spider

Would Microsoft's New Search Name Smell as Sweet if It Were Named After a Cherry or a Soprano?

Kara Swisher in News on April 21, 2009 at 11:03 am PT

What’s in a name? Well, a lot, actually, and BoomTown supposes it would be just like those Pacific Northwest types at Microsoft to name the new version of its search service “Bing,” presumably after the cherry that is a big product in the company’s home state. That moniker is one of many being bandied about in a group the software giant could be considering for the big relaunch of its search service, which it has been prepping. But Microsoft should forget the fruity metaphor, also rename its MSN online service “Bada” and use this motto: “Bada Bing, Bada Boom, Notta Bada Algorithm!”

A Sneak Peek Look at Microsoft's New Kumo: A Spidery Cloud? A Cloudy Spider?

Kara Swisher in News on March 2, 2009 at 5:07 pm PT

Here are three screenshots of Microsoft’s internal test of a new search product called Kumo. The long expected upgrade to Live Search from Microsoft is being tested for a public rollout later this year. Sources at Microsoft said the company has not yet decided whether it will keep the Kumo name, which sounds a little too much like that crazy dog from the Stephen King novel. Maybe that’s the point, at least related to Google. (Chomp!) In Japanese, actually, Kumo has two definitions–cloud and spider.