TechCrunch reports that Microsoft calls its next operating system (the one after Vista) Windows 7. Mickey comments:

I’d love to see them start using logical numbers again, but it doesn’t add up:

Windows 3.1 (“Windows 3″)
Windows 95 (4)
Windows 98 (5)
Windows ME/2000 (6)
Windows XP (7)
Windows Vista (8)
Windows 7 (9?)

I guess maybe if you call Windows 3.1 “Windows 1″ (since that was the first one that was any good), then it increments to the next version being 7.

This makes me wonder if Microsoft was influenced by Seinfeld’s George’s liking of “Seven” as a name for a kid. Hey, Jerry was in the commercials… so the connection could be there.

Numbers work most of the time in the software business, but not for many others. If Microsoft sticks with Windows 7 and proceeds to follow it with 8, 9, 9.5 (Photoshop 5.5 was a biggie) then it should work out fine as it has for Explorer 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Look at Firefox — 1.x, 2.0, 3.0. Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. But then Apple had to go and confuse us with Mac OS X Leopard (it’s Mac OS 10.5).

But for other industries, number names get lost especially in the automobile industry. I’m trying to come up with a couple of examples of cars using numbers (other than what I drive — guilty of a “letters and number” name with no words) and they’re not coming to me or I am not sure if I remember right (“Is it 30 or 31? Audi or Infiniti? Or maybe Lexus.”).

Yet, I can identify an Expedition and Suburbans and can tell you who makes each one (Ford and Chevy in that order). So is a GLX better than an LX because it has an extra letter? But what if it’s an SL? Which one is better? LX or SL? Some cars use names like Sport, Touring, Grand Touring. So is Sport the fully-loaded one or Grand Touring?

Good thing we couldn’t have had a V9 or V12. How would we distinguish those from a V8 other than they might contain more vegetables? Good thing the company stuck with V8 and expanded its product line around that name.

I’ve always thought telephone companies with initials just didn’t sound as powerful as those with a word or two in their names (MCI Worldcom does not count). Verizon and Cingular smartly dumped their initialized company names for memorable ones. Of course, Cingular went away with the merger and returned to initials.

Tried to find other articles on the topic, but with keywords like brand, number, names… not an easy task. Did find one good one: Counting on Your Brand’s Name.

What do you think of brand names with numbers and letters? Sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t? Doesn’t work without at least one identifier (like Windows or Explorer)?

How do you pronounce “Casio’s G’zOne?” That’s what Strategic Name Development asks. Just the other day when I volunteered at my kid’s school book fair, a few of us were talking about Mo Willem’s Knuffle Bunny because we all love the Pigeon books. I thought it was pronounced “nuffle bunny” like “know.” The librarian thought “K-nuffle” where you pronounce the “K” followed by “nuffle.” Either way, it’s a cute book and she was telling us that the pigeon is in that book. It took kindergartners to point it out before she learned that secret.

Thanks to Bad Language for the pointer and for sharing more troublesome names. He had me thinking about boring plane names. He’s right. Southwest is a fun airline and even doesn’t have an exciting name. Just a direction. JetBlue probably has the most exciting name and I wouldn’t even call it a cool name.

Paul and I were watching the news last night where they reported people had lined up for the PS3 since Tuesday and it was windy as heck here in Dallas on Wednesday. One woman wasn’t interested in the PS3 — she just wanted to auction one on eBay where they’re going for over $5K! Then I asked Paul, “What’s the w-i-i? How do you even pronounce it? What makes it so different from Nintendo’s previous generation, the Gamecube?”

When Verizon’s new name came about… we wondered if it was “very-zone” or “very-zon” or like “horizon.” Now we know.

I’ve been stuck with my name since birth and it’s also my company name. Still can’t get people to pronounce my name right after all these years. Meryl, two-syllables-not-one-and- rhymes-with-Cheryl-Barrel-and-peril-not-pearl.” I’ve never heard anyone say “Cherle” instead of “Cheryl.” And with Meryl Streep… that doesn’t help either except when I introduce myself. I have trouble saying words with the letter “r” in it. Well, dang I’m lucky to get a name with an “r” smack dab in the middle of it. So I introduce myself as “Meryl Evans like Meryl Streep” and that usually does the trick. No, I’m not named after her as I was born before Kramer vs. Kramer.