…is something that it seems Microsoft still  hasn’t grasped!

Case in point is Siri, Apple’s voice-activated AI assistant.

Is this something new?

No.

Natural-language interfaces have been available for PCs since, well, forever.

Not even in mobiles, since Windows Phone 7 has had it for a year now.

So, why is Siri, you know, ‘special’?

Functionality aside, the name.

Yes, the name!

For some reason, when it comes to product nomenclature, the branding guys at Microsoft immediately gain addled brains, and proceed to gloss the product with an unwieldy moniker.

While that works in the enterprise, it does not work  with consumers.

Not at all.

Remember Origami? No? Well, Microsoft rebranded it to “Ultra-Mobile PC” or UMPC.

That killed it.

When Microsoft has used consumer-friendly names, the products have prospered. Xbox comes to mind.

I hope someone in Redmond awakens to this realization and stops ceding the mantle of ‘innovative’ leader.

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