5 posts and columns on generic

Microsoft-Apple Word War Spreads to Europe

in News on May 12, 2011 at 1:21 pm PT

Microsoft has established a new beachhead in its semantic set-to with Apple and rallied some new allies to its fight against genericide. On Thursday it challenged Apple’s rights to the trademarks “App Store” and “Appstore” in the European market, filing a formal application for declaration of invalidity in the EU’s Community Trade Mark office.

Apple, Microsoft Hire Linguists in App Feud

in News on March 29, 2011 at 5:20 pm PT

Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. have both hired linguists to serve as experts in the tech titan’s ongoing battle over whether or not the government can grant a trademark for the term “app store.”

News Byte

Man, I Got So WikiLeaked Last Night

in News on December 21, 2010 at 12:23 pm PT

“WikiLeaks” has entered the canon of the English language, but not according to the OED. Research done by a group known as Global Language Monitor shows that “WikiLeaks” has appeared in global media more than 300 million times since 2006. The Texas-based group cites a minimum of 25,000 mentions in English-speaking media as a requirement for the name to become its own lowercase, generic word. Unfortunately, GLM doesn’t specify its definition or whether the word would be used as a noun, verb, adjective or adverb.

Windows Mobile: "Unloved, Unappreciated, and Unlikely to Encourage Any Devotion"

in News on October 1, 2009 at 12:01 am PT

No wonder Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is so dismayed by the company’s Windows Mobile division: Most Windows Mobile users aren’t even aware their phones run it. In fact, according to the CFI Group, WinMo has such poor brand recognition that it was forced to group it in the “Other” category in its Smartphone Satisfaction Survey.
balmer-winmobile

Windows Mobile: “Unloved, Unappreciated, and Unlikely to Encourage Any Devotion”

in News on October 1, 2009 at 12:01 am PT

No wonder Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is so dismayed by the company’s Windows Mobile division: Most Windows Mobile users aren’t even aware their phones run it. In fact, according to the CFI Group, WinMo has such poor brand recognition that it was forced to group it in the “Other” category in its Smartphone Satisfaction Survey.
balmer-winmobile