3 ms·

So, um, I'd love to know the answer to that question. Did they tell you? Or is it a trade secret?

• timr 18y ago
  Heh. There was no answer, per se...just some scowling (Also, I didn't get the job, but that might not have been related). To be fair, there were some cool people in the group who knew the time of day -- one (very senior) fellow asked me point blank to enumerate the problems in Microsoft's online products, and was very intent on making sure that I defended my criticisms. We ended up having a really nice, long conversation about things like the shutdown of the IE team, and other blunders (such as the choice of "live.com" branding). I think the closest thing I got to an answer, was that the decision came down from on high. There's something like 11 levels of management at Microsoft today; based on what I've seen and heard, the politics of that structure can overwhelm good taste.
• mlinsey 18y ago
  In between being called "MSN" and "Live", it was "Windows Live". The idea was that MSN was a brand more oriented toward being an ISP or a portal (back when it looked like the internet companies to beat were AOL and Yahoo), and this re-branding would distance themselves from being either of those, and also help them leverage the Windows brand. I don't know why they dropped the "Windows" part from the name though.
  • axod 18y ago
    Probably because most people hate windows and consider it buggy and not very good? Live seems more of a name for streaming video or something though rather than search.