On the curious persistence of certain names such as Amiga and Napster…
Filed under Intertubes, Software on November 2nd, 2007
Apparently there is an Amiga scene, awaiting patiently the next release of the Amiga OS, new Amiga machines and what have you.
There is also a company called Napster, that sells music subcriptions. It has more than 100 customers, I’m told.
WTF?
Amiga was a now obsolete brand of home computers, used around 1986-1995 that has nothing to do with the current offerings. Or scene.
Napster on the other hand was a popular p2p program back in the day. It has nothing to do with selling music.
Somehow these two dead trademarks acquired a life all of their own, and walk around like zombies with no real semblance to their previous live self. Who thought that licensing Napster as the name of a online music store made sense? What was he smoking thinking? (”Hmmm, it got really popular as a free, music pirating p2p platform, so people with absolutely flock to our doors to buy their music!“). What’s next? SGI branded cell phones? The Dell ENIAC?
Even more bizarre is Amiga’s case. Why, in Commodore’s name, do old Amiga enthusiasts care about the new platform? Does it have anything to do with the late, beloved, Amiga 500? No. Times have changed. Just buy a Mac and get on with the program.
When you see these zombie brands walking around, do the world a favor: put them to sleep.
