Name Awards

Will Wolfram Alpha ever develop into a Beta version?

Well we all know it was not unusual in the old days to release beta versions of software to key customers. And that more recently, beta version release has become an art for big players like Google. But releasing Alpha versions on the public is an interesting idea, especially when you are trying to use the wisdom of crowds to actually perfect and develop the product or service.

But why would you name the product after yourself and the word Alpha? We all know Steven Wolfram is a great scientist and the founder of Mathematica (a great name), so what is he up to this time? Maybe he doesn’t have a real name for it yet? Maybe he thinks people might only visit because of his name recognition? Maybe he has fond memories of work on DEC Alpha machines? Maybe he is not sure what it will morph into yet for the final product? Or is it just ego? After all, he has filed for registered trademarks on this name!

In fact his team is so industrious about spreading little TM’s around, one becomes nothing but a dirty squiggle in the middle of the tagline! I am usually a big proponent of those TM’s… but not at expense of ruining the visual treatment.

As a side note, when you have a rather uncommon name like me, it is natural to type it into all Informational Databases, CDROM’s, enclypaedias, search engines etc. Even the very first version of Encarta could tell me something about the Athol’s of Murray in Scotland,and the famous playwright Athol Fugard. Wolfram’s knowledge engine will only spit up the town of Athol Massachusetts, even when prompted. Maybe it really is only an Alpha version after all.

If you want to know more about the name Athol, use a real search engine or see this webpage: http://www.brighternaming.com/atholname.html

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