NFL Commentators Still Calling Microsoft's Surface Tablets "iPads"

AmiMoJo writes: Back in 2013, Microsoft inked a $400 million deal with the NFL to promote the Surface. Unfortunately for Microsoft, commentators and even players couldn't help themselves from referring to the tablets as iPads. Last year, announcers referred to the Surface as an "iPad-like tablet,", while Chicago Bears quarterback called them "knockoff iPads". It happened on more than one occasion, and while you can bet that Microsoft and the NFL have been in talks with announcers and players about the goof, little progress is being made. This year, the problem persists.

Comments

Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they just have bad karma now or something but even this post was put under http://apple.slashdot.org instead of http://microsoft.slashdot.org!

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[TWX]

On the other hand, I wonder if apple is starting to get worried about losing a trademark if it becomes too genericized. The addition of a single letter to a common English word is not exactly a practice limited solely to Apple, esomething and isomething terms have been around for some time. I'm also a little surprised that Microsoft hasn't lost trademark for Office and for Word, though they seem to make a point of using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office when referring to their own products, and productivity suite when referring to that class of software bundle without regard to originator.

Apple has now launched a product lacking the "i" with the Apple Watch, they might be worried about trademark, or they might be worried about the various negative implications of iWatch as a term.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Zontar The Mindless]

You're just holding it wrong!

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, a genericized trademark only happens when products are being marketed as such.

Like a Kleenex = Tissue. Microsoft isn't encouraging Surface Pro's to be called iPads, and there's nothing on the device to even suggest they are such. It would be pretty hard for anyone to claim something that isn't an iPad is an iPad since there identifying marks on the devices that say exactly what they are. There isn't on a tissue paper.

Same with "Bandaid brand bandages" People call them bandaids because there is no effective means of knowing if a "bandaid brand bandage" or "generic store brand bandage" is. Aspirin, Escalator, Laundromat are all genericized because there is no effective means of identifying the item from something of a different brand.

If you went to the Samsung store and asked for an iPad, they won't sell you a Samsung Tablet, because that's not what you asked for, and it doesn't run iOS software.

Where iPhone and iPad run the risk of genericization is when the device operating system looks too much alike, thus enabling that confusion, which is part of the reason why Samsung is insisting on being such an asshole in the intellectual property department. If they can weaken the IP around the iPad, the more they can copy, and the more "Generic" such items start to look.

The average person knows what an iPad is, they don't know what a competing tablet PC is.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, it becomes genericized when people, not the makers or stores, start calling all items of the type by the brand name of one.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[TractorBarry]

"Maybe" ? Microsoft are busily creating the biggest spyware botnet in the history of the internet (Windows 10) and you say "Maybe".

Windows 7 and above are now classed as spyware in my house :)

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

Your facts are off. Aspirin is a lost trademark because of Bayer's actions, or rather inaction, not because you can't find a way to label an Aspirin tablet, in fact mine are, though being in the US, they have lost their trademark on that word.

Elsewhere, not necessarily.

And if I were manager of a Samsung Store, I'd expect them to try to sell a Samsung tablet if you ask for an iPad, they might not succeed, but they should try.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Noah Haders]

What is aspirin, bayer or bandage?

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

On the other hand, I wonder if apple is starting to get worried about losing a trademark if it becomes too genericized.

Wouldn't that be delicious? Does that mean I could look to run iOfficeWord on my Microsoft iPad?

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[oh_my_080980980]

Really? Aspirin is a brand name jackass. It refers to acetylsalicylic acid. Jesus people do some research. And no Bayer did not lose the trademark from inaction. The trademark was stripped from them during WWI because United States confiscated Bayer's US assets and trademarks. Simply using the name cannot lose you the trademark.

Re: Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

I politely suggest you consider dialing down the aggression a bit. The parent poster may not be American, & things like Band Aid" aren't always used as a generic term internationally.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Aspirin is a brand name jackass.

I prefer generic donkeys and mules over the overpriced brand name ones.

What is your position on brand name miniature red-head roosters?

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

On the other hand, I wonder if apple is starting to get worried about losing a trademark if it becomes too genericized.

I bet Tim Cook is crying in his Kleenex right now.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

"which is part of the reason why Samsung is insisting on being such an asshole in the intellectual property department."

And apple suing them over slide to unlock is not an example of them being assholes in the IP dept? I don't think I could find a better example. Hell the original suit even went after samsung for using rounded rectangles.

FFS.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[doccus]

Come on, it's not bad karma. It.s because these commentators are ex jocks themselves, who probably graduated on an athletic scholarship.. but don't have the brains to pass a grade 2 spelling bee. They're just too thick to tell the difference. Probably before Bill Gates returned to M$.. He would never have inked a deal requiring the intelligent participation of ex NFL players

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, it's just hard to beat the stupids the way apple has made them stupids.

Re:Microsoft still can't win can they?

[mythix]

is bic still trademarked? everybody calls all pens "bic" here...

The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

Really, nobody should be confusing the Surface with the iPad. There are many differences:

1) The Surface has a keyboard and touchpad
2) The Surface has real USB ports
3) The Surface runs Windows
4) You can play games on the Surface. There are no games for the iPad.
5) The Surface has a kickstand that enables the screen to stand partially upright.
6) The Surface is more secure than the iPad.
7) It is easy to use the Surface. The iPad is so complicated my grandma can't use it.

There really isn't any similarity, and it's really quite embarrassing that people can't tell the difference. For all the promos the NFL announcers have to read, you think they'd get used to calling the tablets used on the sidelines by their correct name, which is, of course, the Microsoft Surface.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[mark-t]

Point 4 is entirely untrue.

On point 7, that your Grandma may find the iPad harder to use the Surface is anecdotal evidence for your proposition. It remains that the underlying argument that the Surface is easier to use than the iPad is entirely subjective.

I will not contest the other points, however.

But really, putting something that can be quite objectively shown to be false in your itemized list of differences really negatively impacts your overall argument. You could have left point 4 out and just listed six points and your argument would have been much stronger than how you presented it.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

Despite the fact, that I have no love for the MS Surface, but this post is so wrong, it makes me tear up.
Point 1 is achieved by bluetooth devices for iPad, for MS - they use "cover" as a secondary device that is doubling as keyboard and a touchpad, Point 4 is easily contested by opening iTunes Store and checking out "games" category, 5 is available from 3rd party vendors, 6 is pretty subjective, especially considering the huge bloat of backwards compatibility that windows has been dragging since forever and awkward bugs that go back tens of years seem to pop up from time to time, 7 is also extremely subjective, so subjective, that iPad sales don't support your claim. Heck, for a new user even an android tablet is simpler to master, because is has simplified, mobile interface.

But the problem isn't that MS Surface is worse that iPad. The problem is that MS Surface is better than an average tablet for laptop usecases and better than laptop for tablet usecases, but yet, fails miserably next to both a laptop and a tablet when used alongside them in appropriate usecases. Laptop with good keyboard and touchpad, with adjustable angle of screen to keyboard is running circles around Surfaces awkward leg stand (good luck using that in a plane, on a bus, or anywhere without a table), flip-flop keyboard and center of mass being in the screen, don't forget the easy swapping out of failed hard-drives, hardware upgrades (yes, SSDs and RAM can be bought not just the first time you order a device, they can be added, and, usually, for a fraction of a price), user-replacable batteries, higher performance due to larger size and more efficient cooling systems. And for surfing and watching movies Surface is overkill for it's price with power consumption and price too high, where even much cheaper counterparts still do the job and sometimes provide extra features (like Sony's waterproof tablets).

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

You're kidding.

1) The surface has a joke keyboard. touchpads suck on all devices.
2) The surface has a real USB 2.0 or 3.0 port, too bad you can't do anything with it, since it would tether the device to the item attached
3) The surface "RT" runs a version of windows that doesn't run desktop windows. The Surface Pro runs a full version of windows that consumes half the hard drive.
4) You can't play games on the Surface, there are few. There are far more games for the iPad. You must be thinking of the Surface Pro which can run shovelware games but forget running any "real" game on it.
5) The surface has an adjustable kickstand. This is not a selling point, as it's just another part of the device to snap off.
6) The surface runs windows RT... which is only "more secure" because it doesn't run real windows. The iPad is more secure than the Surface Pro because Malware only infects jailbroken devices.
7) It's not easy to use any tablet device. My parents and grand parents don't own any. The only people in my family who own tablets are the preteens.

And I think point 7 nails the real problem. Anyone over the age of 12 doesn't know the difference by virtue of not using the things at home.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

The latest version of the Surface (not Pro) is running an Atom processor. It's no longer RT.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[thegarbz]

I'll do you one better: The Surface has 2 places on it where it says "Surface" and 3 if you count the windows bootup startup screen which says only "Surface" on it.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

Woooooosh

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Noah Haders]

There is one indisputable point in which Surface is awesome and iPad and android competitors cannot match. If you are going to a conference or a business meeting and you need to do some last-minute edits on your presentation, you can do this on the surface and you cannot on the iPad. The surface has USB support and it has a native version of PowerPoint that is much more compatible with the desktop version.

I have found that both the iPad and Mac versions of PowerPoint are mostly compatible with files made on the desktop windows, but sometimes breaks things like fonts, photo layouts, or transitions. If you're in a pinch and try to make a change on the iPad, then you need to upload it to "the cloud" or email it to yourself, then try to download it on either the presentation computer or on someone else's computer so it can transferred to USB. It's times like this when I wish I had a surface.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[FranTaylor]

If you are going to a conference or a business meeting and you need to do some last-minute edits on your presentation,

then you aren't properly prepared, this seems to be a pretty common theme of people who use microsoft devices, they expect miracles to bail them out.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[FranTaylor]

I'll do you one better: The Surface has 2 places on it where it says "Surface" and 3 if you count the windows bootup startup screen which says only "Surface" on it.

and microsoft STILL can't get people to say it right.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Noah Haders]

Goodie for you. I wish I lived in your world. Some of us live in the real world which is a dynamic and fast moving place where not everything is under your control. My overall point is, the surface is really good for some use cases. It's only fair to acknowledge this if you're going to call it useless.

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[GodInHell]

/sarcasm

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Coren22]

What the hell is this Sureface crap, get me a real iPad not some knockoff.

lol

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[thegarbz]

To be fair it is 7 letters and 2 syllables. Quite a long word for the average NFL commentator. ;-)

Re:The Surface should be easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe he's kidding, but I'm not (Yes, I'm disagreeing with you)

1. The type cover is pretty good, and the touchpad on it is usable. The touch cover needs some "getting used to". The pen is awesome btw.
2. It has a real usb port and it's VERY usable.
3. The surface, now at version 3 does run full windows on both the regular and pro version. On Surface RT though, it was FULL windows running on an ARM proc that prevented it from running x86 apps. The purpose though, was to use it with store apps. The desktop was available for you if you had special needs, like if you needed to RDP to another PC, or install a printer and print from Word, or copy some files to a network location. It had all the drivers the x86 version had. On the Pro, about 27 gigs are taken out of the box, which leaves 37 on the 64 gig version. Good reason to choose a higher end model. http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/storage?os=windows-10
4. You can play games on the surface. Wtf are you talking about. Both universal/store and x86. Many AAA games are playable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awcXUEKWvfI - some are not. Windows 10 with DX12 may make some things go faster on patched games. Also, you can stream xbox games with Win10. Let's see what Surface Pro 4 can do in a few days.
5. It _is_ a selling point. It works, it's usable and very durable.
6. The iPad is still prone to web attacks though, just like every other system. Valid point on the Pro though, but I must stress that Win8 and 10 has built-in AV.
7. Maybe not out of the box, but you can definitely set one up to be more old-people-friendly. I know of one old person in my family that has an iPad.

Bonus point: Surface Pro 3 supports 3 external displays with a dock, and 2 without. Also, they all have a memory card slot underneath the kickstand.

Note: I own the Surface RT 1 and the Surface Pro 3, i7, 512: It's a fucking monster of a machine (that's quite quiet), and I use it to develop software and take notes in meetings (with the pen, indeed). Runs VS, IntelliJ, VMs, App servers and browsers with a thousand tabs open - no problem.

Sports, their first mistake

[Anonymous Coward]

The NFL is filled with dim techtards (yes, there are some exceptions).

In any case, take an average football player or person on the street, are they going to give a shit about calling something a surface vs an iPad?

If anything, Apple should be more concerned here. If "iPad" becomes the generic name for tablet then less people will care if it's made by Apple or not.

Re:Sports, their first mistake

[Anonymous Coward]

If you want a great example of this, look at HeadsetGate.

For those who missed it, the Patriots decided that after being caught cheating to make it to the Super Bowl last year, they'd start the year out by feeding their radio broadcast into the Steelers' headsets so that the coach couldn't communicate with the players. The official explanation for why that happened was "power issues caused by inclement weather."

First off, it was raining.

Secondly, the headsets are digital. And encrypted. So all "power issues" would do is disable the headsets - not drown out the audio with other audio.

So, basically, we have NFL "technicians" who somehow manage to let "power issues" magically take over encrypted headsets.

Instead of the more obvious option, the Patriots stole the encryption codes and purposely overpowered the real signal with their own.

Or TLDR: The NFL is run by idiots.

Re:Sports, their first mistake

[bickerdyke]

Or TLDR: The NFL is run by idiots.

I wouldn't go that far, but it definitly is run by people who care more about product placement than football. Being run by idiots would not harm football to the extent that is doing to it.

Re: Sports, their first mistake

[jmac_the_man]

Instead of the more obvious option, the Patriots stole the encryption codes and purposely overpowered the real signal with their own.

Stealing the encryption key isn't necessary. "League officials" in a room at Gillette Stadium are monitoring the transmissions anyway (on equipment set up by the Patriots.) The radio broadcast of the game could easily have been fed into the coach's feed at that point.

That's okay.

[buckfeta2014]

My mother still calls a PC tower a modem...

Re:That's okay.

[Dusthead Jr.]

My former boss used to refer to it as a hard drive and the CRT monitor was the computer. I upgraded it to a larger size and he asked if I had gotten a new computer. Most people I know seem to call any generic mp3 player an iPod. And before Android became a household name, every smartphone was an iPhone.

Re:That's okay.

[Anonymous Coward]

YUP. Up until CRT's went away, the average person over the age of 40 called the computer monitor the "computer".

Among the people in my family, they all know what an Apple device (iPod/iPhone/iPad) are, but don't know what these other devices generic name is (mp3 player, smartphone, tablet computer), so without the context that there are OTHER devices, they will assume you're talking about the Apple product.

Re:That's okay.

[Anonymous Coward]

Can you blame them?

Point to the "computer" in this photo.

Re:That's okay.

[Anonymous Coward]

Now point to the "computer" in this photo.

OK OK, and this is the last (much more recent) one. Point to the computer in this photo.

Re:That's okay.

[Anonymous Coward]

You assholes Slashdot mods.

Why does the GP post get +5 yet none of those mods trickle down to the rest of this funny and informative thread. Is it because we're posting as AC?

Well fuck you all you stupid cunts, it's exactly this behavior that is driving the more informed, educated, and experienced, members of the Slashdot community away.

FUCK YOU SLASHDOT!!!!

Re:That's okay.

[fatwilbur]

The most famous example most kids of the 90s will remember: when your mom referred to every video game system as a Nintendo. Dammit mom for the last time it's my Sega Genesis!!

yeah

[Ryanrule]

they should have went with padd.

Re:yeah

[Coren22]

They were considering the Max iPad for the new one until they put the two words together...*rimshot*

Re:yeah

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm pretty sure that's actually trademarked already.

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/news/comments/cbs-legal-threat-forces-star-trek-like-diagnosticpadd-from-app-store/

Critical mass

[Anonymous Coward]

It's another reason behind why Microsoft will never catch up. I was old enough to have a Sony Walkman, back in the day when it was the thing everyone wanted. It was the same back then - everything, every other copy, was basically a "walkman" for quite a few years.

Re:Critical mass

[Anonymous Coward]

I still call my iPhone a walkman

nobody remembers

[Anonymous Coward]

It is human nature. We know who was first in flight, first on the moon, first to build X or Y. Second? Nobody remembers second.

Re:nobody remembers

[behrooz0az]

Orville and wilbur wright
Buzz aldrin
I don't think multiple people build X or Y. They're letters. unless we're talking encoding.

Re:nobody remembers

[bickerdyke]

Honestly: You only remember "first man on the moon" because that was the only event in the space race that the US came out ahead (and the USSR haven't really tried)

First object in space? In orbit?
First living beings in space? returning safely? First human?
First woman in space? First EVA?
First unmanned landing on the moon? On Venus? On Mars?

So it's not only the first X and Y you remember, human nature tends to remember only the Xs and Ys that we were first in and not only ignores second X and second Y, but first A, first B, first C, first D and so on.

it's worse for technologies that are not a single, atomic (as in undividable) invention - depending on who you ask you will hear lots of different names as "The Father Of X". "Inventor" of the telephone? Marconi, Reiss, Bell, depending on who you're asking. Not even possible to agree on a single "first" here.

By the way: The wright brothers were by no way first in flight. Their "first flight" in 1903 is predated by at least 10 years by Otto Lilienthals who (according to Wikipedia) managed to log over 2000 flights before his death. And even his death in 1896 predates the Wrights flight. Without doubt the first maneuverable motorized flight was a HUGE achievement, but calling it "the first flight" is plain wrong.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Re:nobody remembers

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think multiple people build X or Y. They're letters.

X and Y were developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company, and distributed by Nintendo.

Re:nobody remembers

[Hognoxious]

Orville and wilbur wright

It could only carry one person at a time. They were second and third respectively.

Re:nobody remembers

[imnotanumber]

it's worse for technologies that are not a single, atomic (as in undividable) invention - depending on who you ask you will hear lots of different names as "The Father Of X". "Inventor" of the telephone? Marconi, Reiss, Bell, depending on who you're asking. Not even possible to agree on a single "first" here.

The "inventor" is most of the time wrongly attributed. It is so common that there is a law (Stigler's law of eponymy) for that:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Re:nobody remembers

[Coren22]

Is that why no one remembers that Apple made the iPad? Cause there were many tablets that beat it out.

Derp.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a tablet.

Tablets were introduced to people living outside their parents' basements as 'iPads'. Apple. Has. Won.

Now let me hand you some Kleenex so you can wipe away those tears. By Kleenex, I mean generic store-brand paper-based facial tissues.

Re:Derp.

[oh_my_080980980]

Actually it's a laptop masquerading as a tablet.

Re:Derp.

[Coren22]

Hmm, interesting. I recall many tablets already on the market when the iPad came out. Perhaps you should pay more attention to the world around you.

Re: Derp.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe you remember and I remember, but the rest of the world forgot because they were overpriced shit.

This problem really shouldn't exist.

[jtownatpunk.net]

The commentators are supposed to be professionals and plugging products is part of their profession. Do they fuck up the "Brought to you by Dodge: Take a stand against ordinary." plugs? No. And, if they did, they'd be getting yelled at during the next commercial break. Can you imagine if they said "Brought to you by the Toyota F-150, heartbeat of America." when the dodge logo popped up on the screen? (I just picked Dodge and their slogan out of thin air. I have no idea if Dodge advertises like that during NFL games but you get what I mean.) The tablets are a product and it's being advertised. Microsoft has paid a ton of money for this product placement and I find it hard to believe that their contract doesn't include assurances that their products will be correctly referenced a minimum number of times per game. And it probably has penalties for misidentification. Like calling their devices by the trademarked name of their biggest competitor. You don't need to be an expert on the product you're plugging to get the name right.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

They're ignorant footballers, not rocket scientists, what do you expect.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

If Apple would sue the NFL commentators for misusing their iPad trademark, they'd learn fast. Maybe Microsoft should have set aside part of their budget to pay Apple to do just that.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

that works for the main tv and radio announcers. for all the other people who get voice time on broadcasts? not so much. many of them are ex-players, especially the further they are from the main announcers. most of the other NFL broadcast teams are either local crews or the network's 7th round draft picks, not so beholden to get those product plugs right. very well is probably some passive-aggressive "what the frak is a 'surface'" their minds, where every smartphone is an iPhone, tablet an iPad, because.

the nfl games arent Nascar broadcast, brought to by Sprint, sponsored by Coors & Coors Light the coldest most refreshing beer, etc, with its small cluster of announcers and talking heads that follow each race, and get lots of practice with fitting in those product plugs.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[slazzy]

Microsoft should have insisted that each one says Surface in large letters printed on it somewhere, branding 101...

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[DNS-and-BIND]

Newsflash: announcers aren't really that smart.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[jtownatpunk.net]

They didn't at first. Somewhere along the way, they got the name on them in big letters on the hand-hold strap.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Zontar The Mindless]

As a former announcer, I'm not sure what to make of that. Maybe I'm formerly not that smart?

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

No, you are right, it shouldn't exist. They should be able to call their thingies iPads and Microsoft should too. It's stupid that Apple can claim such a short word. IP law is illogical and extremely stupid, just like the politicians who created it. May they burn.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

Your last name is "The Mindless"...

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[quantaman]

No, you are right, it shouldn't exist. They should be able to call their thingies iPads and Microsoft should too. It's stupid that Apple can claim such a short word. IP law is illogical and extremely stupid, just like the politicians who created it. May they burn.

As many issues as I have with various IP laws this use of trademarks is perfectly fine.

iPad is a word Apple made up specifically for their product, the use of the trademark is to protect their brand. Hell, the entire point of this story is that people using Apple's trademark iPad is causing brand confusion!

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[quantaman]

Newsflash: announcers aren't really that smart.

Or rather they are quite smart (think about hard it actually is to narrate a play as it happens as well as offering interesting commentary) but they're in a habit of not really respecting computers the way they do trucks and other manly-man products..

Re: This problem really shouldn't exist.

[mSparks43]

Does the iWatch have a microphone too?

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[AmiMoJo]

Maybe they could turn it into an opportunity and argue that "ipad" has become generic, like "hoover". I'm sure Apple would litigate until the end of time to prevent it, but maybe Microsoft could go the astroturfing route instead.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[wonkey_monkey]

Newsflash: announcers aren't really that smart.

...DNS-and-BIND announced.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

i would be surprised if there wasn't some sort of significant refund to microsoft for every 'surface' mention screwup -- or even every mention, by networks or league, of 'ipads' or anything apple branded. the huge amount microsoft paid surely gives some sort of exclusivity beyond just teams using the product during games.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[thegarbz]

You don't need to be an expert on the product you're plugging to get the name right.

Especially if you're forced o use the product. I mean Surface is only written on the kick stand, on the keypad, and is also the word present while Windows is booting.

Mind you this are NFL commentators. I guess 15 years of head trauma does have an effect.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

The commentators are supposed to be professionals and plugging products is part of their profession.

No! A commentator should only be commenting on what is happening, and providing background information (though sports commentators tend to overdo this), in the event which they are covering. It should not be part of a commentator's job to mention the make of the ball(s) used in a game or the clothing worn by the players etc.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[bickerdyke]

The tablets are a product and it's being advertised.

But unlike your Dosge example - it is not openly disclosed as advertisement. There is no "brought to you by MS surface". There wouldn't be a problem if MS just bought people to say "And our sponsoring partner Microsoft wants you to have a look at their products called "The surface"". Every moron could read that.

Trying to hide the fact that this is paid-for advertising my letting it creep into commentary and interviews that should be about the subject people are tuning in to see is what is happening here.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

Your last name is "The Mindless"...

His last name is "Mindless". "The" is his middle name.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[JonBoy47]

This... More so than any of the other American major league sports, the NFL has inked sponsorship deals for product placement. As an example, Colin Kaepernick was famously fined $10k by the NFL last year for wearing a pair of pink Beats headphones during a post-game press conference. The only reason he's not blowing a gasket over this is that he's too busy deluding himself into believing he'll win the Deflategate appeal.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[geeknotnerd]

There is a word for those thingies: tablets.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's the mental image. A Ford, Dodge are huge. The differences are easily visible. An iPad and Surface? ... similar size and just like ever tablet out there, most of that visible area is a screen. In fact, these days without looking at the logo you can rarely tell it's make.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe you're thinking of Tom Brady, he was the player that was supposed to be suspended, not Colin Kaepernick.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[I'm New Around Here]

Just like Smokey the Bear.

Re: This problem really shouldn't exist.

[I'm New Around Here]

Does the iWatch have a microphone too?

http://www.apple.com/watch/

I don't know if it does. Who makes it? We'll check their website.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[I'm New Around Here]

Hoover is only generic in one country. Well, maybe two; I don't know what the Scots say. Here in the US we say "vacuum". Hoover is still a brand name of vacuum cleaners.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Scutter]

NO. Do not excuse them by saying "well, they're just athletes". They are PAID PROFESSIONALS who should be held accountable to the paid profession in which they are engaging. If they are incapable of doing the job, they should quit or be terminated.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[BitZtream]

I'd bet a years pay there isn't a quarterback on the field that isn't twice as smart as you are. Those are your commentators.

They're job ... is to announce the game, not sell product. Selling product is secondary.

The Surface IS JUST A SHITTY IPAD KNOCK OFF, just like most of the others. Just because its Microsoft doesn't mean its not a knock off. Why you copy someone, poorly, thats what you get called, and Microsoft most certainly pulled a 'Me too!!!!' with the Surface.

You're just an ignorant prick that has no clue what he's talking about and thinks he's better than every one else. Hint: You're not. You're just a douche

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

In other news, NFL professionals still calling Hand-egg game 'football', says Rest of World.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[BitZtream]

Yea, because Apple doesn't like when people make fun of Surface and imply that they'd rather have an Apple device instead of the shitty Microsoft version.

Apple LOVE it.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

They're expected to take the money instead of making themselves unemployed, because ignorant footballers don't actually find starving in the gutter to be any more appealing than you or I do.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[thegarbz]

They're job ... is to announce the game, not sell product.

The Surface IS JUST A SHITTY IPAD KNOCK OFF

You're just an ignorant prick that has no clue what he's talking about

The irony hurts so very much.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[thegarbz]

They are ludicrously overpaid PAID PROFESSIONALS who should be held accountable to the paid profession in which they are engaging.

FTFY

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Cajun Hell]

What do you think a "Steeler" or a "Ram" or a "49er" is?

Talking about products is all those people ever do. This is commercial entertainment, not a real sports game between the people on your street. Go outside and play some sports. And then tell me if any of the other people you were with, said "ooh, ooh, can I be the announcer?" Sports don't have announcers.

This a field of professional entertainers and professional announcers whose job is to sell. They're paid to sell you the teams, the players, and whatever else the media outlet got paid to promote. If that includes Dodge or Microsoft, then their job is to sell you Dodge and Microsoft.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

You're just an ignorant prick that has no clue what he's talking about and thinks he's better than every one else. Hint: You're not. You're just a douche

You know if you live in a glass house you shouldn't throw rocks. Because this is the exact impression I got of you reading your comment.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[mrzaph0d]

Years ago I realized that while the members of the US version of The Office were using the same Cisco Phones I had at the office, except that the labels on all of them were ridiculously huge.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

In other, other news, all those people from other countries that make stuff for us still confuse soccer with football.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[_anomaly_]

Colin Kaepernick isn't involved with deflategate, that's Tom Brady. However, Kaepernick has voiced his support of Brady.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[edtice1559]

Maybe it's actually part of the campaign. Give people the idea that Surface and iPad are interchangeable things. When you're a secondary brand, you don't mind being confused with the market leader!

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Dragonslicer]

The commentators are supposed to be professionals and plugging products is part of their profession. Do they fuck up the "Brought to you by Dodge: Take a stand against ordinary." plugs? No.

That's because, despite the jokes everyone here will make, the announcers aren't illiterate. They have no problem doing the sponsorships when it's on a piece of paper in front of them.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

In other news, Slashdotters misinformed about what the "foot" in football actually refers to continue to insist that American football be called hand-egg.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

They aren't "footballers"; that's not even an American word. It's used in other countries for people who play a completely different sport.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[FranTaylor]

The commentators are supposed to be professionals

Unless microsoft is paying them to do it right, I don't see your point. They are supposed to "Call them as they see them" and they see ipads.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[FranTaylor]

Mind you this are NFL commentators.

Who are not being paid by microsoft. This is actually a smart move, maybe they can convince microsoft to pay them to say it right.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[FranTaylor]

They are PAID PROFESSIONALS who should be held accountable to the paid profession in which they are engaging.

they are paid to announce a football game

they are not paid to announce what toys people are using

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[FranTaylor]

Hoover is only generic in one country. Well, maybe two; I don't know what the Scots say. Here in the US we say "vacuum". Hoover is still a brand name of vacuum cleaners.

hoover is also a brand of "blankets" if you are old enough to remember

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[FranTaylor]

Maybe it's actually part of the campaign. Give people the idea that Surface and iPad are interchangeable things. When you're a secondary brand, you don't mind being confused with the market leader!

Except when people go to the store, they ask for what they know. They ask for an ipad, they get an ipad, they don't get a surface. The TV announcers may be confused but the salesman at best buy will get the customer what they ask for.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

In other news, butthurt probably-European jackass still doesn't know that Rugby Football and its derivatives have as much claim to the word "football" as Association Football (a.k.a. Soccer) does, says educated US citizenry.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[edtice1559]

Yes I see your point. But I also see the possibility of people Googling for the "Surface iPad" and getting hits for the Surface tablet. Remember, the announcers are *saying* iPad but people are *seeing* the word Surface. There could also be Best Buy conversations where people say "I want the iPad that the NFL coaches use." BB drone will sell them whichever has the higher profit for BB!

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anomalyst]

Fortunately I have absolutely no interest in either and the incompetence is of no matter to me.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anomalyst]

How to identify a commodity from quite a long way away
No. 3
The Larch

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

I wasn't aware you penned the contract they signed.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[guruevi]

The thing is that they're not plugging them. Microsoft gave them to the NFL not as a sponsored media campaign but in order to surreptitiously market their product in the viewers' eyes so that if they went to the store, they would subconsciously choose Surfaces over iPads.

The problem is that Surfaces are indeed "iPad-knockoffs". They look very similar but they are a lot worse when it comes down to the OS and the "apps" or even the ecosystem surrounding them. They feel like you just bought a Chinese iPad-knockoff with an Android version made to look like iOS but it won't run either Android or iOS software and the built-in apps barely work and there is no "app store" to speak off.

The worst thing about the Surfaces I think is that whenever you want to change something, you get dropped into the Windows 8 environment. Want to set up a network that deviates from the standard WEP/WPA2? Better get your glasses and a keyboard/mouse. Want to set up Bluetooth? Again, Config Panel. Oh, I have to install drivers for this gadget to work?

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[thegarbz]

Who are not being paid by microsoft.

$400million dollars exchanging hands along with the Surface tablets says otherwise.

Re:This problem really shouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

Once you twig to this the other thing you'll notice is the size of brand badges on cars in movies. Always fucking stupidly large compared to real life, except perhaps for the deliciously large Mercedes tri-star on the grill of their SLKs...just lovely.

You can't expect them to learn right?

[Anonymous Coward]

These guys are all chosen for physical attributes, not critical thinking.

Re:You can't expect them to learn right?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they're critical of the product placement.

Re:You can't expect them to learn right?

[Anonymous Coward]

NFL commentators are chosen for physical attributes? Ok.

Re:You can't expect them to learn right?

[Anonymous Coward]

This has nothing to do with critical thinking.

Kleenex, Xerox, Band-aid

[YrWrstNtmr]

All the same concept. Generic terms for what is and used to be specific brands. A 'tablet looking thing' will be refereed to as an "iPad". Same as if they were using Dell, Asus, Samsung tablet looking things.
iPad.

Re:Kleenex, Xerox, Band-aid

[mwvdlee]

This. In the end this may be good for Microsoft, as it may ruin a successful competitor's brand name.

Re:Kleenex, Xerox, Band-aid

[Nyder]

All the same concept. Generic terms for what is and used to be specific brands. A 'tablet looking thing' will be refereed to as an "iPad". Same as if they were using Dell, Asus, Samsung tablet looking things.

iPad.

Tablet.

A word you used both times describing the objects. My guess is this will be what everyone will be calling them.

Although the mind-share is good for Apple...

[mark-t]

I would think that if this is allowed to continue for too long, it could endanger Apple's trademark, as the term may be eventually be taken as a synonym for any tablet-like computer.

Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

It seems to be mostly an American thing to call things by brand or company names instead of using generic terms...
Jacuzzi - hot tub
Crock pot - pressure cooker
Chapstick - lip balm
Kleenex - tissue
Q-tips - cotton swabs
Rollerblades - roller skates
Scotch tape - adhesive tape
Sharpie - permanent marker
Realtor - real estate agent
Tupperware - plastic containers
Weed eater - string trimmer
Wite-out - correction fluid
Band-Aid - adhesive bandages
Dumpster - waste container
Xerox - photocopier
Post-it - sticky note
Plexiglas - acrylic glass
Styrofoam - polystyrene
etc etc etc....

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[mark-t]

Not exclusively American at all.

Hoover - Vacuum

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Zontar The Mindless]

A crock pot is not a pressure cooker. (Try "slow cooker".)

And my wife calls them Tupperware. She's from China, has never lived in an English-speaking country, and only made her first visit to the US about 4 years ago.

Here in Sweden, I hear the terms "rollerblade"; "Xerox", "Post-It", and "Plexiglass" used even in Swedish.

Rollerblades, BTW, are specifically *inline* skates, not any roller skates.

And nobody's had a need for White-Out in about 30 years; do they even still make that stuff?

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

A crock pot is not a pressure cooker. Not in any way, except that they both get hot.
Rollerblades are not the same as roller skates, they are technically inline skates though.
All tape is adhesive. Try clear tape or something

Re: Other brand names that Americans use ...

[oobayly]

PTFE tape is adhesive?

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

What? Why do you think that it's "mostly an American thing"? It's not at all mostly an American thing.

I'm going to go out on a limb and hypothesize that you're American and are simply not aware of what brand names people in other countries use to call things, and then erroneously conclude that because you've not heard of it, therefore it doesn't exist. :)

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[wonkey_monkey]

Sellotape.
Post-It Note.
Portacabin.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[thegarbz]

No it's not, you just watch too many American movies to realise that every nationality has a tendency to do this. At least half of those are common in Australia and the UK too. Heck even Chinese don't call post-its sticky notes.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes that's my personal experience. My first language isn't English and in my country we call all these things I mentioned by generic terms. There are a few things people call by brand names though. I have traveled a bit including to UK and Australia and from my experience people in the US use brand names (incorrectly) much more often than elsewhere. I think this may be because many of the things I listed were either invented in the US or at least these brands are very strong in the US. Perhaps elsewhere people don't care as much about brands.

How I think this happens is when something new comes to the market or in the case of tablets a new product becomes way more popular than all it's predecessors it's brand name synonymizes (is that a word?) with the kind of item. If it has enough time to sink in then all the later alternatives and knockoffs get compared to that first product and the original product's name tends to stick. But when 2-3 similar products arrive at around the same time this can't happen.

Perhaps in my country and some others fewer brands have had a monopoly over the marketplace for extended periods of time.

From my experience people in the US seemed to appreciate the perceived status that comes with a premium brand product much more than the product itself. But I'm probably biased and I didn't meet that many people.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes they do. Worked there for 12 years. The US is very brand centric when if comes to naming items.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[bickerdyke]

Fön (Hair dryer)
Dixie (portable toilet)
Tipp-Ex (White Out)
Styropor (Styrofoam)
Jenaer Glas (Pyrex)
Tempo
Edding

getting slightly awkward when you don't only have to learn regular vocabulary but also brand names

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[drinkypoo]

Scotch tape - adhesive tape

clear adhesive tape

Weed eater - string trimmer

We call them weed whackers now.

Plexiglas - acrylic glass

It's not glass. You're calling everything which is clear "glass", while you complain about Americans calling everything by the wrong name. Hooray!

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[berberine]

A crock pot and a pressure cooker are two very different things. A crock pot is also called a slow cooker. I can turn it on, leave the house for hours and when I return I have a nice meal to eat. If I did that with a pressure cooker, it would explode if it was unattended and I did not periodically release the valve to lower the pressure and let steam out.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Not quite.
Dyson - Hoover - Vacuum

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Here in the UK we call it by its proper name.. Tip-Ex

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Chris Mattern]

And there have been cases where it lead to the loss of the trademark, as with aspirin and escalator.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

But many of those are American imports. In the UK we'd understand what someone meant when they asked for a band-aid mainly from imported American culture. We wouldn't say adhesive bandage either, we'd say plaster.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[BitZtream]

Some corrections:

Because every brand name you mentioned is the largest most well known brand who did it first. In most cases people use the brand name because the brand name they are referring to is the one that isn't a shitty cheap copy of the brand name. People actually want Kleenex, not shitty 'tissue' that hurts when you use it, as an example.

A crock pot is not a pressure cooker in any way. Its just a brand name for a large ceramic pot with its own built in heating for slow cooking stews and such. A pressure cooker is entirely different.

No one calls roller skates roller blades any more than they call a motorcycle a Chevy. You're mixing two different though related things. Rollerblades are in-line skates.

Realtor is a job description and was before the website existed.

Acrylic is not glass, thats why its plexiglas with ONE s, its not glass.
Oh: And this happens everywhere in the world, but hey welcome to showing exactly how you don't know about the rest of the world.

These things happen because the brand name is the most popular and its what everyone uses or prefers to use.

JUST LIKE THE IPAD.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[flink]

I believe Bayer lost its trademark to aspirin as part of reparation for WWI, not as a result of the name becoming generic.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

a crock pot is not a pressure cooker. you suck at kitchen

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Plaster?

That is something you put on walls and ceilings. Jeeze

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

You should get a pressure cooker with an automatic relief valve then.

Re: Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

If it wasn't, it wouldn't stick to pipe threads. It adheres by friction. Perhaps you meant to suggest it does not have an adhesive applied to it at the factory, but I assure you that it does adhere to things like pipe threads.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[PPalmgren]

Notice the syllables. A vast majority of those brand generics are shortening mechanisms. Brand names that become commonplace enough and are easier to say or shorter to write tend to become generics.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Solandri]

You have most of those backwards.

Kleenex - tissue
Scotch tape - adhesive tape
Band-Aid - adhesive bandages
Xerox - photocopier
Post-it - sticky note
Plexiglas - acrylic glass
Styrofoam - polystyrene

All of those were products originally available exclusively under the brand name before knockoffs became available. The company making the brand name item then had to fight and advertise to get people to use the generic name for the product, lest they lose their trademark protection (as happened to aspirin, escalator, thermos, etc). That is, the brand name came first, the generic name came later.

It's mostly an American thing because the products were originally introduced in the U.S. By the time they were introduced in other countries, the knockoffs were already available, and thus the strong association between the brand name and the type of product never developed. The opposite happened with Hoover. While the company was American, knockoffs quickly became available in the U.S. but not in the U.K. So the British tend to refer to vacuum cleaning as "hoovering" while Americans use the generic "vacuuming".

Realtor - real estate agent

This one has a similar history as the above, except it wasn't an invention. It was an overly successful attempt by a group to create a new licensed profession (like doctors and lawyers are licensed).

Rollerblades - roller skates

The generic term for Rollerblades is in-line skates. To distinguish them from roller skates which used 4 wheels in a rectangular configuration like a car.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Many of these are regional and/or no longer used that way.

Jacuzzi isn't just any hot tub, it's one with those annoying jets that blow water up your ass. Only Jacuzzi makes these anymore. Other hot tub manufacturers have figured out that most people aren't too happy about a bidet that first heats the water to 150F, scalds your colon, and then allows you to soak in your own superheated filth.

Crock pots (as others have pointed out) are not pressure cookers. They're slow cookers.

Rollerblades (again, others have noted this) are inline roller skates, not just roller skates. And since they were patented for far longer than they were popular, I don't really know of any other inline rollerskate brands. All of them that I've ever seen seem to have the trademarked Rollerblade logo.

Scotch tape isn't just adhesive tape. It's clear acrylic tape that won't leave sticky goo on the surface after being peeled. Pretty much only 3M has achieved this. Imitators tend to be thicker plastic and either leave behind adhesive or turn hard and yellow in a short time and permanently bond to the surface.

Sharpie is a permanent marker, but it's not a Magic Marker. Magic Marker is another permanent marker, with a wide tip (not a pointy one, like a Sharpie). It too gets used as a brand-name punching bag.

Realtor is not a brand name. It's trademarked, but by a trade association. It's very existence means that it's a synonym of what that trade association represents, which is real estate agents.

Xerox isn't used much this way anymore. People copy things or make copies of things. Nobody xeroxes anything anymore, mostly because Xerox doesn't make that many copiers anymore, at least not ones that most people use. Heck, people don't even know how to pronounce "Xerox" anymore. I know of a person that pronounced it "eckseerocks" and was totally serious.

Plexiglass isn't acrylic glass. It's merely clear acrylic sheeting, which isn't glass under either definition of the word. (1: silica sand melted into a clear substance and cooled to harden or 2: any substance melted to a liquid state, then blast-cooled to a solid to retain the molecular structure of a liquid in solid form. This second definition allows for steel to be described as the "glass form" of refined high-carbon iron alloy.)

And, of course, you forgot Google.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anubis IV]

It's hardly an American thing. Off the top of my head, I recall that British folks have Hoovers, Brevilles, and Sellotape, and who can blame them? After all, companies or people with those names got there first, so the name stuck over there, just like Rollerblade stuck in the US.

But in most of your examples, the generic names were only coined years after the brand name when competing companies tried to enter the market, so it's hardly a surprise that the original names have stuck, given that for the first several years of those product's existences, the brand name was the only name for that type of product. For instance:
- Jacuzzi was the original jetted hot tub when it was introduced in 1968
- Crock-Pot was the original electric slow cooker when it was introduced in 1971
- Chapstick was the first commercial lip balm when it was introduced in 1880
- Kleenex was the first (modern) facial tissue when it was introduced in 1924
- Scotch tape was the original cellophane tape when it was introduced in 1930
- Weed Eater was the original string trimmer when it was introduced in 1971
- Band-Aid was the original adhesive bandage when it was introduced in 1924
- Dumpster was the original garbage-truck-loadable garbage bin when it was introduced in 1936
- Xerox was the original xerographic machine when it was introduced in 1949
- Post-It Notes were the original repositionable notes when they were introduced in 1980
- Plexiglas was the first acrylic glass to market when it was introduced in 1933

Moreover, with the exception of Jacuzzis, all of the ones I listed were first invented or introduced in the US, so it's hardly a surprise that the original brand names continue to have traction here in the States, given that the original names predate the existence of the generic terms. That competitors were able to establish generic terms or their brand names (e.g. Sellotape, introduced 1937) elsewhere is not a surprise either, nor is it a cause for derision by either side.

Additionally, many of your cited brand names are not used synonymously in the American public with the generic terms you provided. Jacuzzi is used specifically when referring to jetted hot tubs, not to hot tubs in general. Crock-Pot is used when referring to slow cookers, not pressure cookers. Chapstick is used specifically when referring to lip balm packaged like lipstick, not to lip balm in other form factors (e.g. in tins). Rollerblade is used specifically when referring to inline skates, not to roller skates in general. And so on. As often as not, the brand name is used to refer to their specific style of the generic product, rather than to the generic category as a whole.

And, in the case of Styrofoam, Americans don't even use the brand name itself correctly, since the stuff that we call "styrofoam" (lowercase s) usually isn't actually Styrofoam (uppercase s). For instance, the standard, white coffee cups made of expanded/puffed, molded polystyrene beads, which most Americans would call a "styrofoam cup" are not actually made of Styrofoam at all, since Styrofoam refers specifically to a type of extruded polystyrene that is typically used for craft purposes. I mention all of this, not to make a point, but just because it's something interesting. :)

All of which is to say, your implication seems to be that Americans are using the wrong terms for these items, when in many cases (Styrofoam notwithstanding) the history of the products does not substantiate that stance. In many cases, we're simply using the original names for those things.

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep. Years ago my girlfriend and I were backpacking through Mexico. We were off the beaten path but language hadn't been a problem because she spoke Spanish quite well. I didn't, though, and when she got a cold and I went to the corner store looking for tissues for her, I had trouble. After 5 minutes of struggling with the clerk in my broken Spanish, being offered, and in desperation considering but finally rejecting, some kotex pads, I finally saw what I was looking for and pointed. The clerk shouted, "Ah, Kleenex!"

Re:Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Glass is an amorphous solid. PMMA is a glass. It isn't 'glass' though. It's generally used in place of 'glass' and has some similar properties, so I think acrylic glass is a fine generic term for it.

Re: Other brand names that Americans use ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Crock-pot is a slow cooker not a pressure cooker. You cannot pressure can in a crock pot.

Well of course...

[Anonymous Coward]

What do you expect from these low life who enjoy hitting each other/watch others ram into each others.

Re:Well of course...

[Zontar The Mindless]

What do you expect from these low life who enjoy hitting each other/watch others ram into each others, making millions of dollars for doing it, and getting to sleep with models and pop stars.

TFTFY.

Re:Well of course...

[Hognoxious]

Anyone who's jealous can take some comfort from the fact that ten years later, they won't be able to remember any of it.

Yep

[Sycraft-fu]

It is actually a bad thing, overall for Apple. The last thing they want is for every tablet to be an "iPad" because it then makes it much harder to market and differentiate their own products. While I'm sure MS isn't pleased, Apple is likely non to pleased either. Having your brand turned generic isn't something any company wants. Even if you still technically control the trademark, if it is a generic term in the mind of the ordinary person, you've lost.

Re:Yep

[Anonymous Coward]

Just like when I'd pull out my Samsung Tablet, people would ask "What kind of iPad is that?".

It's been a while since I've sat in front of a TV with actual commercials, but at least a couple years ago Apple spent a lot more advertising the iPad than Samsung did any of their Tablet line.

Dude, it's football (head injuries)

[Anonymous Coward]

What do you expect from people surrounded by a sport that has a predilection for repeated concussions?

Microsoft has tablets right...

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure an SPN can't learn new tricks. That's a given. But the reason they should try is probably important.

I hate to admit it, but Microsoft tablets are a full OS. That's a full arsenal fuck you to Google's (tacit fauxpenness), and Apple's (prison) gilded cage app store. I would never go back without treating the device as a sandbox layer. Cant wait for the true Linux/ Open source tablets (Kernel + distro based on hardware), Jolla will do perfect to test the waters until they get major mainstream heat. Its OK to break things I own, as long as I can use them as I so choose.

No OS that changes UI on update will matter long term. UI || UX. . Microsoft tablet (as low as 179 at wallmart) = what already works + more than an app store with sand boxed app perks. I am rooting for MS (sadly) on this one. Also Kudos for apple realizing the Jobba was wrong about device utility: Stylus has a a value : Hence apple made a stylus (that isn’t worth the cost) This is a sloppy catch up measure since MS partnered wacom for the original surface, but it should be nice to drive down prices as the competitive market expands. Drawing on the "paper" makes sense to most people. But then again, that second mouse button was a hurdle for apple users too.

My device = my ability OR convenience. The more I am aware of your interference the less I value your updates.

Oh right!: Sports guys with brain damage! Um is there any way to get the one ipad button to, you know, um be easier? Which one was that one button again? Do I push it or just talk into it? Hi mom. Hello?

Who the fuck can remember all those stupid names?

[Taco Cowboy]

No matter how good, how useful a product is, if the name is stupid, it won't be remember

Take toilet paper - what brand of toilet paper can you think of?

Take sport drinks - other than Gatorade, what are the other brands you can remember?

Ice tea ... can you pronounce 'loo-zee-ann'?

Microsoft Windows successfully toppled OS/2 because the 'OS/2' name was too fucking awkward

iPad, iPhone, iPod are popular not only because of their functionality - they have crispy clear sounding name

As for Microsoft Surface? Who the fuck can remember that?

Surface confusion

[Neo-Rio-101]

Imagine them using the term "surface"

"The players are all looking at the surface"

WHICH SURFACE? THE TABLET OR THE ACTUAL FIELD ITSELF?

Re:Surface confusion

[Anonymous Coward]

To avoid such confusion Microsoft should give them to surfing competition commentators.

Re:Surface confusion

[Anonymous Coward]

They should have called it the chick with big jugs next to the twat with a painted face.

Re:GAY NIGGERS need maxipads to catch felch

[Zontar The Mindless]

I've watched GNFOS, much funnier than you.

But The Noisy *Surface* IS easily distinguishable

[Anonymous Coward]

a) Noisy fan -- reminds you it isn't a tablet --- at least not the kind of tablet the iPad and Android are on.

b) The kind of tablet that needs anti-virus. Weeeee!

c) Battery life requires you be near a power outlet. Versus an iPad that can do several days.

d) The kind of tablet with really low market share, again reminding you it isn't an iPad.

e) The Surface, unpopular enough, the average joe thinks it is iPad.

The Surface has more in common with the kind of tablets Moses brought down from the mountain, than the energy efficient and touch oriented tablets that real people are using.

Seriously!? Microsoft expected them to call it...

[EzInKy]

...a Surface? Both are iPad and Surface are stupid names either way. What is wrong with personal digital assistance anyway? Tired of playing the name game.

The real question...

[Anonymous Coward]

... is why are they trying to sell a tech device to people who watch football in the first place?
They don't really seem like the target market.

Re: The real question...

[mSparks43]

The target market is saturated and now only buying replacements.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[davester666]

Are you talking about a tablet, the table, or the wall-mounted device?

Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoover

[Chrisq]

Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoover. That isn't worthy of a slashdot article either

Oh shock and horror!

[GeekWithAKnife]

Some people do not know the actual brand of their toaster. they call it "toaster" rather than the "Skynet 9000 turbo bread bronzer".

It's a fucking toaster. The fact they confused it with the most widely known brand of toaster just happens. Like how "Centrino" was a CPU in some people's minds.

Re:Oh shock and horror!

[cdrudge]

Some people do not know the actual brand of their toaster. they call it "toaster" rather than the "Skynet 9000 turbo bread bronzer".

I don't know the brand of my toaster, but then again the manufacturer didn't pay me $400m to advertise it for them. If they did, I'd use the product name in every sentence I spoke and I'd have it tattooed prominently on my body. Now perhaps $400m is a lot more significant to me then it is to the NFL, but it's not like this is some 10 second read on Fargo's sports talk show either where if they screw it up, it's not like anyone noticed or cared.

Re:Oh shock and horror!

[GeekWithAKnife]

Yeah we both know you're right...but if you task a some football knuckle-heads with something don't be surprised if they fumble.

Actually, don't be surprised if they take your tablet/iPad/Surface and shake it, sniff it and then take a bite.

Re:Oh shock and horror!

[Dragonslicer]

Like how "Centrino" was a CPU in some people's minds.

Wow, have you actually met both of them?

Mose editor fail. /golfclap

[Anonymous Coward]

More ./ editor fail. This was a story 10 days ago.

I guess you dice cunts really want to run people off so you can close this money loser...

Microsoft Maxipad

[Anonymous Coward]

Pad is too generic and leads to brand name confusion.

To differentiate the product and highlight the capability differential, it should have been called the Microsoft Maxipad.

Dominant brands

[xMonkey]

Weed Eater, Kleenex, Super Glue... Dominant Brands enjoy being the general term. They gotta be careful though to not lose their trade names.

Re:Seriously!? Microsoft expected them to call it.

[Anonymous Coward]

> What is wrong with personal digital assistance anyway?

One obvious problem is that many people (including you) seem to confuse the words "assistance" and "assistants".

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[thegarbz]

Everyone. They've recycled the product name 3 times now, and it's written in big letters on the back of the device as well as on the front cover of the keypad. If you have the device and you can't remember the name then it speaks volumes for how much pay attention to your surroundings in life.

Jarryd Hayne

[Anonymous Coward]

They are still calling "Rugby League", "rugby".

No they don't

[Anonymous Coward]

Calling something an "iPad knockoff" isn't the same as calling something an iPad. That shows they do realise they're not iPads, but they say they'd prefer iPads as these imitations sucks balls(tm)

A slip of the tongue is costly these days

[Anonymous Coward]

I just cannot believe these NFL people don't know the difference between a iPad and the rest of the tablets. This is why Microsoft get's nowhere in marketing because its like Google search eventually you market right and every similar product is still your product. Microsoft should at least get the curtesy of a generic reference such as tablet. Otherwise I would be demanding the NFL start giving refunds or paying penalties to Microsoft. But the end result of this is Microsoft's fault.
Because the iPad became such a sensation that no matter if Microsoft developed the first tablets or not years before. It was Apple who actually made them successful in the market place. Not saying the iPad is actually a better product, but it certainly was marketed better.

Re:Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoov

[Anonymous Coward]

Does Vax, Dyson or any other vacuum cleaner manufacturer pay your mother a crap-ton of money to advertise their not-a-Hoover?

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[bickerdyke]

Or on how much you care about being turned in an advertisment spewing sock puppet.

tell them ...

[Skapare]

...that the players' pads are being replaced with ipads.

Some folks don't care

[sjbe]

Some people do not know the actual brand of their toaster. they call it "toaster" rather than the "Skynet 9000 turbo bread bronzer".

Toaster, hell. Ask my wife the brand of car we own. To her they are the silver pickup and the grey truck. This is a woman with a doctorate so I'm not insulting her intelligence - she's arguably smarter than I am. She just doesn't care about the differences. At all.

Folks here on slashdot might give a crap about the fine distinctions between an iPad and a Surface tablet. Lots more folks really don't care even a tiny bit. To them the differences are purely academic.

Re:Some folks don't care

[Flavianoep]

Folks here on slashdot might give a crap about the fine distinctions between an iPad and a Surface tablet. Lots more folks really don't care even a tiny bit. To them the differences are purely academic.

That's mostly because people on /. knew what a tablet computer was before rumors about the iPad existed.

Says more about the low level of intelligence requ

[Anonymous Coward]

Further evidence

Why with the surprise here?

[Chas]

And why are we stunned that a bunch of overpaid, undersocialized steroid-sozzled jock dopes can grasp anything other than their playbook?
And, especially, the commentators? They're all a bunch of football-heads. Computers are for fuckin' nerds man!

Everything's an iPad right?

Just like, down south, all cola is "A Coke".

Re:Why with the surprise here?

[Rainbow Nerds]

Those are incredibly ignorant comments. I'm sure there are some lazy idiots on teams. But there are also some pretty smart people out there. I was always amazed at how Peyton Manning would read the defense and call audibles on just about every play. There's a lot of practice involved, but it also takes a lot of intelligence to do that.

There are also some really smart coaches out there. Whether you like him or hate him, Bill Belichick is a really smart guy, finding ways to bend the rules and, probably quite often, break them without getting caught. He's hardly the only smart coach. And the front offices? They're filling up with nerds. Statistics and biometrics are taking over sports.

Many teams make their player personnel decisions based largely on advanced metrics. They also are making their way into in-game decisions. There's a LOT of money to be made from winning, and teams are willing to spend a lot of money to hire some really smart people to find ways to gain an edge, legal or otherwise. It's a far cry from a bunch of jocks who only know their playbooks. Baseball is probably the most advanced of the four major sports in this respect, but the others aren't that far behind.

And don't even get me started on sports like racing, which are even more advanced. Some of the more financially well-off Formula 1 teams employ a pretty large number of engineers to monitor the performance of their drivers and cars, to gain even a tiny edge over their competitors. I'd bet for every driver, you have at least 50 nerds working behind the scenes for an F1 team. It's really quite impressive.

Oh, and the announcers? The guys doing play-by-play tend to be people who went to college and studied journalism or broadcasting. They're not idiots, either. And it takes a lot to do decent PBP, especially for football, basketball, and hockey. Hell, I'd even call a few of those guys nerds. Bob Costas is definitely a baseball nerd, and it makes the games he calls really enjoyable to listen to.

Re:Why with the surprise here?

[BitZtream]

Wow, could you have shown any better just how ignorant you were?

undersocialized

By definition of what these people are doing, they are more socialized than you, someone no one outside your house probably even remembers your name.

steroid-sozzled jock dopes

The NFL has been steroid testing players for almost 30 years, so no, no steroid's involved in the NFL.

dopes can grasp anything other than their playbook?

Another years pay says you couldn't memorize and understand their playbook given 6 months time to do so. I'd bet my life you're too slow to even come close to executing one of the simple plays against actual NFL players.

And, especially, the commentators?

Comms are generally retired quarterbacks, the smartest people on the field. As I've said before, I'd bet a years pay that every starting NFL quarterback on the field is at least twice as smart as you are. You're a fucking idiot who doesn't know anything about a whole bunch of shit making ignorant statements about people you've never met ... and acting like you're better than others.

Just like, down south, all cola is "A Coke".

No, moron. 'down south' people drink Coke, not other cola's. Just because you're too stupid to pick up on the fact that when people ask for a coke, they mean a fucking coke, not a pepsi, or an RC, or some shitty knock off.

Take your ignorance and STFU, you're nothing more than a douche who thinks he knows way more than anyone else, and in reality all your post did was show exactly how little you do know about things.

Everything is an iPad because thats what people prefer. But hey, don't let reality get in the way of your own stupidity.

Re:Why with the surprise here?

[Nidi62]

And why are we stunned that a bunch of overpaid, undersocialized steroid-sozzled jock dopes can grasp anything other than their playbook? And, especially, the commentators? They're all a bunch of football-heads. Computers are for fuckin' nerds man!

Everything's an iPad right?

Just like, down south, all cola is "A Coke".

So, either I didn't go into college with 21 credits due to high school AP classes, make Honor Roll in College for my school, team, and conference every year, and get a Master's degree in International relations; or I didn't play football for 12 years including at the collegiate level. I must have completely imagined one of these things, because clearly smart people can never have an interest in sports.

On another note, damned straight all soda is called "coke" down here in the South. Because America.

(Hopefully the sarcasm is evident here. But seriously, coke is definitely a generic term for soda here, but I do live in Atlanta)

Re:Why with the surprise here?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, moron. 'down south' people drink Coke, not other cola's. Just because you're too stupid to pick up on the fact that when people ask for a coke, they mean a fucking coke, not a pepsi, or an RC, or some shitty knock off.

I take it you've never spent much time in the South, because yes, people there do use coke as a generic for practically any soda available. Some will even act like you're dense if you don't assume "coke" also means Pepsi. For example, person 1 asks for a coke with their meal. Person 2 says they only have Pepsi, is that okay, person 1 then acts like you're a moron because they already said coke, so of course a Pepsi is fine. It's usually just Coke, Pepsi, RC, etc., but I've also seen the genericism taken to the extreme, like using "Coke" to encompass all sodas including Sprite- or Dr. Pepper-like beverages as well.

(I've lived in both the South and the Northeast for many years each, so I've encountered quite a few of those oddities. Another one that always baffled me was shopping carts being "buggies" in the South, and occasionally called "carriages" in the North)

Re:Why with the surprise here?

[Anonymous Coward]

FWIW there are parts of the south that use Coke as a generic term for soda. I have been in restaurants where waitresses have asked me, "what kind of coke would you like"? I said "what do you have"? then they proceeded to list off numerous non Coke products. It was confusing for a bit, but you get used to it.

Re:Seriously!? Microsoft expected them to call it.

[Overzeetop]

Or they'd all call them our personal PDAs or out PDA Assistants. Just as bad.

But, seriously...you get two syllables for a marketable name. Even the acronym is three.

That's a funny thing,

[pecosdave]

because I've been calling the new iPad Pro the Apple Surface Tablet.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Anonymous Coward]

Or that there might actually be something to all these head injury law suits.

Not as bad as it seems

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't as bad as it might seem, for Microsoft. If people start referring to everything that looks like a tablet as an 'iPad' Apple then has to start(in the eyes of the layman) to justify why THEIR 'ipad' is so much better than every other ipad.

It means tablets are now ubiquitous...

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Anonymous Coward]

Microsoft generally has stupid names, and often terrible ones for searching for finding.

"Word"
".NET"

Fucking useless for google searches; retarded people chose those.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[tompaulco]

I would bet that if the NFL had bought Surfaces intentionally with their own money they would remember what they are called. Maybe Microsoft shouldn't give people who have plenty of money free toys, and then teach them the value of a dollar instead.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Maritz]

Do you know what make/model of car you own? If yes, does that make you an adverisement-spewing sock puppet..? Just curious. I agree that not knowing the name of something you bought is potentially something to be concerned about.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[thegarbz]

So I have two questions for you:

1. If you had an Apple device, would you know it's an Apple device, or do you run around calling it a Samsung?
2. If your job depended on being an advertisement spewing sock puppet, would you do what's written on your job description? I mean it's not like these are back office workers we're talking about. It should be as second nature to them as talking about the "Citibank line camera", or the "refreshing Gatorade" the players are drinking, or the "KFC instant replay system". These people are literally being paid to do just that. If they didn't want to play along then they should find themselves another job.

Re: Who the fuck can remember all those stupid nam

[Anonymous Coward]

Are you talking about a stone tablet with engraving on it, a medicinal pill, or an electronic display with some smarts?

Re:GAY NIGGERS need maxipads to catch felch

[Anonymous Coward]

There is not one single black person anywhere on this planet who is not better than you in every conceivable way.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[thegarbz]

Are you saying companies shouldn't advertise?

And no I don't believe for one second that someone using a device every day for work which says "Surface" on it in 3 places including taking up most of the screen while booting can't "remember" what it's called. Either they are really that stupid (likely), or they are willfully ignoring it (equally likely), or they are directed to ignore it (highly unlikely).

Point is these people are paid to know what things are called according to their advertising contracts. Calling out Microsoft for this is disingenuous. ... Unless you legitimately think that Microsoft is somehow at odds with the rest of the corporate world for this tactic in which case you can be lumped right in with the NFL people in the "I don't have a clue what's going on around me" crowd.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Anonymous Coward]

If I started to call the new iPad a Samsung note knockoff or a surface pro knock off, apple fans would freak

Re:But The Noisy *Surface* IS easily distinguishab

[Anonymous Coward]

The Surface has more in common with the kind of tablets Moses brought down from the mountain, than the energy efficient and touch oriented tablets that real people are using.

Really? The Moses tablets (both the original pair and the duplicates) consumed no power at all. You can't say that about any i-device.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[oh_my_080980980]

They'd think you were an idiot...

Maybe MS should drop support...

[wardrich86]

Maybe Microsoft should just pull their support and force them all to downgrade to iPads?

It would be much better

[Anonymous Coward]

If those 'commentators' didn't talk at all during the game. They dribble on about somebody's ex-wife's lawsuit, etc. That's why I listen to the radio while watching the game. Besides, I call any netbook an Acer.

Re: Who the fuck can remember all those stupid nam

[Anonymous Coward]

In all fairness, NVidia are just as bad with their Shield devices...

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[operagost]

Sorry, but your list is ridiculous. I don't live in my parents' basement, thus I must buy my own sport drinks, T.P., and iced tea. Everyone knows Charmin-- they have great marketing. There are also Angel Soft, Quilted Northern, Marcal, Panda, and Scott. Lipton and Nestea are big brands here. Powerade is probably #2 to Gatorade. What's your point?

And the OS/2-Windows war had much bigger issues than OS/2's "awkward" name.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Gonoff]

They'd think you were an idiot...

Why? For stating such a simple fact?
It's certainly a knockoff something. Apple is not exactly known for originality - just for tweaking other peoples inventions and then suing other people for it,.

And still...

[MitchDev]

It's just as funny now as it was when this story originally broke.

Pisses off M$ AND Apple at the same time, LOVE IT

And here

[MitchDev]

I thought most folks thought the iPad was Apple's entry into the field of feminine hygiene...

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[bickerdyke]

Do you know what make/model of car you own?

Since 3 years: none. But for the sake of the argument: I would know it

If yes, does that make you an adverisement-spewing sock puppet..?

Knowing it? No. Mentioning it each time I'm referring to it? Sure so! "Honey, where is my coat?" "Oh It's still in the back of our Toyota Foobar 310. I'll fetch it later". "What#s for dinner tonight?" "Walmart Great Value Mac'n'Cheese. Wanna watch some Samsung TV while having diner?"

Who would talk like that? That only happend in "The Trueman Show"!

 

Just curious. I agree that not knowing the name of something you bought is potentially something to be concerned about.

Of course you know it. That#s why you don't keep on mentioning it to others.

And if you haven't bought it, you probably don't know or don't care for the brand you're using. If you're currently at the office a quick test, no peeking: What's the brand of your desk or your desk phone?

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Anonymous Coward]

Or on how much you care about being turned in an advertisment spewing sock puppet.

However, it is literally their job to be an advertisement spewing sock puppet, and if they're spewing the advertisements incorrectly they should be fired.

Chicago Bears quarterback

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

>> Chicago Bears quarterback called them "knockoff iPads"

To be fair, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is a "knockoff quarterback."

Re:Chicago Bears quarterback

[AustinSlacker]

My first thought exactly. Thanks, xxxJonBoyxx, for articulating that.

Ignoramus information break

[operagost]

Football is descended from both rugby and soccer. Early in its development, kicking was a greater part of the game.
- It was once legal to advance the ball by kicking it along the ground.
- Once the system of downs was implemented, the snap could be made with the hands OR feet.
- Field goals once scored more points than touchdowns.
- The game originally did not allow the forward pass, as in rugby. The ball's shape (which was similar to the rugby ball) was elongated slightly to facilitate overhand passing.

Australian rules football uses a ball similar to rugby/early gridiron football. So why don't you geniuses call that game "Australian handegg"?

The goals in basketball haven't been baskets since the formative days of the sport. Why don't we call it "Netball"?

There aren't any crickets in cricket, barring a few incidental ones present in the field. Why don't we call it "batwickets"?

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[bickerdyke]

"If I had an Apple device" is not unambigous: If I bought it, picked it, wrote about it in my letter to Santa, I would know it as it was a conscious descision. If I had been given it as a tool to simply do my daily job, I probably couldn't care less.

Oh and did I mention that I would always prefer KFC over McD when going to a fast food restaurant as they have the much better replay system!

Re:But The Noisy *Surface* IS easily distinguishab

[mark-t]

iPad battery? Several days???? Uh, what?

I get about 4 hours off an iPad battery. The battery only lasts for days if I don't use it that much.

Not that I'm suggesting Surface is any better, I haven't used it so I wouldn't know.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Holi]

Umm this is the NFL we are talking about, the are the epitome of the " advertisment spewing sock puppet".

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[FranTaylor]

Are you saying companies shouldn't advertise?

Maybe they could think it through instead of being surprised when the obvious happens.

Calling out Microsoft for this is disingenuous

Yeah it's not their fault the NFL is using them, oh wait, it is.

Makes sense

[morgauxo]

People with repetitive blunt trauma brain injuries prefer iOS devices so much they can't talk about anything else. I really don't see anything surprising about that!

Where is Apple in all this.

[Holi]

Apple should start to get worried when their trademark is being used as a generic term for tablets, That is how you lose your trademark.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Solandri]

I remember a post similar to this in the early 1990s, claiming we won the first Gulf War because we had Cruise missiles while Iraq had Scud missiles. Would Tom Cruise's career be where it is today if he had been named Tom Scud?

We have the technology to fix this

[RevWaldo]

Use image recognition to flash "Microsoft Surface - the official tablet of the NFL" on the screen whenever one appears on camera.

Use voice recognition to drop the word "iPad" from the audio feed whenever it's uttered. Whether they also want to deliver mild electric shocks to the commentator's headphones at the same time would be up to the NFL and the broadcasters.

.

Re:Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoov

[Anonymous Coward]

What a coincidence. We all call your mum a hoover, too.

NFL Commentators Still Using Racist Terms

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow the people that think that racially demeaning millions of people is ok don't know the difference between an iPad and a tablet... shocker.

I love watching professional Football. It is just sad my family has to be demeaned in the process.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[sims 2]

I get to explain to several people each week that android tablets are not ipads...Then I have to explain why an ipad costs more than the android tablet that is the same size sitting next to it.

Stupid jocks

[Anonymous Coward]

what did we expect

Re:Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoov

[Anomalyst]

Any critter can tell you ...
he's Vax, she's Vex.
ref: https://geekandsundry.com/show...

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Metabolife]

In my house my parents would always refer to our cars as "The Buick", or "The Honda" to differentiate between them if we needed to do something with one or the other. Years after the Buick ceased to exist, my dad called our Subaru "The Buick" by accident. It's not necessarily marketing so much as habit. These commentators have Surface tablets on set, but they probably don't own them or use them at home. More than likely they have iPads. There is nothing to see here.

People forget Apple didn't invent the term iPad

[Cito]

This was actually hilariously used in court in the Apple vs Samsung case.

When the iPod was first invented. Long before there was any apple phones, the only new device was their mp3 player to compete with Sandisk

MadTV made fun of the iPod ccommercial, and invented the name iPad many many years before apple created the iPad.

https://youtu.be/lsjU0K8QPhs

In an other, completely unrelated news...

[GuB-42]

The NFL received $800 million from Apple, for no apparent reason.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[GodInHell]

You think MS Windows beat out OS/2 because of the name? Not because IBM established MS-DOS as _the_ PC OS?

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you know what make/model of car you own? If yes, does that make you an adverisement-spewing sock puppet..?

Anecdotally, that reminds me of a guy I know. I just refer to my car as "my car." For example, "let me move my car out of the way" or "I left my phone in the car." This guy, everything with him is about the brand names. "I got a flat tire on my Pathfinder" or "I left my Galaxy S6 in my Pathfinder." He sees some sort of prestige in the brand names he chooses and constantly parrots them out, I guess to make himself look good. As far as I'm concerned it makes him look like a jackass because nobody else I know talks that way. Even most people who have an iPhone will say "my phone needs charged" not "my iPhone needs charged."

So, if you know your make and model of car I don't think that makes you an advertising sock puppet. But if every-single-time your car comes into a conversation you call it "my Pathfinder" or "my Prius" or whatever, then yeah, I think you're on the fanboi level.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Coren22]

Really? I have no problem searching for Microsoft Word, as that is the name of the product. .NET has never given me issues either. Maybe you are doing something wrong?

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Coren22]

While the Android tablet has more memory, storage expansion and a faster processor for less money?

Re:Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoov

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, your mum isn't getting paid hundreds of millions from Dyson to use and advertise their products. If she was, calling them "hoover" on air would be a bit disconcerting.

Re:Seriously!? Microsoft expected them to call it.

[im_thatoneguy]

Public Display of Affection?

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[khellendros1984]

If I had been given it as a tool to simply do my daily job, I probably couldn't care less.

I think that the point here is that it's part of the commentators' daily jobs to mention the tablet by its proper brand name, as part of a promotional deal between their employer and Microsoft. By referring to it by the name of a competing product, they aren't holding up their end of the marketing deal.

MaxiPad is the iPad Pro

[tepples]

The Pocket PC was original the Palm PC, and Microsoft got in trouble with Palm for that. So I don't see Microsoft making a product whose name incorporates the entirety of Apple's iPad mark.

The iPad Pro, on the other hand, now that's a MaxiPad.

Bob Scheifler, first to build X

[tepples]

first to build X

That would be Bob Scheifler.

Re: Who the fuck can remember all those stupid nam

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they though it was the "surface" of their Ipad.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Anonymous Coward]

But I've never seen such a Microsoft Tablet. It doesn't matter if it is a 3 by 2 meter tablet with 1,5 m high letters showing the name Surface. I've never seen one in my entire life. And I even work among Microsoft fan boys. I regularly have to hear the greatness of their Windows phones what they can do with it etc. But they don't even have a running/cycling app that can connect to my my sensors in my shoes, hearth rate strip or those on my bike like I do with an iPhone 4 (5 years old I think). And that is where their fan-boys rants end.

The reason why their name doesn't stick in everyday gossip is because their products suck. They have an all in one device. A tablet, a phone, a desktop and a laptop all in one. But there is no market for such a device. They even went so far in trying to make those phones/tablets a success that they turned the desktop OS into a phone/tablet OS. When you're used to for example an Mac with a high quality screen, looking at a Windows desktop is ugly. Not because the choice of colors or the flatness, but because of the low quality of letters, the fuzzyness of the screen, the over-sized application together with undersized buttons in older applications.

They focused so much on trying to let a regular Windows look good on a small screen, that they didn't care for the 5000x2800 high DPI screens that are used in the graphic sector. Do you know how Windows Calculator looks on such a screen? Like the first ENIAC computer: over-sized with very low utility. Do you know how the old school Windows Calculator looks on such a screen? Like those mini calculators build into a CASIO watch.

An all in one tablet like the surface is a underpowered laptop (it is just a bad laptop, with a bad keyboard, without the luxury to just put it on your lap), and a underpowered tablet (too little tablet apps, often having to revert to regular applications that don't work well with touch screen).

These devices just don't stuck, because they are crap. Maybe the quality is good, maybe they are powerful enough, but the use case is not what the majority of people is looking for. It looks like they tried to combine a sports roadster with a family SUV with a business VAN and sell it as the 'you only need one car' solution everyone was waiting for (but who nobody wants).

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Gibgezr]

Microsoft Windows successfully toppled OS/2 because the 'OS/2' name was too fucking awkward

Uh, say what? "O-ESS-TOO" was not that awkward to say, and that had absolutely nothing to do with OS/2's low adoption rate. OS/2 died because no one bought it for home use, and that was because no major games were being released for it. The reason no one could make games for it was because you had to reboot the OS to change the 256 indexed colour palette.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Grishnakh]

I agree, that guy sounds like a jackass.

However, does he have a wife or girlfriend? What is she like? It's possible his jackassery is successful for him.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Grishnakh]

Are you saying companies shouldn't advertise?

By getting NFL commentators to mention your product casually by name? No. It's stupid and fake.

If you want to advertise by having an actual commercial that you produce, and then pay to have aired during the NFL game, that's fine. For those 30 seconds, you can tell people whatever you want about your crappy product, and there's no deception going on (besides whatever lies or distortions you may be saying in the ad itself), because it's obvious that the ad is from your company, and has the goal of getting viewers interested in buying your product. You pay $$$M for those 30 seconds to say what you want, and that's it.

But paying some former sports stars to mention your crappy product and make it sound real? No. That's not advertising, it's marketing, and one of the worst kinds of marketing.

Re:Well my mum still calls a vacuum cleaner a hoov

[Beerdood]

Maybe because iPads and Surface Pros have just a wee bit more to do with current tech than a Hoover? Of course, maybe you don't realize that an article about tablet branding might be more appealing than vacuum cleaner branding on a site attempting to display "News for Nerds"

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Anonymous Coward]

This is true. And in 10 years they will call their new self driving electric ground car the Microsoft Surface, to distinguish it from the flying Microsoft Skydrive. Sadly, however, everyone will refer to them as iCars.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[dryeo]

In Canada, any brand of macaroni and cheese is called Kraft dinner, to the point that my mind stumbles on Mac'n'cheese as it is meaningless here. Another example of a brand name becoming a generic description

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[sims 2]

Most are willing to accept it's the brand name as an explanation most android tablets have a lot nicer features than iPads.

Except RCA android tablets your better off with something with no name on it I have never seen one that the screen did not look like crap.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[thegarbz]

So you think companies shouldn't be marketing or advertising. Right got it.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[thegarbz]

By getting NFL commentators to mention your product casually by name? No. It's stupid and fake.

And yet the practice has existed for longer than the NFL has. Microsoft is definitely not the first, heck Microsoft may not even be the most recent, typical leagues have multiple concurrent such contracts running all at the same time. I kid you not I once watched a NRL game in Australia where there was an overhead shot of the stadium while a video referee decision was pending. The announcer said "And here's a wonderful view from the 'Telstra' Spidercam showing the nearly sold out 'Suncorp' Stadium", of course the biggest thing visible in the picture was the giant screen everyone was watching which said "KFC Video Referee Decision Pending" on it.

The only really thing surprising about this whole Surface advertisement is that they weren't drinking a refreshing Coca Cola at the same time.

Re:GAY NIGGERS need maxipads to catch felch

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually it should read

"Are you GAY?
Are you a NIGGER?
Are you a GAY NIGGER?
Are you a member of the GNAA?

If you answered "Yes" to all of the above questions, you should go find a cliff or a bridge somewhere, then take your entire fucktarded family. Have all of them jump off to their deaths, and after that jump to yours. Then there will be less fucktards in the gene pool."

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Grishnakh]

The other thing to remember is that these guys are former sports stars. They're not the brightest tools in the shed, and tech stuff is definitely not their strong suit.

Re:Who the fuck can remember all those stupid name

[Anonymous Coward]

Lots more issues than that!

OS/2 had no GUI for what, something like 3 years. 3 years!? There was no graphical environment at all until OS/2 version 2.0, and during that entire time Windows had a GUI on offer.

People got tired of waiting for the next generation OS because this supposedly Next Greatest Thing looked exactly like DOS. And everyone knew that the NGT had to have a GUI since Apple had already done it and rather successfully too.

So eventually the world gave up waiting for OS/2 and adopted Windows which was already available and had applications to boot. While it took a long time Windows eventually gained preemptive multi-tasking, secure signon, auditability, proper memory management (including virtual memory) and all the rest.

It's all in the name

[RH434]

I've invented a new type of tissue that has an additional fold in it that makes it unique. I call the tissue "Nosies" and paid the NFL $400 million to have them sitting on the announcer desks and in the coaches areas during the games. Now I'm pissed they keep calling them a "Kleenex". Maybe it was a stupid idea to waste that much money promoting a product that is easily interchangeable with the market leader and expect everyone to take notice? While the Surface is a totally different product than an iPad, (I have a Surface Pro 3) the app that the NFL uses probably works the same on either one so to them there is no difference. I wouldn't expect a non technical jock to know. Some dumbass at Microsoft should be fired for screwing this up, but $400 Mil to them is like $5 to you or me, so who cares?