You may recall that Microsoft started naming Windows with version numbers. There was Windows 1.0, 2.0, etc. That was followed by the release of dated operating systems like Windows 95 and 98. Then came Windows Me, which stood for Millennium, so it was a combination of a year and an abbreviation. The next Windows operating system was XP, which was supposed to stand for eXPerience. Although most of us are currently using Windows XP, no one ever thinks of the “experience” part of it, except when it is truly a bad experience. The constant name shifting has not made any of us more confident with Microsoft or their Windows product.

Vista sounds to me like a name sounds more suited to a real estate development or a credit card company. Microsoft could have saved a lot of money by simply choosing letters of the alphabet from a hat. Windows PDX or Windows ZD might have been better choices than Vista. Then they could have said that the letter don’t stand for anything. Others have done that. For instance you may remember AARP as the American Association of Retired Persons, but the name has now been changed to simply AARP, and the company says that it doesn’t stand for anything. Using a name that didn’t stand for anything may have generated some interesting guesses rather that the groans that the name Vista produced.

With due respect to Microsoft, others have also had trouble with naming conventions. Intel’s names of Celeron and Centrino have confused many consumers. Although Apple has stuck to the numerical, OS 8 and OS 9 was followed by OS X to give it a little more pizzazz. Each new Apple operating system version has the name of an animal like, Panther and Tiger. Everyone is looking for a catchy name. Recently a new planet was found. It has been temporarily named 2003UB313. Scientists say they have already chosen a great new name for the planet and are simply waiting for name approval before they announce the chosen name. I can’t wait to hear the new name. Actually, Celeron or Centrino would be great names for a planet. Even Vista would be a good planetary nomenclature.

Well, in any case, we now have Vista, the operating system, to look forward to. Microsoft has been working on Vista since Windows XP was launched at the end of 2001, so it is certain to be an improved OS. Most of us would probably use the new version of Windows even if they had named it Hasta La Vista. It is sure to be useful, but don’t expect it to add any “clarity to your world.”