As the Apple Turns: Scene 1112: The Name Game (10/28/98)

The Name Game (10/28/98)

What a difference a name makes, especially when it comes to operating systems. We've seen some really interesting choices in recent years, the latest of which is Microsoft's decision to change the name of Windows NT 5.0. When the operating system ships next year (so they claim), it'll actually be named "Windows 2000." More on this utterly predictable move is available in a Sm@rt Reseller article.

Take note, all of you who have to work with NT; Windows 2000, as it's now called, will ship in three configurations: "Professional," which is equivalent to NT workstation, "Server," which is analogous to (surprisingly enough) NT Server, and "Advanced Server," which is the new name for NT Server Enterprise. Microsoft wouldn't say how much these new products would cost, only noting that prices "would not deviate much from current NT 4.0 pricing." Meaning, most likely, that customer will only have to pay a little more for the shiny new naming scheme-- but it'll be a small price to pay for a naming convention that "makes it easier for customers to choose among products," right? (Okay, so we're not being entirely fair-- Windows 2000 will be quite a step up from NT 4.0. For starters, it'll supposed be fully Year 2000 compliant. And yes, if you're an NT 4.0 user, you'll have to pay to get that full compliance.)

That isn't to say that Apple isn't the king of operating system name games, though. After all, remember Copland? "Copland" was of course just the code name of the OS, which was eventually officially-- and publicly-- named "Mac OS 8." Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at things) Copland was unceremoniously canceled when it became plainly obvious that the project could never stand on its own two legs. Apple, in a brilliant marketing move, changed what Mac OS 8 was supposed to be; instead of Copland, we got a new revision of System 7 with a facelift and more PPC-native code. The renaming was also a brilliant (if sleazy) negotiations maneuver, which Apple used to its advantage to kill the cloners, whose licenses didn't cover "Mac OS 8." But we've still got a copy of a book about programming for Mac OS 8, which makes all sorts of references to Copland features like protected memory and preemptive multitasking that simply don't exist in the "real" Mac OS 8. Suppose it'll ever be a collector's item?

SceneLink (1112)

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The above scene was taken from the 10/28/98 episode:

October 28, 1998: The Onion has some surprising data about just why the iMac is so popular. Meanwhile, Microsoft has officially renamed Windows NT 5.0 as "Windows 2000," and AOL goes on the record as yet another company bullied by Microsoft into endorsing Internet Explorer...

Other scenes from that episode:

1111: Je Ne Sais Quoi (10/28/98) So just what is it about the iMac that seems to have struck a chord with consumers? When we sat down with our own to answer that question, we figured a lot of its appeal had to do with with its space-age, non-traditional look...
1113: Forcing Hands (10/28/98) Finally, a new cast member gets some "Redmond Justice" airtime-- and veteran Jim Barksdale gets a much needed Gatorade break following his marathon cross-examination by Microsoft attorney John Warden...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...


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