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> Going with a new naming scheme for the 10th version of Android makes a bit of sense; it’s a landmark release. Still, given how difficult it is to put a common

> Going with a new naming scheme for the 10th version of Android makes a bit of sense; it’s a landmark release. Still, given how difficult it is to put a common dessert to the letter Q, I noted to Google’s Sameer Samat, VP of product management for Android, that it was awfully convenient that Google picked this release to switch up the naming scheme. “We’re going to deal with that skepticism,” he says. Google’s actual reason for switching the naming, he says, isn’t that Q is hard, but rather that desserts aren’t very inclusive. “We have some good names, but in each and every case they leave a part of the world out,” he argues. Android is a global brand, used by more people in India and Brazil than in the US, so going with an English word for the dessert leaves some regions out. Pie isn’t always a dessert, “lollipop” can be hard to pronounce in some regions, and “marshmallows aren’t really a thing in a lot of places,” Samat says. Numbers, at least, are universal. https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/22/20827231/android-10-q-google-name-officially-announced-new-logo-wordmark-desserts https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/22/20827231/android-10-q-goo...

fortyseven 5y ago
So when importing, we're expected to be tolerant and embrace other cultures unique qualities... ...but when exporting, we have to sanitize cultural expression so as not to confuse or offend. This is all a bit silly.
dont__panic 5y ago
You could make the same argument that names aren't inclusive -- after all, not everyone can say "Jean Valjean" but "24601" is universal, right? It doesn't really matter, but it's weird reasoning. Cutesy touches like the dessert names help humanize tech company products and anchor them in reality. It's a shame to give it up because we can't find universal desserts, which is a strange claim to make anyway -- wouldn't anybody, anywhere, appreciate a marshmallow? Why not pick some foreign desserts from unappreciated countries to bring attention to them, instead of abandoning the concept entirely?
- lapetitejort 5y ago
  > wouldn't anybody, anywhere, appreciate a marshmallow? Doubtful. Cacao farmers have never tasted chocolate [0]. Foods and desserts are not universal. The sugary slop I eat in America would be appalling in many places across the world. Not to mention the portion sizes. [0]: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/08/01/336919715/these-ivory-coast-cacao-farmers-had-never-tasted-chocolate https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/08/01/336919715/th...
NikolaeVarius 5y ago
Are you kidding me. Are we going to now accuse IKEA of cultural imperialism since their furniture uses Swedish names? Whats wrong with just taking random foods from around the world?
conradfr 5y ago
Weird, I remember tourists from seemingly all over the world loving the different Android statues in front on the Android building on Google campus.
VortexDream 5y ago
Weird that their solution was to get rid of the names instead of just using more desserts from other cultures. If they want inclusivity and to bring awareness to other cultures, seems like the best option, no? Now nobody gets to see their favorite dessert as an Android OS name.

fortyseven 5y ago

So when importing, we're expected to be tolerant and embrace other cultures unique qualities... ...but when exporting, we have to sanitize cultural expression so as not to confuse or offend. This is all a bit silly.

dont__panic 5y ago

You could make the same argument that names aren't inclusive -- after all, not everyone can say "Jean Valjean" but "24601" is universal, right? It doesn't really matter, but it's weird reasoning. Cutesy touches like the dessert names help humanize tech company products and anchor them in reality. It's a shame to give it up because we can't find universal desserts, which is a strange claim to make anyway -- wouldn't anybody, anywhere, appreciate a marshmallow? Why not pick some foreign desserts from unappreciated countries to bring attention to them, instead of abandoning the concept entirely?

lapetitejort 5y ago
> wouldn't anybody, anywhere, appreciate a marshmallow? Doubtful. Cacao farmers have never tasted chocolate [0]. Foods and desserts are not universal. The sugary slop I eat in America would be appalling in many places across the world. Not to mention the portion sizes. [0]: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/08/01/336919715/these-ivory-coast-cacao-farmers-had-never-tasted-chocolate https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/08/01/336919715/th...

NikolaeVarius 5y ago

Are you kidding me. Are we going to now accuse IKEA of cultural imperialism since their furniture uses Swedish names? Whats wrong with just taking random foods from around the world?

conradfr 5y ago

Weird, I remember tourists from seemingly all over the world loving the different Android statues in front on the Android building on Google campus.

VortexDream 5y ago

Weird that their solution was to get rid of the names instead of just using more desserts from other cultures. If they want inclusivity and to bring awareness to other cultures, seems like the best option, no? Now nobody gets to see their favorite dessert as an Android OS name.