Using the Tables brand/trade name for a spreadsheet application

[Sebastian Sauer]

On 03/07/2012 03:46 PM, Boudewijn Rempt wrote:
> On Wednesday 07 March 2012 Mar, Jaroslaw Staniek wrote:
>> On 7 March 2012 15:10, Sebastian Sauer<mail at dipe.org>  wrote:
>>
>>> The Abacus Spreadsheet Formula compiler:
>>> http://code.google.com/p/formulacompiler/
>>> from the Abacus Research AG (1985-today):
>>> http://www.formulacompiler.org/download/abacus.htm
>>>
>>> I really think we should not rename to Abacus if we do not plan to make some
>>> lawyers even more rich.
>> This is going insane if we go this way (Thorsten, please don't click! ;) ):
>>
>> http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/28956/presentation-stage

Then better don't grep for Words, Flow or Plan :) But see, that is 
exactly the point.

Nobody will name Krita "Calligra Krita" or Kexi "Calligra Kexi" since 
they are standalone-names. But all those applications we renamed are 
not. They are even so generic that you will very likely use them when 
you talk with a friend about something unrelated. They are very generic 
to an extend where magazines will be forced to use "Calligra Words", 
"Calligra Stage", "Calligra Flow", "Calligra Plan" or "Calligra XYZ" 
(where we try to define XYZ atm).

But Abacus is a standalone name. It's used standalone by the company I 
just linked above and by the spreadsheet application which is only 
shipped in BSD.

I think what we really like to have for our spreadsheet-application is a 
generic name like *ALL* the other renamed Calligra applications have 
too. That is the cooperate Calligra brand. I would even have loved to 
see Krita and Kexi in that family too but I do understand that they have 
already string brands which we should not give up.

Those idea of a common brand is very much de-facto for Office Suites. 
Think of OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice.org. generic application-names 
like Writer, Calc, Impress or Base that should and are not used 
standalone. The brand is OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice.org and not 
Writer/Calc/Impress/Base. It's even the case that OpenOffice.org and 
LibreOffice.org are using the very same names for there applications and 
only differ in there brand at the common name. The same is true for 
Apple and MSOffice (through there Excel and Powerpoint are out-of-role 
and are have stronger brands then "Office" or maybe even then "Microsoft").

In any case an application name is very important and we should not just 
choose something do have the thing finished and done. Let's take some 
time to collect ideas, talk and choose wisely. We may not get the 
possibility so easy again or maybe very soon again if we rush to fast.

>> Abacus is as common term as Spreadsheet. Of course so do Windows is...
> But abacus isn't descriptive of what calligra tables is. The application is not an abacus; it's a spreadsheet. And that makes a lot of difference.
>

Yes, thank you a lot for that very important point.

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