Microsoft will relaunch Windows Live Search under a new brand sometime early next year, says a source within the company. What we don’t know is what that new brand will be, although a few names have been thrown around. According to our source, a “final” decision has been made, but very few people inside of Microsoft are aware of it, and it could change.
Now LiveSide is saying there’s evidence the new search brand will be Kumo, which means “cloud” or “spider” in Japanese.
Why would Microsoft go through yet another rebranding effort? Live.com has a lot of different services under its umbrella (some server software, some client software) in addition to search. It’s also a burgeoning social network.
Over time, we’ve heard, Live.com will become a pure social network and personal productivity portal. You’ll go there to access email, calendar, photos, activity streams, etc. But search belongs somewhere else, and it definitely needs a fresh start.
Microsoft won’t comment on the name change, or even if there is a name change. But our sources caution us that nothing has been finalized, and the fate of Yahoo could swing this one way or another as well. So Kumo may very well be the name Microsoft is planning to use, but that decision may change.
About time. That whole “Windows Live XXXXXX” is so confusing. It should be just “Windows XXXX” or “Microsoft XXXX” — short and simple. Something to know its from Microsoft and not another no name company.
Personally, I think Microsoft getting into the whole social networking thing is such a joke. I know they’ve got hundreds of millions of MSN users, but realistically, those people just use whatever you throw on their screens and whatever you promote on their sign-in pages on MSN. That sure as hell won’t come close to what’s needed to take on GOOG.
We need Bill Gates back. I miss good old competition
Offline = Windows
Online = Windows Live
It’s not that confusing really. Microsoft/MSN/Windows Live/Kumo etc. however is.
“Live” is a very common word, it was worst decision by Ozzie to take that as a brandname just because they had that domain..
Nice post by TC
It’s not confusing, its just retarded.
live was bad/Mitch Rosen — I second that. But I don’t think they used it because they just had that domain? They thought and went after that branding, because even if they didn’t own the domain, they’d just slap the owner with money enough for him to retire.
The first time I heard Windows Live, it was plain sick. I would have given Ozzie some credit if he just used Microsoft.net for their internet services and kept microsoft.com for product commercial purposes.
Or just dump live and msn.com and centralize everything in microsoft.com. They should have just used their usability prowess in putting everything in microsoft.com
Or could have just trashed msn.com and live.com and made
Milo – I don’t think that having every service that Microsoft touches appear on Microsoft.com is the best idea. Microsoft (the company) is far too large, and they do way too many things for that to make sense.
Their online identity should be broken up, but in a way that makes sense. Xbox.com for Xbox stuff, Zune.net for Zune, Windows.com for Windows OS related stuff, etc.
Though Live is a bit more generic than MSN, I don’t think that it’s too generic for it to be useful. Domain name brevity is important (fewer letters to type), and the various “Live” services they offer there are all perfectly Google-able, like SkyDrive and Hotmail, and all work as subdomains (skydrive.live.com).
The problem, as I see it, is trying to conflate the Live brand with Windows, by putting Windows in front of everything that should just be Live. Names like “Windows Live SkyDrive” and “Windows Live Mesh” imply that the products have something to do with Windows, which they don’t, and that they’re won’t play well with non-Windows systems, which they do.
I think that they should have been more clear with their branding, and simply reserved the Windows brand for Windows stuff. They should have allowed “Live” to be just “Live” instead of “Windows Live”.
So where is the link to that KUMO search engine is it KUMO.COM or KUMO .NET KUMO .ORG ?
Nice but i know now that it will be called Bing instead of kumo. Check the official site http://www.bing.com
I suspect that Mircosoft want to start building a feature rich search tool that will imploy more innovative features. Some of these will come by internal development but many as a result of inherited technologies as a result of aquisitions. The concept will be to create something that does not complete with Google’s algorithm head on.
Hamish
good!
the “search” market has matured enough…….’ll be hard for newcomers (even msft)……better find something “revolutionary”…..
game changing is a better word. and i dont think powerset is gonna do it. do we really need to parse and disect paragraphs for better search results. one false move with a corny domain name masking there status quo mediocre search results can spell permanent disaster for msn. i think its time to spend some more money buying what they dont have and cant create…..a game changing “location engine.”
EngineLocator.com – start your engines!
Changing name is an interesting idea but does NOTHING to solve their fundamental problem, the lack of vision in Search to begin with. Google has its flaws, paying people to search and other marketing ploys do nothing to help get users using your platform over the long run. This is nothing but a stunt that will lead them to loose even more market share (even if they do buy Yahoo).
Jon
http://blog.legendarylife.com
no, i don’t think it’s a stunt. I think it’s a necessary psychological change that will help the team and users think of Microsoft search differently.
Most of Microsoft’s users are the 35+ year-old that sit in cubicles and freaked out when Hotmail changed its interface. These people fear change, forcing them into something new is just begging them to try something else.
From “Longhorn” to “Vista”.
From “Origami” to “UMPC”.
Whiplash time.
Plus, it sounds too close to the famed international franchise of Kumon (a kind of cram school that many Asian kids suffered through).
Didn’t they buy powerset. Why didn’t they just make that into the new search?
This is self loathing. Even the MS people can’t stand their own products any longer. A very bad sign.
This is exactly what happened at Borland.
@chris – powerset is integrate into live search. whenever their search pulls up details froma wikipedia article, that is powerset. you can see it easily by doing a search for “tower beside the seine river” and you will see the indexed powerset result and the wikipedia entry.
I’m kinda excited about this.
Why…when a girl takes off her top I get excited not when a search engine changes its name?
I don’t get excited when a girl takes her top off. Now if it’s a guy taking off his pants, and he’s hung, then sure.
“Why would Microsoft go through yet another rebranding effort? ”
Because it sucks and people associate suckiness with “Live”
Look at all the Microsoft billboards here in LA. None of them say Vista on them, they all say “Enjoy Windows”, with pictures of catapillars and birds on them.
Like every other billboard on the 10 and the 605 is a freaking Microsoft billboard, and not a one wants to utter the word “Vista”
Microsoft is in a self loathing phase in which it will utterly be destroyed as Bill left, monkey Ba11mer is now in charge and Google is stuffing them on the web.
Am I renewing MSDN, oh HELL NO.
http://lh6.ggph...7OSK0/adobe.jpg
Adobe says Zend Framework and Zend Studio, Zend Framework it is.
I have more money sunk into Adobe Suites and Flex than my Visual studio/MSDN pro any how.
This is the beginning of the end for Microsoft.
I wonder whether this has anything to do with the Azure platform though.
Oh btw
Check out http://www.jobstaxi.com
New Jobs. HUGE Inc. Starbucks. Facebook. Puma North America Inc. Ignition Entertaiment.
Good !
You haven’t stopped spamming here .. but at least you improved your tagline just a tiny bit.
They should rebrand it. Microsoft calls pretty much all of their online products ‘Live’.
They’ve got Xbox Live, Live Mail, and Live everything – all besides Live search.
Google is search, Live is confusing.
kumo sounds like hulu’s big uncle. kinda late in the game to launch a name that needs an explanation everytime someone hears or shares it. a common sense natural language personalized location based domain name would be better. MySearch, MyPlace, MyLocator are great personalized next generation “location engine” domain names. a domain that a user would want an email address at is important also. these niche personalized location engine properties are like needles in a haystack. rare gems.
LiveLocator.com – its on!
I was just going to say kumo sounds like the fat korean kid who had all the asian video games before anyone else.
Muahahahaaaaa.
Hey, thats right..they already bought http://www.kumo.com so there’s a very high chance they will rebrand their search
Boy that is not a good name….it is very close to “Kuma” which basically means Vagina in Swahili. English speaker pronunciation makes it impossible to differentiate the two (Kumo vs. Kuma). Reminds me of Hulu in Swahili.
Maybe it’s deliberate
Just go all out and call it Vagina from the get go. It will sell.
You mean “MS Vagina”? — That would be a “search” that most guys would relate to…
So a pen is close to a p.e.n.i.s? (No pun intended)
kumo no bueno
The Microsoft brand is poison right now. Rebranding is cheaper than rebuilding their brand at the moment. Makes sense to me. Hard to rebuild a brand when you don’t have a big success to point to.
Changing its name so that people switch to Microsoft services (search) from google is ridiculous.
The answer lies in the search results shown by either Live/Kumo or google. If Microsoft would really like people to use its services
And having a name like “Kumo” (which doesn’t make sense until i google it) doesn’t help either
kumo it
I never really understood what the term Windows Live was supposed to mean anyway when Microsoft introduced this. They also put Hotmail under this group as well. Very strange!
hotmail has been trying to change it’s name to Live Mail – but its hard to change a product with 40 million users.
but the live naming was simple really
windows – offline
windows live – online
windows mobile
office -offline
offlice live -online
office mobile
the live apps are a set of applications with a website sevice backing them – so, live mail (hotmail) has a live mail desktop app. live photogallery app has photos.live.com behind it, etc.
This might be their attempt of having a google/apple design and brand. Unless Apple comes out with their new “search engine”.
I think this is a really good idea for microsoft. Live brings a lot of bad connotations with it, hopefully by rebranding they can try and secure a more simplified quality focused brand image
Domainers, keep those pronounceable four-letter dot coms!
Hmm, OK you talked me into it.
Google is still winning!
They need to unify their search brand… Is it MSN? or Live Search? or Microsoft Search? WTF Man, I can never tell my non-tech friends about it cause everyone knows it as something different.
Domain Name: KUMO.COM
Registrar: CSC CORPORATE DOMAINS, INC.
Whois Server: whois.corporatedomains.com
Referral URL: http://http://w...ectsbrands.com/
Name Server: NS.ANYCAST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
Name Server: NS.USEAST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
Name Server: NS.USWEST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
I’m thinking they’re going to call it Mojave. They’ve already spent a lot on that brand.
It looks like this may be true – the last update to the kumo.com “whois” database was Nov. 20, 2008 – Microsoft may be getting the DNS setup to make the announcement…
Whois Server Version 2.0
Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.
Domain Name: KUMO.COM
Registrar: CSC CORPORATE DOMAINS, INC.
Whois Server: whois.corporatedomains.com
Referral URL: http://http://w...ectsbrands.com/
Name Server: NS.ANYCAST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
Name Server: NS.USEAST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
Name Server: NS.USWEST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Updated Date: 19-nov-2008
Creation Date: 20-jul-1996
Expiration Date: 19-jul-2018
>>> Last update of whois database: Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:04:32 EST <<<
Registrant:
Microsoft Corporation
Domain Administrator
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
US
domains@microsoft.com
+1.4258828080 Fax: +1.4259367329
Domain Name: KUMO.COM
Registrar of Record: Corporate Domains, Inc.
Administrative Contact:
Microsoft Corporation
Domain Administrator
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
US
domains@microsoft.com
+1.4258828080 Fax: +1.4259367329
Technical Contact:
Microsoft Corporation
MSN Hostmaster
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
US
msnhst@microsoft.com
+1.4258828080 Fax: +1.4259367329
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.USWEST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
NS.USEAST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
NS.ANYCAST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM
Created on…………..: 30-Apr-08
Expires on…………..: 19-Jul-18
Record last updated on..: 20-Nov-08
I doubt they stand a chance against Google still.
They don’t because at the end of the day…the reason why we don’t switch over is because…it is not google and for a lot of us..that is all that matters. Google has defined a generation of people. We discovered the internet through Google searches and we trust them. And google never really gives you a reason to leave.
If Google doesn’t start cleaning up the SearchWiki mess, that will give people a reason to leave…
Cuilmo, Qmo, CooMo, koomo. anyone remember that rapper KoolMoe “D” ? http://www.yout...h?v=WUWGCNJCHf8
I think it’s time that they stop all the changes. They should stop using the “Windows Live” brand, they should simply use “Live”. Much shorter and easier to remember…
And with Kumo, I don’t understand how they’ll do… Windows Live Kumo? Live Kumo?
I also think that they should kill the damn “MSN” brand, it’s so confusing! They should simply call that page Live Homepage or Live Portal I dunno…
Anyways, I hope they’ll make the right decisions.
First thing ms should do is making their crawler more powerful. Even if your site have sitemap xml files, live crawler is reluctant to dig even one level inside. Take a look at google crawler these days, its almost instant update. You post an article and with in hours its crawled. Keeping the index up-to-date matters
Kudos to Kumo!
Hrm. I’m not sure about the name, but I definitely think they should rebrand by separating the features.
I don’t really like this name. There has to be a better name!
I don’t know how domains work outside of the us in regards to registering and all of that, but perhaps kumo is a domain that isn’t designed to be used and picked apart for naming conventions in the US. We get live, other people get kumo (I assume the Japanese.)
About time. Kill Live Now.
Kumo is okay. If MS decides to copy SearchWiki, they can call it Kumo maki.
I hope they can do better. It makes me think of Sumo wrestling.
well with the great success of the mojave project making me believe my vista laptop is kinda cool despite of its bugs i that that kumo is rad in the same vibe
Maybe something big in search algorithms is in store. Are the undisputed kings of software ready to challenge the title of Google?
great things. i like it..
web2.0 design gallery list
http://www.csshook.com
thanks
Pathetic
Don’t rule out the slow giant just yet.
They crushed Netscape back in the day when the words “Internet” and “Netscape” were pretty much synonymous.
At the moment if you install a copy of the latest Windows, your default browser is automatically IE7 with Live Search, and its not like people don’t use it either. There are plenty of office chumps at my work who use it without knowing better (or simply because they don’t care).
Well the more MS get involved with web, the better it gets for the all competition both in offline & online segments … emphasize on windows (vista). I heard one competitor to farecast saying – “great they acquired farecast … we have some breathing space now “… he he he… Similarly with brute force on vista ….it’s really become a gung-ho scenario for likes of ubuntu…:)
in my opinion constant rebranding is complete bullshit…
just like a child who cant makeup his mind
Kumo, Live, Mojave… whatever…
As long as its made from M$, its gonna be at least crappy.. My Vista O.S. (the last product I ever bought from M$) just killed my hard drive about a month ago…
Live search produces pathetic search results, it doesn’t even begin to compare with Google…
M$ is dying…
http://the-anti...y.blogspot.com/
The problem with “live” as a brand name is it has two pronunciations: “Where do you live?” and “Is this wire live?” It’s a mushy word.
Kumo is at least different (to non-Japanese ears), though it will get confused with sumo. Why didn’t MS just call their service Sumo, since MS is the 800 lb. gorilla of personal computing?
“it will get confused with sumo”
Only by thick people who don’t know the difference between a k and an s.
I don’t really have a problem with the “Live” brand, but I do see the other points here. However, the rebrand isn’t going to do squat if Microsoft cannot coordinate their services effectivly and staff them appropriately. No amount of rebranding can fix a business problem.
Why not fix MSN or even the current Live service?
The Empire Strikes Back Again
As they have done before on many occasions.
Watch out Google – your popularity is decreasing as you have become established.
The Live thing is stupid. Windows/Windows Live. Windows Live Hotmail, or just Hotmail? Oh, they both work. Huh?
gmail.com or mail.google.com or google.com/mail or mail.google.com/mail
wait, they all work bah! what am i to do!?
It is going to be re-branded do a live search for Kumo and it comes up.
I actually like the name, its not great but its not bad. They need something that’s search and to the point you have Yahoo, Google, Ask, MSN, then you have windows live search or live search its just too long to mention when you could have something that is short.
Microsoft needs to just pick a f**king name and stick to it; they should also pick something that is easy to spell and pronouce with live its easy to spell but if you tell type or write how would someone know how to pronouce it: is it we “live” in the city or the show is “live” thats one of the problems its just too common place.
There new name needs to be unique and easy to space kumo has both, and if they decide to rename it kumo keep it kumo NOT Microsoft Kumo, Windows Kumo or anything else of that nature. If they take the name and decide to release products under it keep it simple Kumo Mail, Kumo Messenger, Kumo Spaces, etc.
If the Microsoft Windows Live Whatever branding team acquired a car company:
Microsoft Autos Drive Car
Microsoft Autos Drive Truck
Microsoft Autos Drive Sports Car
Microsoft Autos Drive Sport Utility
Microsoft Autos Drive Convertible
Microsoft Autos Drive Convertible Sports Car
Feel the compelling emotional connection!
looks like Kumo is Live