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Mandrakesoft Changes Name to Mandriva

joestar writes "Following its recent merger with Conectiva, Mandrakesoft has decided to change its name to 'Mandriva' for two reasons: "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.". Mandrake is dead, long life to Mandriva!"

51 of 458 comments (clear)

  1. Well by paranode · · Score: 5, Funny

    I preferred Conedrakesoft, but... whatever...

    1. Re:Well by eln · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Company names should be fairly nonsensical like this. Naming the company something Linux-ish ties them to exclusively Linux-based products. This is a bad idea not because it's Linux, but because it ties the company to a particular type of product, which limits their ability to spread the brand to other products. Note that most of the "Linux only" companies of the dot-com era (the ones that actually survived) changed their names to something more generic.

    2. Re:Well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      ...gentoo is a penguin, just thought you should know.

    3. Re:Well by B'Trey · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It was bad enough when your company was named after a duck instead of a penguin.

      A duck? A drake is a male duck, but a mandrake is a poisonous plant that is supposed to have magical powers, probably because it's root looks like a human figure. Didn't you ever play King's Quest?

      Is there something I'm missing or is this duck thing just confusion because of the word "drake" being in the name?

      --

      "The legitimate powers of government extend only to such acts as are injurious to others." Thomas Jefferson.

    4. Re:Well by Agrippa · · Score: 4, Funny

      Cheer up. It could of been renamed to "Manspire".

      .agrippa.

    5. Re:Well by Otter · · Score: 4, Interesting
      I think the distribution's name is actually a reference to Mandrake the Magician, not to the plant. Hence the magic-related imagery that used to surround Mandrake Linux, and is still present in the star logo.

      (I can't believe that strip is still around! Do comic strips ever stop? Does anyone still read Barney Google or Rex Morgan?)

      BTW, a somewhat more timeless mandrake reference is Genesis 30:14.

    6. Re:Well by MikeMacK · · Score: 3, Funny

      It sounds too much like this and I know that can't be good for business!

    7. Re:Well by Garg · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not to mention the Google factor... a made-up name ensures anyone looking for you will find you without a bunch of irrelevant hits.

      Garg

      --
      Garg
      Alumnus, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
    8. Re:Well by sharkey · · Score: 3, Funny

      urpmi --update mass-quantities

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
    9. Re:Well by badmammajamma · · Score: 3, Funny

      Apparently Mangina was taken.

      --
      Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. -- H. L. Mencken
    10. Re:Well by Stevis · · Score: 3, Funny

      Not to mention when they randomly generate a company name by combining astronomical and electrical engineering terms, and get "Uranus-Hertz."

      --
      We've got two lives, one we're given, and the other one we make. --Mary Chapin Carpenter
  2. April Fools? by BJZQ8 · · Score: 3, Funny

    April Fools Day was the 1st...Oh wait, they're serious.

    1. Re:April Fools? by xanthines-R-yummy · · Score: 3, Funny
      It's April 1st there. They're in a different time zone!

      Oh, wait...

  3. Harddriva? by brontus3927 · · Score: 5, Funny

    So will all their *Drake tools now be *Driva tools? It just doesn't have the same ring to it.

    1. Re:Harddriva? by paranode · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't forget to compile the kernel modules for your SoundDriva too.

    2. Re:Harddriva? by rbochan · · Score: 4, Funny

      But they can now refer to their mailing lists as Mandrivel ;o)

      --
      ...Rob
      The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
    3. Re:Harddriva? by Amoeba · · Score: 4, Funny
      Don't forget to compile the kernel modules for your SoundDriva too.

      And do you pronounce Mandriva as "Man-drive-ah" or as "Man-dree-vah"? I'm thinking the first one would be best cause, Snap G! I gots my Soundriva up n running in dis mofo.

      Uh.. nevermind.

      --
      Do not taunt Happy-Fun Ball
    4. Re:Harddriva? by 2old2rockNroll · · Score: 5, Funny

      They have been renamed to the equally girly "Duck Tools"

      So the backup program is now called Duck Tape? Sorry.

  4. Great name! by waynegoode · · Score: 5, Funny
    Mandriva

    I'm sure glad they didn't pick some wimpy combination of Mandrake and Conectiva. Now the three top distros at Distrowatch (choose last 3 months) will all have great-sounding, easy-to-pronounce names:

    1. Ubuntu
    2. Mandriva
    3. Mepis
    1. Re:Great name! by Stevyn · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ubuntu, sounds like a baseball strategy.

      Mandriva, sounds like a bunch of guys driving down the road

      Mepis, Me piss?

      At least I can say, "well Gentoo is a species of penguins you ignorant pisser."

    2. Re:Great name! by UrgleHoth · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, on the topic of great sounding distros, How about naming one "Cthulhu" (barring any existing copyright issues). Bonus would be the slogan, "Cthulhu Linux, it'll suck your face off."

      --

      Dogma - "let's just say we'd like to avoid any empirical entanglements."
    3. Re:Great name! by ScoLgo · · Score: 3, Funny

      Say what you will. I'm just glad they kept the 'r' in there. Otherwise, their mascot might've been John Madden dressed like Mariah Carey.

      Yipes!!

      --
      "Michael, I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing - and it was everything that I thought it could be."
  5. Man-driva! by nightsweat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Man...driva, wider than a mile
    I'm crossing you in style, someday

    This is a belated April Fool's joke, right? That's the dumbest name since International Harvester became Navistar.

    --

    the major advances in civilization are processes which all but wreck the societies in which they occur - A.N. White
  6. Sounds like... by mikefoley · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...the name of a tranny stripper..

    Eeesh...

    --
    What's my Karma Mr. Burns? "Excellent"
    1. Re:Sounds like... by Mr+Guy · · Score: 5, Funny

      I read it as "Man dree vuh" and thought it sounded like a small Eastern bloc country occupied by the Soviets after World War II.

      Do you haf za news from Mandreevah!

      Dah! Vee haf crushed da reseestance in Mandreevah! Long live mother Russia!

  7. Represents WHAT??? by hesiod · · Score: 3, Funny

    > the recent Mandrakesoft - Conectiva merger calls for a new identity that better represents the combination of two key companies and their global presence.

    How does "Mandriva" "represent their Global Presence?" If I had no idea what they made and was asked to guess, it would be some sort of male driving school... Or a singing fruit (mandarin, Diva)... But in no way does Mandriva make me think "Linux, of course!"

    1. Re:Represents WHAT??? by 0racle · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, its a terrible name that one does not associate with Linux. They should have chosen a name like Maya, Excel, Trivoli, Firefox, Bryce or Java. You know names that don't just set a product apart but immediatly discribe what it does.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
  8. No self-respecting man would install "mandriva" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I mean, come on. This is a name just asking to be picked on. I wonder if I'll someday be able to install mandriva on my performa. That would be awesomea.

    Unless this is a method for hardening its security-- y'know, everyone picks on mandriva, so it has to toughen itself up. Like naming your son Sue or something.

  9. Re:Names by baudilus · · Score: 5, Funny
    A rose by any other name......
    .....could still not be as stupid sounding as "Mandriva."
  10. Next up.... by cprincipe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Noveluse

    --

    bun-fhuinneog agam!

  11. Microsoft is right.... by gmuslera · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... Linux MUST be hard to use, see how difficult will be to pronounce the name of most of their main distributions (SuSE with mixed case? Ubuntu? And now... Mandriva? even is hard to pronounce linux), then installing/using them should be even harder.

  12. Thinking that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny


    Mangina might've been a better name.

  13. It's curable by George+Tirebuyer · · Score: 3, Funny

    I swear I caught this once and a shot of Trobicin fixed it.

  14. Has anyone else noticed ... ? by Chromodromic · · Score: 5, Funny

    That if, say, you're an English speaker unfamiliar with the "i's" long "e" sound, you'll be likely to pronounce it "Man-dreyeva", which sounds like New York slang for "Mandriver", which sounds like gay porn?

    Not that there's anything wrong with that ...

    Well, actually, for a product name, yes there is. That's awful. God. A name only an engineer could love.

    --
    Chr0m0Dr0m!C
  15. In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    RedHat and Astaro Security Linux have merged to become Red Ass Linux

    All welcome our Red Ass overlords!

  16. Avirdnam by Swamii · · Score: 5, Funny

    You know that when your company's sounds better pronounced backwards, you've picked a lousy name.

    --
    Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit
  17. Good they renamed it, but will QA follow? by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 3, Funny
    The name change was needed. Indeed, in Luxembourgish, Mandrake litterally means "my trash". And given Mandrake's low reliability the name stuck...

    Just let's hope, that with the new name, they'll also improve their QA...

  18. It's better than a few other alternatives, though. by jd · · Score: 4, Funny
    Here are other names they might have used...


    • ConMan (well, depending on the quality of the merge)
    • Drake Connect (useful if anyone wants to set up a Romanized dragon dating servce)
    • IvaSoft (Adult themes get searched more than anything else)
    • Floccinaucinihilipilihication would seem to be appropriate, as would Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. These would seem to be much more memorable.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  19. At the risk of redundancy... by CDarklock · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...what a stupid name.

    "Condrake" would have been easy to pronounce. Unfortunately, it has the word "Con" in it, which doesn't sound like a good thing to buy.

    Why didn't they use something completely new like "Foxglove"? It's herbal and has earthy, pagan overtones like Mandrake. It's also got some interesting connotations about being a comfortable covering for Firefox.

    I *like* Foxglove. Somebody should start a Foxglove Linux project. I can immediately picture the logo, the website, and a half dozen decent marketing campaigns. You could talk about it being "foxy", make a pun on the Dr. Seuss classic "Fox in Socks", make "fox guarding the henhouse" references, say it "fits like a glove", run a "Poison your PC" campaign, or (my personal favorite) call it "digital digitalis". It's a *damn* fine name for a Linux distro.

    Too bad nobody ever listens to me. ;)

    --
    Microsoft cheerleader, blue flag waving, you got a problem with that?
  20. A Weird Name (was Re:Avirdnam) by manastungare · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now, ain't that "a weird name" really ...

  21. Re:In other news... by Yankel · · Score: 5, Funny
    RedHat and Astaro Security Linux have merged to become Red Ass Linux

    I thought they were going with AssHat Linux.
    --
    --- Dan
  22. Mandriva by PeDRoRist · · Score: 4, Funny

    Womanshouta

    --

    Anything you do can get you slashdotted, including nothing.
  23. Really? by hey! · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I always thought it was a crappy pun on John Donne:


    Go and catch a falling star,
    Get with child a mandrake root,
    Tell me where all past years are,
    Or who cleft the devil's foot,
    Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
    Or to keep off envy's stinging,
    And find
    What wind
    Serves to advance an honest mind.


    Mandrake - root -- unix? Get it? Blech.
    --
    Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
    1. Re:Really? by h4rm0ny · · Score: 4, Funny


      MOD PARENT: +5 Metaphysical.

      --

      Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
  24. No no no! by erroneus · · Score: 3, Funny

    That doesn't roll off the tongue.

    MANDIVA! Now that's a better name... or is it?

  25. Quickly browsing the dictionary... by emil · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A little too close for comfort.

    drivel - To slobber; drool. To flow like spittle or saliva. To talk stupidly or childishly.

    trivia - Something of small importance.

  26. Re:Hearst lawsuit by schon · · Score: 5, Funny

    mandrake is also a natural laxative.

    Maybe, but it's a bitch swallowing all eight CDs.

  27. No, it's a recursive acronym by marciot · · Score: 4, Funny

    > Distro Renamed to Irritate Various Americans

    Good idea, but you got it slightly wrong. It's a recursive acronym:

    Driva Really Irrates Various Americans.

    -- Marcio

  28. Now we know why Mandrake has seemed so lost... by adrenaline_junky · · Score: 4, Funny

    like any Mandriva, they won't stop to ask for directions.

    (sorry)

  29. Cthulhu Linux by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 3, Insightful

    >Bonus would be the slogan, "Cthulhu Linux, it'll suck your face off."

    I like it. I can think of several other excellent marketing themes:
    • Cthulhu Linux - Use it or else.
    • Cthulhu Linux vs. Microsoft - Why settle for the lesser evil?
    • Cthulhu Linux - Bringing the fear of computers back into your life.
    • Cthulhu Linux - Wait 'til you experience our Blue Screen of Death.
    --
    Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
  30. Pronounciation by hyfe · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Sometimes, tt's fun to notice how english centric slashdot is. Given how many Europeans without english as native language there are here, it is kinda surprising at times.

    Mandriva; good pronounication in the scandivian languages, spanish, german, french and spanish.

    Mandrake; good pronounication in english. >p> Majority of posters complain about pronounication :)

    --
    "" How about taking the safety labels off everything, and let the stupidity-problem solve itself? """