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quag 21 hours ago

It reminds me of around 2002 when Microsoft named everything ".net".

amanzi 21 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Yep, I remember downloading a beta version of what would be eventually released as Windows Server 2003. The beta version was called Windows .Net Server 2003.

rdhatt 20 hours ago | parent [-]

I had some books that referred to it as .NET Server printed before the name change. In the long history of terrible Microsoft names, this was a rare case where they were able to right the ship.

Findecanor 20 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

"Microsoft Surface" ...

If had first meant a coffee table form factor PC with touch screen and special software, which was able to sense special objects placed on top of it. Then that was renamed to "PixelSense" [1] and "Surface" instead got put on a line of touchscreen tablet form factor PCs launched together with Windows 8. OK, reusing a strong name for a product line expected to sell more, and which still fit the theme made sense.

.. but then the brand was also put on laptops, convertibles, desktop PC and an Android phone ... eh, OK, but at least those also had touch screens.

... but then the brand was also put on generic peripherals: keyboard, mouse, headphones, earbuds, etc. which diluted the brand to mean practically nothing. For example, a search for "surface keyboard", could result in a "type cover" for some kind of tablet PC or a keyboard intended for desktop computers.

Microsoft later did the same with the "Microsoft Sculpt" brand. It was first a compact curved "sculpted" ergonomic keyboard with chiclet keys and an ergonomic mouse that were most often sold as a set. That got quite popular and so the brand achieved recognition. But later, Microsoft decided to reuse that brand for completely generic peripherals with no special ergonomic designs whatsoever.

BTW. Not long after, Microsoft also released products with the similarly ungoogleable names "Microsoft Bluetooth Keyboard" and "Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard".

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PixelSense

rationalist 17 hours ago | parent [-]

> a search for "surface keyboard", could result in a "type cover" for some kind of tablet PC or a keyboard intended for desktop computers.

Do you mean blades?

Proof that I'm not hallucinating that name: https://www.windowscentral.com/meet-surface-music-kit-new-bl...

breakingcups 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Oh, Blades, like the Xbox 360 Dashboard thing?

Or no, you must be referring to the Azure Portal sections.

pcurve 21 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

And “one” like most Fortune 500 companies.

auselen 21 hours ago | parent [-]

one.copilot.net

bdcravens 20 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Then they did the same thing to a lesser degree with "360", including the Xbox.

debugnik 20 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Also Live. Windows Live [whatever], Xbox Live [whatever], Games for Windows - Live, Office Live.

karlitooo 20 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Also 365 -_-

userbinator 11 hours ago | parent [-]

The joke is "expect one day of downtime every leap year", but in practice it seems a bit more than that.

rowls66 20 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Or when IBM renamed everything Websphere.

aleph_minus_one 19 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Or when IBM renamed everything Websphere.

You mean "Web's fear"? ;-)

vjvjvjvjghv 19 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

And then Watson

FartyMcFarter 21 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Soon: Copilot .NET .

Pxtl 20 hours ago | parent [-]

Azure PowerCopilot Live .NET

marcosdumay 17 hours ago | parent [-]

... 360 (+5)

Andrex 17 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Being a (very) young script kiddie I was so confused it had nothing to do with the TLD. None of the sites were even hosted on a .net domain! "Wtf?"

hsbauauvhabzb 19 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Which was arguably more problematic. Are you referring to a web address or a Microsoft product?

layer8 19 hours ago | parent [-]

More importantly, you couldn't usefully search for it with the search engines of the time.

hsbauauvhabzb 18 hours ago | parent [-]

I wonder how many human lifetimes of effort have been wasted due to poor naming decisions by Microsoft.

alex1138 14 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

None of us had any idea what updates were supposed to be back then and yet those updates were probably less broken than they are now

andrewmcwatters 21 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[dead]