Mandrakesoft announces name change [LWN.net]

From:		Mandrakesoft Press <press-AT-mandrakesoft.com>
To:		lwn-AT-lwn.net
Subject:		Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!
Date:		Thu, 7 Apr 2005 16:17:09 +0200 (CEST)

	 Hello,

It's been in the air for a few weeks... Mandrakesoft has decided to
change its name! All details are available in the press-release below.

Regards,

	Gaël Duval.
	Co-Founder, Mandrakesoft.


___ For Immediate Release ___
 
Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!
 
It's been in the air for a few weeks...
 
After spending weeks balancing pros and cons, Mandrakesoft has decided
to change its name!
 
The name change will apply worldwide to both the company and its
products. The management team sees two good reasons for this change:
 
1. The recent Mandrakesoft - Conectiva merger calls for a new identity
   that better represents the combination of two key companies and
   their global presence. 
 
2. The long-winding trademark lawsuit with Hearst Corporation has
   reached a point where we decided it is more reasonable for us to
   move forward. By adopting a new name, we eliminate the liability
   attached to the Mandrakesoft name and we can focus on what is
   important to us: developing and delivering great technology and
   solutions to both our customers and our user community.
 
We will endeavor to build even stronger brand recognition in our new
name. So what is the new name? 

The winner is ... 
 

	M A N D R I V A
 

Why Mandriva? This new name, simple and efficient, is the synthesis of
Mandrakesoft and Conectiva. This will further a smooth transition and
will build on our existing brand recognition in the IT world.
 
* Company & Products
 
Mandriva is the new name for the company. Mandriva Linux is the new
name covering products.
 
Additional derivations follow directly: Mandriva Club, Mandriva Store,
Mandriva Expert and so on.
 
* Websites
 
Our web addresses become accordingly:
 
 http://www.mandriva.com for the corporation
 http://www.mandrivalinux.com for the community project
 http://www.mandrivastore.com for the online Store
 http://www.mandrivaclub.com for the Club
 http://www.mandrivaexpert.com for the web-based support platform
 
We encourage everyone - users, partners, and the media - to start
using the new name as soon as possible.  In particular, Mandriva users
are encouraged to update their bookmarks ASAP!   New Mandriva logos
are now available on our website at:
http://www.mandriva.com/company/press


		The Mandriva Management Team




About Mandriva

Mandriva, formerly known as Mandriva, is the publisher of the popular
Mandriva Linux operating system, one of the most full-featured and easy
to use Linux systems available. The company offers its enterprise,
government  educational customers a complete range of GNU/Linux and
Open Source software and related services. Mandriva products are
available in more than 120 countries through dedicated channels and
also from Mandrivastore.com, the company's online store. Number 1 in
several countries, Mandriva has won many awards for quality and
technical innovation. "Born on the Internet" in late 1998, Mandriva
has offices in the United States and France. Mandriva is traded on
Paris Euronext Marché Libre (ISIN Code: FR0004159382/MLMAN; Reuters
code: MAKE.PA) and the US OTC market (stock symbol MDKFF).


Http://www.mandriva.com

Press enquiries:
Gaël Duval
press at mandrakesoft dot com
+33-1 40 41 00 41

to post comments

Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!

Posted Apr 7, 2005 14:39 UTC (Thu) by koriordan (guest, #3490) [Link] (4 responses)

A little late for April Fool's day isn't it?

I don't care for the new name at all. I guess it sounds better in a French context.

Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!

Posted Apr 7, 2005 15:02 UTC (Thu) by maxmtl2002 (guest, #3990) [Link] (2 responses)

Being a french canadian, I am not sure of the new pronunciation either. They should have produced a .wav/.au file like Linus about Linux... (see kernel.org)

I especially like the About:

About Mandriva

Mandriva, formerly known as Mandriva,

:-)

Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!

Posted Apr 7, 2005 15:13 UTC (Thu) by headsman (guest, #17057) [Link]

Being also a french canadian, I'm also not sure of that. As for the name change, I hope this will not result in negativ results down the road.

Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!

Posted Apr 8, 2005 9:35 UTC (Fri) by sitaram (guest, #5959) [Link]

...and I like the email address at the bottom :-)

Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!

Posted Apr 7, 2005 16:28 UTC (Thu) by xav (guest, #18536) [Link]

As a native French, I'm not too thrilled with the new name.
It sounds a bit weird.

Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!

Posted Apr 7, 2005 15:05 UTC (Thu) by frhart (guest, #26508) [Link] (1 responses)

About Mandriva
Mandriva, formerly known as Mandriva,

I can't see how the new name is so much different from the old one

Mandrakesoft Announces Name Change!

Posted Apr 7, 2005 19:20 UTC (Thu) by gduval (guest, #11868) [Link]

This was a typo in the PR. We should read "Mandriva, formerly known as Mandrakesoft,"

Mandrakesoft announces name change

Posted Apr 7, 2005 16:15 UTC (Thu) by danielpf (guest, #4723) [Link] (1 responses)

I hope this is not going to be a problem, but "Mandriva" is
already a published name used by the Madagascar music group Lego...
(http://cjbenoit.club.fr/french/lego.html)

Why people neglect to google before choosing names?

Mandrakesoft announces name change

Posted Apr 7, 2005 17:31 UTC (Thu) by Benhurd (guest, #29113) [Link]

I suspect that there is far less risk of a "long-winding"(sic) legal battle from the musical group
Lego than there was from the Hearst Corporation. And speaking of problems with names, how
ironic would it be if Lego wanted to challenge Mandrake's adoption of "Mandriva"? Seems like a
certain toy maker (who is legendary for its defense of its copyright) might well have a bone or
two to pick with a group with the name of Lego!

Can't Say that In a Board Room

Posted Apr 7, 2005 18:39 UTC (Thu) by huffd (guest, #10382) [Link] (5 responses)

How could I ever mention something in board room I wouldn't hold in my hand? I don't know what it means in french but it's stupid as hell for a buisness name.

Can't Say that In a Board Room

Posted Apr 7, 2005 19:28 UTC (Thu) by gduval (guest, #11868) [Link] (4 responses)

This is very natural to reject a new name, but we strongly believe that progressively, most people will all naturally associate "Mandriva" to the Linux distribution, without doing negative mental associations. When I created Mandrake Linux, I received as well *a lot* of complaints about the name. Someone - David Coursey writing for ZDNet - even wrote 'who would use a Linux distribution called Mandrake?' (and he said the same for KDE).

We were actually prepared to mixed reaction, because we knew that 'Mandriva' was not a consensual choice. But we wanted something *not* consensual because we plan to build a very strong trademark with Mandriva, and you don't build a strong trademark on a consensual choice.

Can't Say that In a Board Room

Posted Apr 7, 2005 23:54 UTC (Thu) by huffd (guest, #10382) [Link]

Look I know what you're saying but consider the audience. Mandrivel *will not* pass the upper echelon of American buisness. I like Mandrake please prove me wrong!

First you're going to have to say Mandriva 5 times really fast and then ask your audience what you said. But SAY IT IN ENGLISH!

No, no it won't work. no sorry it won't..

Can't Say that In a Board Room

Posted Apr 8, 2005 14:55 UTC (Fri) by headsman (guest, #17057) [Link] (2 responses)

Hi Gael,

I'm glad you have a new name, because it also solve some suing problems. But as a french canadian, I also find that this is absolutely not a good name. Please, consider reading the mandrake club posts on the contest page (for the name propagation). I agree with the english posters. There are excellent counter propositions and i feel like the company should have made a pool to ask the community.

Can't Say that In a Board Room

Posted Apr 11, 2005 10:31 UTC (Mon) by gduval (guest, #11868) [Link] (1 responses)

Hi!

what's a "good name"? It doesn't exist! We wanted something that doesn't leave people without an opinion, so I think we at least succeeded on this side.

Additionally, we're very confident that in less than one year, people will just think about us and our products when talking about "Mandriva", there won't have other feeling associated with the name.

I read a post about someone who hated the brandname "Verizon" when it appeared, but now he thinks the name is OK...

Anyways, it's absolutely not time anymore to think about an alternative. All associated trademarks have been checked and registered, all our graphics and websites are being changed with the new name etc.

Can't Say that In a Board Room

Posted Apr 11, 2005 23:07 UTC (Mon) by headsman (guest, #17057) [Link]

Thanks for taking the time to answer because I know you have read/answer a lot of comments like mine! I had the week-end to think about all that, and I think you are right. I think I'll get used very quickly. Any-way this will not change my appreciation of Mandriva Linux and all the good stuff you compagny has bring.

"Anyways, it's absolutely not time anymore to think about an alternative."

Yep, at that point, it is now time to go forward (for me and others) and I'm eager to see the next release very soon! Good luck and keep up the great work. Be sure of my support despise my reaction to this new name.

Why not Mandrectiva?

Posted Apr 7, 2005 19:29 UTC (Thu) by StevenCole (guest, #3068) [Link] (6 responses)

Mandriva a car, woman driva me crazy.

If it were up to me, I would have opted for Mandrectiva, which has more resemblance to the two former names.

Why not Mandrectiva?

Posted Apr 7, 2005 23:30 UTC (Thu) by marduk (guest, #3831) [Link] (4 responses)

I think they should have renamed it "Mandingo"

Why not Mandrectiva?

Posted Apr 8, 2005 2:28 UTC (Fri) by shad (guest, #29130) [Link] (3 responses)

Why not go the whole way and call it Mango. For the Non-Americans, mango besides being a fruit is also the name of a character on SNL (Saturday Night Live) who is a Drag Queenor female impersonator. Between the two immediate connotations of Man Drivel and Man Diva, this was a very poor choice. Did you consult with a native English speaker at all?

You could have just scrapped both names and go with something new. If Gael had a big enough ego even Duval Linux would have been fine.

Why not Mandrectiva?

Posted Apr 8, 2005 9:25 UTC (Fri) by xorbe (guest, #3165) [Link]

oh that's a good one! mango! took me a second...

Connotations

Posted Apr 8, 2005 14:12 UTC (Fri) by eru (subscriber, #2753) [Link] (1 responses)

Did you consult with a native English speaker at all?

Is there any trademark that cannot be twisted into something humorous in some major language? Probably only those that consist only of numbers...

Ultimately the only thing that matters is the quality of the product associated with the trademark.

To my Finnish ears Mandriva does not sound too bad. It feels vaguely like a brand of car, certainly nothing so negative. It even has an obvious and not so difficult pronunciation in Finnish.

Connotations

Posted Apr 9, 2005 15:56 UTC (Sat) by tjc (guest, #137) [Link]

Is there any trademark that cannot be twisted into something humorous in some major language?

Probably not. For example, General Motors had to change the name of the Buick LaCrosse for the Canadian market when they discovered it meant something other than a field sport in Quebec.

Why not Mandrectiva?

Posted Apr 8, 2005 20:06 UTC (Fri) by mwh63 (guest, #321) [Link]

I like the sound of "Condrake" myself.