{"id":121,"date":"2008-07-21T00:01:37","date_gmt":"2008-07-21T07:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/?p=121"},"modified":"2008-07-13T09:05:55","modified_gmt":"2008-07-13T16:05:55","slug":"whats-in-a-name-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/?p=121","title":{"rendered":"What’s in a Name?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What’s ThinkCentre? it is nor RAM, nor disk,
\nNor processor, nor any other part
\nBelonging to PC. O, be some other name!
\nWhat’s in a name? that which we call a Mac
\nBy any other name would run as sweet;
\nSo ThinkCentre would, were it not ThinkCentre call’d<\/em>
\n
\nThere was a time when computer manufacturers actually knew how to name their products. That time has passed.<\/p>\n

Way back when, there was the Apple II, the TRS-80 Model III, the Commodore 64, the IBM PC. These were all simple computer names. Oh, they may have had secret model numbers; the IBM PC was the Model 5150 in actuality. But everyone knew what an IBM PC was. The next system was the IBM PC\/XT, followed by the IBM PC\/AT. Simple.<\/p>\n

During the 1990s, when Steve Jobs had been banished, Apple went crazy with names. There was the mysterious Quadra line: the 610 and the 800. Then other companies started using numbers for their computer names. The Tandy 1000, then the 1200, then whatever<\/em>. Today things are even more stupid.<\/p>\n

I often buy my desktops from Lenovo, once known as IBM. I have three of them in my office. I have no idea what the model numbers are because, honestly, they’re too complex to be worthy of storage in my brain cells. Whoever the marketing genius is at Lenovo who thought it would be a good idea to give their products mysterious names needs to be taken out, dipped in honey, rolled in nuts, and tossed into a Montana forest.<\/p>\n

Consider the names: ThinkCentre, IdeaCentre. What’s the difference? Is one low-end? Is one for home and the other for business? If so, why not call them HomeCentre and BusinessCentre? The product identity is weak<\/em> with those names.<\/p>\n

IBM is not alone. Here’s Gateway’s line-up: Gateway DX Series, Gateway FX Series, Gateway One. Which is the high-end system? Which is the home system? Which is the economy system? Is there really a difference between them? Even the product descriptions fail to tell you exactly which computer is weak and which is strong. As my gamer friends would say, FAIL!<\/em><\/p>\n

Look at HP’s line-up: Pavilion a6500z series, Pavilion a6510t series, Pavilion Slimline s3500z series, Presario SR5000 series.<\/p>\n

I would expect such naming nonsense from the Department of Defense! “This here is our new tank, the ZR6-7100sq-950 series.”<\/p>\n

Are these computer manufacturers really trying to sell something? What’s the point to all the weird-ass names? Is the marketing department bereft of creativity?<\/p>\n

If I were to open Wambooli Computers, I would have a three-tiered line of PCs for sale. Here they are:<\/p>\n

Wambooli Noob.<\/strong> This is the basic, entry-level PC. Designed for home use, simple operations, nothing fancy, priced economically.<\/p>\n

Wambooli Pwnage.<\/strong> The high-end home system, designed for game play or anyone who wants a beefy computer to make the neighbors cry tears of jealousy. (Pwnage is pronounced “pown-age.” It’s a gaming term implying that one is dominating his opponents.)<\/p>\n

Wambooli Suit.<\/strong> The business system. No frills, but powerful enough to look better on a lawyer’s desk than the Noob model. (Actually, it’s just the Noob model with a more serious-looking case.)<\/p>\n

Why can’t the big boys do that?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What’s ThinkCentre? it is nor RAM, nor disk, Nor processor, nor any other part Belonging to PC. O, be some other name! What’s in a name? that which we call a Mac By any other name would run as sweet; So ThinkCentre would, were it not ThinkCentre call’d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wambooli.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}