mission. Technology's moving fast, and people realize this.No company wants to name itself after a specific technology or product which could be obsolete in 5 or 10 or 20 years. So you pick names that have meanings unrelated to what you currently do or produce. AT&T doesn't see a whole bunch of business in telegraphy any more.
This leaves several options.
* Pick a word that conveys something good unrelated to your technology. Zenith. Sun. Saturn. Problems: How many appropriate words are there? Don't want to violate any trademarks..
* Use a family name. Who's family? I think a lot of technology companies NEVER were a family business, due to the ammount of capital required to get started.
* Make up some word that linguistically hints at other meanings, but has no explicit meaning of its own. Novell (novelty?) Lucent (Light?) Itanium (Titanium?) Problems: Some people say they're dumb.
* Use some acronym, ignore the original meaning.. AT&T does this now.
The electronic music names tend to evoke notions of Science, space, chemistry, & technology in general. The technology industry tries to evoke speed, dependability, luminence, and innovation. And vowels. They want you to think of vowels.
But it's the same game - Picking a word for an abstract concept which has none.
Re:Itanium (Score:2)
You can pretty much see where this thought process went...:
"We need something that conveys power and greatness!" ... Wait! We might not be able to patent it!"
"We need something that sounds like Pentium so that the idiots... ah, users will realize they are related."
"Uh... What convey's power and greatness?"
"I dunno... rock?"
"Nah... That sounds slow..."
"Rockanium!"
"... No..."
"Uh... Metal!"
"Yeah! Metal! Err... PentIron?"
"That is truly lame."
"Yeah... Wait! Remember that one ship... uh, the Titanic!"
"It sank."
"Yeah, but that's not the point! It had that one strong metal right? The one that sounds like the ship?"
"I dunno. Uh... you mean Titanium?"
"That's it! That sounds powerful and great!"
"Yeah!
"Damn! How about Itanium?"
"That sucks."
"Got a better suggestion?"
"No... Let's go with it."
After much debate, and the fact that Chrystler Benz was secretly threatening to sue over the blatant theft of their Mercedes brand in Merced, they decided to go with it.
B. Elgin
Re:Globalization ... (Score:2)
I recently worked for a company that did contract work for them, and I found out that internally they called themselves "HMR."
Re:Companies named after people (Score:2)
Re:Forgot the worst offender IMO! (Score:2)
Their page says that Silicon Graphics Inc owns the copyrights.. Everywhere else it says "SGI", tho.
Reason for the standing ovation... (Score:2)
meeting, a thousand employees stood up and gave the name a standing ovation
I've been thru these. Could it be they were simply relieved at getting it over with?
--
Enjoy the new name, cause that is your bonus! (Score:3)
Last year my company spent 25 million on a new logo. A couple days before the big announcement of what the logo was they told all emploiees that we won't get a bonus because we were missed the target by 10 million. Conincidence? We think not. (Managment will disagree, but stock prices few several bucks just after the anouncement)
Ask anyone around here though, the surest sign of a big lay off is a company moving to a new building, changing their name, or changing their logo. The old timers hold that as true.
Re:Chevy Nova (Score:2)
and that "va" is one of the words for "go", but,
get this, the Chevy Nova sold very, very well in Mexico.
Please see
http://www.snopes.com/errata/nova.htm
for a very thorough treatment of this nonsense.
Some crazy names (Score:2)
Re:Companies named after people (Score:2)
i dont display scores, and my threshhold is -1. post accordingly.
Re:So this... (Score:2)
if(!instantkarma){
jhn_cgr_mlncmp::elton_john(temp,"Connection down", theWho.megaDeth(instantkarma),"Ok",0);
if(temp){
beatles::come_together(instantkarma, alicecooper->default_device());}
else {
jhn_cgr_mlncmp::crumbling_down("Operation cancelled",alicecooper.max_wait());}
}
Re:Sony's VAIO (Score:2)
I think the true meaning of VAIO is 'Video Audio Input Output"
It would seem slightly more standard to say
AVIO for that though.
Re:Lame Names (Score:2)
-jwb
g27.org (Score:2)
numb
The Glory of the Pentium name (Score:2)
I remember when Intel announced that the
fabled 586 would be called "Pentium". We (the hacker community) thought it was a dumb name at
the time, and I remember saying that everyone
would probably call it 586 anyway.
So, maybe five years from now, we will be talking
about the glory of the Itanium name.
Re:The Name has nothing to do with it. (Score:2)
Could happen.
Car names (Score:3)
The founder of Toyota is name Toyoda. A fortune teller told him that a name with eight brush strokes (Toyota) would be luckier than one with ten (Toyoda). He was also told that cars with names starting with C would sell better. Camry, Celica, Corolla, Cressida...Tercel?
Nissan (Datsun) was going to sell a car with the name Fairlady. The US division didn't like it so the name was changed to the production code name, 240Z.
Mazda had a van that they didn't import to the US. It would have been extremely popular with a certain group of people. The van's name was, Bongo Friendee.
Nissan came up with the name Leopard J. Ferie, but later changed it to J30.
On a slightly different plane: I always thought that Microsoft was not a particularly "macho" name (if you get my drift).
Re:Globalization ... (Score:2)
Interesting points (Score:2)
Neither is Itanium, Pentium, Athlon, etc. Names != words
Now let's play some word association based on what it sounds like:
Agilent
-- Flatulent
Pentium
-- Pentagram
Pentium Pro
-- Professional evil
Pentium ][
-- Crap v2.0
Celeron
-- Cheap vegetables
Pentium ]I[
-- 1984
Itanium
-- I think not
Athlon
-- Bicathlon
Crusoe
-- Coconuts
Inprise
-- Inbred
---
WinCE, anyone? (Score:2)
But we all know the truth: It took the geniuses of Microsoft marketing this long before it finally dawned on them that the natural contraction of "Windows CE" is a word meaning "an expression of pain".
JAMCRACKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Score:2)
I registerd the name 'jamcracker' at slashdot after I read that
Celery (Score:2)
How to name a TV channel (Score:3)
"Channel 2"
The next time somebody started another channel, they had a public naming competition. Guess who won the big prize. Yeah, you guessed it: the guy who suggested
"Channel 3"
--
My candidate for the lamest names: (Score:4)
What the hell is that?
Sounds like I'm getting mugged by some Londoner:
"Oy! 'And over yer dosh, else I box yer ears"
Re:Lamest Name for a Company/Organisation (Score:2)
Did they get a refund for the two letters they returned?
--
It's October 6th. Where's W2K? Over the horizon again, eh?
read more carfully (Score:2)
Anyway, I prefer calling the OS line-ucks, even though I always refer to Linus as Linn-us. And speaking of Linn-us, hes stated that he dosn't care how people pronouce it, so why should anyone else?
DaimlerChrysler (Score:2)
I'm not sure about that. DaimlerChrysler was formed in 1998.
Re:NOVA (Score:2)
nova = nogo. its a direct translation.
Pointeless Names (Score:2)
The ISP had started out as Phoenix Datanet with the domain phoenix.net. Classy. Very rarely misspelled.
The company was purchased by Charter Communications to add an ISP to its portfolio of technology. The new domain name was c-com.net. Here begins the trouble. When on the phone, one would say the domain name as "cee dash com dot net" and quite often get confusion from the customer. "What? Cee dot com... uhh... what was that again?" Thankfully, legal troubles ended that domain name.
Then the company merges with Pointe Communications. The Charter name is abandoned (there is much rejoicing). The new domain name? pointecom.net. Yes, the 'e' is silent. Once again, on the phone with the customer... you can't just say "point com dot net". That would get you "pointcom.net".
My solution? Pronounce the 'e'. "point Eee com dot net - no spaces". Its a tribute to the pointy-haired bosses who come up with these naming ideas.
Re:Globalization ... (Score:2)
Re:References to Salon.com (Score:2)
It also reminds me of a hilarious (though stupid) Saturday Night Live skit years ago with Dana Carvey (I think) playing a Vidal Sassoon-type, and the whole joke was that he would always pronounce it "SAHL-lonn" with a pretentious French accent instead of "sa-LON".
Re:LAME NAMES (Score:2)
eg. the 7300 was FASTER than the 8500 in most configurations.
The 7200 was SLOWER than the 8100. But the 7200 was faster than the 6100. There were also 7100s that were faster than certain 7200s.
They could have made it work, but they run the resk of hitting the Presario naming scheme's pitfalls. 5543, 5545, 5546, etc...
LK
Re:Video Game Systems (Score:2)
(well, ok, that would be dreamcaster)
And PSX sounds better than Playstation.
Re:what does it mean? (Score:2)
Incidentally, in Japan the games are called "Pocket Monsters." Apparently, English is as chic to the Japanese as Japanese-sounding names are chic to Americans.
Re:My candidate for the lamest names: (Score:3)
"Made money and over fist, they did, in that IPO!"
Re:Lame Names (Score:2)
Just a subliminal way of letting them know they're not welcome here.
Re:Toyota Corona? (Score:2)
...and is, or, at least, was at one time, a Toyota model name as well.
So is Celsior [toyota.co.jp], but it's called a "Lexus LS400" in North America.