# Worst name for Computer Software? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 1, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414 "2007-02-01T15:04:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/1 "2007-02-01T15:04:13Z")
I thought that it was bad that someone named an operating system **UNIX** , which sounds like EUNUCHS. But you have to be masochistic to name your Geographic Indformation Service **GODOT**. It isn’t even an acronym! [http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/journals/debu/GuntherR93.html](http://www.informatik.uni-trier.de/~ley/db/journals/debu/GuntherR93.html) The jokes just write themselves. By the way, looking through Google Scholar, I find that there are quite a few papers authored by people named “Godot”. I’m surprised the journals ever received them… ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/2 "2007-02-01T15:08:55Z")
I used to work at a company that sold/supported library software. One of the products they had was cataloging software whose full title was “Cataloger’s Workstation.” It was abbreviated CatWS on its splash screen, in the manuals and other documentation and everyone always pronounced it “cat wizz.” And no one ever commented on the fact that we always seemed to be talking about cat urine. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/3 "2007-02-01T15:16:26Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I thought that it was bad that someone named an operating system **UNIX** , which sounds like EUNUCHS. [/QUOTE] Micro-Soft is pretty much in the same league, too… \* > [@](#): > > The jokes just write themselves. You mean like: Q. Why are there so few UNIX systems out there? A. Because Eunuchs can’t multiply… Or - …[snip long buildup] After a long night, Bill Gates looks the “escort” in the eye and says “Wow! Now I understand why you’re called ‘Divine’!” And she looks him right back and says “And I know why you’re called ‘Micro-Soft’…” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/4 "2007-02-01T15:20:54Z")
The first terminal program I ever used (under CP/M, eesh) was called “ASCOM.” Sometimes I still invoke it when I bark my shin, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/5 "2007-02-01T15:37:19Z")
Back when this whole inter-network fad was gearing up in Japan (1996-7), Matsushita Electric (known in the US as Panasonic) decided to start their own portal site, a la Yahoo. They had everything ready, and spent a large sum of money to buy the rights to a well-known cartoon character to use as their mascot. They chose Woody Woodpecker. Not a problem in itself, until they unveiled the name for their portal. Touch Woody: The Internet Pecker As Dave Barry is my witness, I am not making this up. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/6 "2007-02-01T16:08:15Z")
Unix was an emasculated version of MULTICS. Thus, the horrible pun. I still like Microsoft Bob. Yeah, I’m gonna run Bob today. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/7 "2007-02-01T16:12:26Z")
If you want to include computer hardware too, I’ve played with Wangs in the past. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/8 "2007-02-01T16:12:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Unix was an emasculated version of MULTICS. Thus, the horrible pun. Oh, God, I used to use MULTICS at MIT! I never realized the connection. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/9 "2007-02-01T16:17:19Z")
[QUOTE=Canadjun] If you want to include computer hardware too, I’ve played with Wangs in the past. 😃 [/QUOTE] Not to mention all the people playing single-player games with their Wiis recently. Gripping their Wiis tightly and swinging them side to side and everything. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/10 "2007-02-01T16:18:20Z")
Microsoft Works. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/11 "2007-02-01T16:43:30Z")
That’s one of the perks of being a programmer, coining a clever name for your program, assuming that you can sneak it past the droids in management. Bonus points for obscure references and recursive acronyms. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/12 "2007-02-01T17:38:28Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] But you have to be masochistic to name your Geographic Indformation Service **GODOT**. [/QUOTE] Too bad this wasn’t some highly-anticipated vaporware. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/13 "2007-02-01T17:41:58Z")
There’s a bit of astronomy software that scans an image and locates all the point sources. So, its basically a Source Extractor. So the bright spark who programmed it decided to call it SExtractor. And the command to invoke it? ```auto >sex ``` ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/14 "2007-02-01T17:42:12Z")
I’ve seen at least two Unix knock-off that were call something like MachsNix. It’s auf deutch, dontcha know. :rolleyes: I work on a system that had SEX in the acronym, until a Project Manager deleted the “e”. And it has been less fun since then … ☹ I work with a system called SCAT. As in animal poop. Pretty good system - really bad name. I won’t mention the multiple times I realized why it’s called Microsoft _Word_ and not _Book_, _Document_, _Paragraph_ or even _Sentence_. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ILovCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e99b99/32.png) [@ILovCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ILovCoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/15 "2007-02-01T17:48:35Z")
::whooosed:: Is WORD an acronym? ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/16 "2007-02-01T17:58:24Z")
It’s not software, but: We once had a system admin who was somewhat of a Trekkie and he named the nodes in the network cluster after characters from ST-TNG. The file server was Picard, one node was Worf, etc. So, us wiseass users delighted in announcing “Troi went down on me last night.” ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/17 "2007-02-01T18:20:35Z")
[QUOTE=Tully Mars] It’s not software, but: We once had a system admin who was somewhat of a Trekkie and he named the nodes in the network cluster after characters from ST-TNG. The file server was Picard, one node was Worf, etc. So, us wiseass users delighted in announcing “Troi went down on me last night.” [/QUOTE] On a slightly related note, we have an image manipulation program called ds9. Supposedly named because its predecessor was TNG… ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/18 "2007-02-01T20:00:53Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Oh, God, I used to use MULTICS at MIT! [/QUOTE] [http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/hist.html](http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/hist.html) The early history of Unix, with an early video game thrown in for good measure, by the man who was there. Note that there is no actual code transfer between MULTICS and Unix, it’s simply a trick of mental association. Wiki says, > [@](#): > > In 1970 the project was named Unics, short for Uniplexed Information and Computing System, and could - eventually - support two simultaneous users. Brian Kernighan invented this name as a play on Multics when during an early demonstration only the console operator was able to successfully log into the system. The spelling was later changed to Unix. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/19 "2007-02-01T20:34:02Z")
There’s a piece of freeware that takes a raster image and blows it up onto as many pages as you want, expanding the pixels and creating four-colur-printing-style dots. Depending on how many pages you spread the image across, the dots can be quite large. It works quite well for making posters and wallpaper. Its name? The very unfortunate “Rasterbator”. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414/20 "2007-02-01T20:43:49Z")
I once documented a software package that tracked the treatments of cancer patients. The developers couldn’t come up with anything more interesting to call it than “Oncology Patient Information System,” or OPIS for short. The acronym was the preferred term for it, usually with the emphasis on the second syllable: “o-PISS.” Which was heard a lot when the software wasn’t working right. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-name-for-computer-software/390414.md?page=2)