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A Rose By Another Name . . .

A brief article on TechWeb says Microsoft registered domains related to several potential real names for Longhorn before it settled on Windows Vista. Apparently the company considered calling it "Windows '07" because it registered "windows07.us" and "windowsseven.us." Maybe wiser heads decided that was risky at both ends -- it would mean they'd have to ship it before the end of 2007, which right now doesn't look like a sure thing, and in the out years, "Windows '07" is going to sound old-hat. Doesn't just hearing "Windows '95" fill you with nostalgia for the good old days when things were simpler, before phishing and trojans and vulnerabilities and Service Packs and all that other stuff?

Another one Microsoft apparently liked was "Ruby," as in "windowsruby.us." That just sounds weird to me. What's it supposed to connect to? May a whole new series of OSes -- Windows Emerald, Windows Pearl, Windows Diamond, Windows Cubic Zirconium?

What it makes me think of is ruby slippers, as in Dorothy's ruby slippers in "The Wizard of Oz." It just doesn't work. I get too many vibes like "Pay no attention to that software company behind the curtain" and flying monkeys. Besides, "slipper" is just too close to home for a product release that's likely to be a couple of years late.

"Vista" doesn't give me much to work with, which is probably why it was chosen. The only mental connection I make is something you're probably too young to remember: the most famous address on the radio was the home of Fibber McGee and Molly, at 79 Wistful Vista.

"Wistful Vista." Oh, my, Toto, I guess we're not in Real Mode anymore.

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