Windows Vista? Why?

Media Alert: Microsoft Unveils Official Name for 'Longhorn' and Sets Date for First Beta Targeted at Developers and IT Professionals: Company announces official name of its next-generation Windows client operating system.

As you'll see all across the MS Blogsphere, MS announced this morning the official name for Longhorn. Windows Vista

The new official Windows Vista web page is up too.

As anyone who reads my blog knows, I'm pretty much a MS kind of guy (with limited Linux tendencies).

But Windows Vista?

Okay, after thinking about it, MAYBE it makes sense (to those twisted marketing like minds).

Windows Client OS's have cute names. ME, XP, Vista.
Windows Server OS's have model year names. 2000, 2003, and hopefully Server 2006/7.

If Longhorn Server becomes Windows Vista Server, then I guess I can bitch about picking and sticking with a naming convention...

Let's just hope Office 12 is named Office 12 or Office 2006. Not Office Vista...

oh damn now that I think about that... want to start a pool? Maybe not. According to WhoIs, OfficeVista.com is not owned by MS, nor does it look like MS has trademarked "Office Vista" (yet). (Oh please, please, please... don't do it MS. Just say no...)


Having two naming conventions is pain enough, but switching every over version is a major mental pain and ends up causing confusion with non-tech end users (like my daughter and parents, "I have Office XP, is that newer than Office 2003? What's the difference? Why are they named like that? Should I get Windows ME or XP or 2003"... etc, etc, etc).

(via Scobleizer - Longhorn announcement coming in morning