Wednesday, January 28, 2004 |
11:04 - Sincerest form of flattery
http://www.winplosion.com/
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Hey, remember WinExpose? That implementation of Exposé (well, sort of) for Windows? Remember how I said it was only a matter of weeks before Steve's hired goons came a-calling to 'splain a few things about trademark infringement to them?
Well, it's happened, because they've changed their name. What are they calling it now?
WinPLOSION.
As J Greely says, "You just can't make this stuff up."
And you know, I was noticing something lately. Why do you suppose it is that all the major shareware on Windows-- all the really important pieces of software, the stuff that everybody has, the apps that people can't live without-- all have the prefix "Win" on their names? WinAmp. WinDVD Pro MX Platinum Edition (or whatever). WinZip. And now this one, which I guess they would have called "WinExplode" if Apple hadn't told them that that, too, was too close to the original for comfort.
Do modern computer users even realize what the "Win" refers to? I mean, ideally, Windows is supposed to be this invisible piece of infrastructure, right? You aren't supposed to be constantly thinking I'm using Windows!; rather, you're thinking, I'm using a computer! So what's the advantage of this "Win" prefix, as though there's a version of any of these apps for any other platform? I daresay many users don't even make the connection; to them, they're just playing a DVD on their computer, or undoing a ZIP file. What association does that have with "Windows" in their minds? It's probably more like, Oh, it's sort of like "Blue Ribbon" or "Acme" or "Best". Y'know, "Win".
I can't help but notice, either, that where you'd expect to find these platform-specific prefixes in third-party shareware-- namely, on the Mac-- they're almost nowhere to be found. On the Mac, you'd think you'd find "Mac-" versions of everything that was multi-platform, to distinguish it for the benefit of the minority platform and set it off from the main Windows edition. Indeed, back in the mid-90s, there were lots of apps whose names all started with "Mac"; there was a MacAmp way back when, and I remember supporting a browser called "MacWeb". But those are all gone now, in favor of apps with unique and "proper" style names, like Watson and Camino and Iconographer. Yet "Win" persists on Windows. I wonder why that is?
In the case of WinPLOSION/WinExpose, the answer's fairly obvious, though, isn't it? "It's Exposé... but for Windows."
I wonder how many of the other "Win" apps betray that subtext? "This app gives you a function that you're used to on other platforms or on other equipment... and simulates it under Windows. How 'bout that, huh?"
Poor guys.
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