__/ [ [H]omer ] on Tuesday 26 September 2006 08:54 \__
> The Ghost In The Machine wrote:
>> In comp.os.linux.advocacy, Roy Schestowitz
>> <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote
>> on Mon, 25 Sep 2006 23:23:14 +0100
>> <1177229.OAQvzhRpln@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>>> Boy, am I sick of renaming this thing
>>>
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>> | Phoenix, that was a cool name. Damn you PhoenixBIOS. Firebird was good,
>>> | and who needs another database anyway? Mozilla Firefox is a cute name,
>>> | with a cute logo. A logo we can't use. Oh wait, we can't use the name
>>> | either?
>>> |
>>> | So the Mozilla Corporation has asked us to stop using the name
>>> | "Firefox" in our version of Firefox, unless we use the fox on a globe
>>> | logo. We can't use the logo because its copyright license is not free.
>>> | Even if somehow we could do this, they want to vet every patch we apply
>>> | before we release a package called Firefox containing it.
>>> `----
>>>
>>> http://ze-dinosaur.livejournal.com/12083.html
>>
>> Hm. "Iceweasel" is the best they could come up with for the fork?
>> Still, it might work. IMO, this dispute verges on stupidity, though.
>> Then again, licensing can be like that.
>>
>> One might go with HotVulpes. (Fox is of the genus Vulpes.
>> The common red fox, for example, is vulpes vulpes -- see
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Fox . Unfortunately, most
>> people don't know Latin, myself included.)
>
> Why don't they just call it "Internet Explorer"? After all it's a
> "generic term and cannot be trademarked":
Have you yet seen the following?
Microsoft sues "cybersquatters" for infringement
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft said registering trademarked Microsoft names violates the
| 1999 Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, a law that calls for a
| fine of up to $100,000 for anyone who registers a domain name that is
| identical, similar or derived from an existing trademark with an intent
| to profit.
`----
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060823:MTFH27212_2006-08-23_01-54-30_N22289044&type=comktNews&rpc=44
Have a look at some of the names. Microsoft has got some nerve. I still
remember how the BBC grabbed the dot com, as well as Apple, which nicked the
itunes (UK?) domain name, which has existed and been registered long before
Apple's iTunes existed or was even conceived!!
> .----
> |
> | <snip useful quote>
> |
> | Microsoft claims the settlement vindicates its argument that Internet
> | Explorer is a generic term and cannot be trademarked.
> `----
>
> - http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,11001454,00.htm
>
> Also see:
>
> .----
> | Microsoft's business strategy is clear: Steal technology and ideas
> | from competitors, and when sued for breaking the law simply tie the
> | matter up in the courts. Microsoft has been sued by the company that
> | invented browser plug-in technology, Apple Computer, Sun
> | Microsystems, and numerous other software companies. One case in
> | particular illustrates how ruthless Microsoft is, and how cheap.
> |
> |
> | <snip useful quote>
>
> - http://thepopulist.wordpress.com/2003/10/
>
> Related:
>
> .----
> | Microsoft Windows' new Vista
> |
> | By Brier Dudley
> |
> | Seattle Times technology reporter
> |
> | By naming the next version of Windows "Vista," Microsoft may have
> | stepped on the toes of another software company just down the road in
> | Redmond.
> |
> | <snip useful quote>
>
> Yeah, when you force-feed Windows by blackmail onto every OEM computer,
> you have the advantage of being able to give it any name you want, even
> (and quite appropriately) "Garbage". At least it's an *honest* name.
>
> So what's in a name?
>
> Just call Firefox "Web Browser" and be done with it.
No, that discourages competition, even on the same platform (/distro).
Windows calls it "Internet" and it has a default application assigned to
that heading. Names allow people to tell things apart and make informed
choices. That's what brandnames are all about. And I'm sick of people saying
"I can't get on the Internet" when what they truly should say "I open
Internet Explorer and receive an error message".
Just my opinion/s...
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Software patents destroy innovation
http://Schestowitz.com | Free as in Free Beer ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Cpu(s): 19.4% user, 2.7% system, 0.9% nice, 76.9% idle
http://iuron.com - semantic engine to gather information
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