The name for the next Windows OS has been revealed: Windows Vista:
CNN wrote:NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Microsoft announced Friday that it will call its next-generation operating system "Windows Vista."
The much-anticipated operating system had formerly been code-named "Longhorn."
Microsoft also unveiled the Windows Vista Web site and said the first beta test version of the system, which will be targeted at developers and IT professionals, will be available by Aug. 3. The system is scheduled to be released late next year.
Previous Windows releases have been named by year number or by a moniker -- such as Windows XP -- to describe the release itself.
But with Windows Vista, Microsoft wanted the name to focus more on the product, and how it brings clarity to users, said Greg Sullivan, group product manager at Microsoft.
"We each have our own unique view or vista of this digital world. Windows Vista is going to bring more clarity to that," he said.
Microsoft (Research) has promised that the new system will have several improvements, including better security features, more comprehensive search capabilities and a friendlier user interface.
Specific features include a new way to manage files involving the use of virtual folders, which will make storing and finding information easier, Sullivan said.
Several privacy capabilities, such as protected user accounts, have also been built into the new system, he said.
In a Microsoft video of the name announcement, the new system is described as "Clear. Confident. Connected."
Licenses for operating systems and related software still account for the majority of the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant's sales and operating profits.
Can't wait for those commercials with Gates driving around in a Vista Cruiser station wagon ....
"It's an expensive pig that wastes resources too!"
[img=right]http://www.tallguyz.com/imagelib/chmeesig.jpg[/img]My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but
Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to
make guesses in front of a district attorney,
an assistant district attorney, and a stenographer.
Sam Spade, "The Maltese Falcon" Operation Freedom Fry
Sounds like a name cooked up from a wannabe Starbucks yuppy.
I mean, look at these people. They bring their laptops in, accessing the internet. But they don't call it that! No sir, it's the.. whatever they call it in their damn coffee language. They start sipping their six dollar latte. Then they read their screen intently as if they were reading a doctoral thesis or something out of a liberal arts class. Well, hell no, they're reading Uncle Barnabe or watching a video clip from Ebaumsworld. Fuck them and the high horse they rode in on. All because they don't want a gruffy sounding name like Longhorn... just some wannabe zen garbage.
It's like those guys from Adult Swim thinking they're stoners when they're really not.
"Right now we can tell you a report was filed by the family of a 12 year old boy yesterday afternoon alleging Mr. Michael Jackson of criminal activity. A search warrant has been filed and that search is currently taking place. Mr. Jackson has not been charged with any crime. We cannot specifically address the content of the police report as it is confidential information at the present time, however, we can confirm that Mr. Jackson forced the boy to listen to the Howard Stern show and watch the movie Private Parts over and over again."
Actually, Hamel, brands are not generally named by people sitting in the Starbucks sipping a latte with a laptop computer.
Branding and corporate identity happens to be my profession-in this case however, I'd agree with the consensus that Microsoft has done a lousy job branding the new Windows. Vista strikes me as meaningless next to Windows-it's one of the most overused names in branding. Microsoft just doesn't seem to get it whewn it comes to making their products appealing to the consumer, in spite of being one of the biggest users by far of branding consultancies.
A list of the branding consultancies Microsoft has used reads like a whos who of the branding business, yet only those involved with the X Box have been able to break through the clutter and really achieve something.
Office: Mac is also reasonably good (Landor Associates did a great job on the packaging). MSN (as designed by Lippincott Mercer) is totally unappealing... I just don't understand how so many different experts from so many different firms could consistently botch it...
Microsoft's recent ad campaign by McCann Erickson is even worse, but as an agency, McCann Erickson is notoriously unimaginative.
"Here's a nickel, kid. Get yourself a better computer."
