Microsoft Torpedoes Metro Branding in Windows 8, UI Stays the Same

Microsoft Torpedoes Metro Branding in Windows 8, UI Stays the Same

Friday, August 03, 2012 - by Paul Lilly
Believe it or not, Microsoft is taking a shovel to Metro, with plans to whack it over the head and then then bury it in the desert. How can that be with just a two months to go before Windows 8 reaches general availability, and with the RTM (Release to Manufacturers) now out in the wild? It's simple -- Microsoft is scrapping the Metro name, not the user interface. You can almost hear the 'Aw, shucks!' emanating from Valve and Blizzard.

According to various reports, the name change may have something to do with overseas copyright concerns. In a statement to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet, a Microsoft spokesperson was a bit cagey regarding the reason, saying only "We have used Metro style as a code name during the product development cycle across many of our product lines. As we get closer to launch and transition from industry dialog to a broad consumer dialog we will use our commercial names."

Windows 8 Start Screen
No longer branded as the Metro UI, Microsoft employees have been told to call the touch-friendly interface the "Windows 8 style UI" until the marketing team can think of something better.

So apparently Metro was just a code name all along. According to a supposed internal memo, Microsoft's Windows team is currently trying to come up with a replacement brand "and plans to land on that by the end of this week," which would be today or tomorrow. In the meantime, employees have been instructed to refer to the interface as the Windows 8 style UI.
Via: The Verge | News Archive | Tags: Microsoft, Windows, Operating System, Windows 8, Metro
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By Joel H on Aug 3, 2012

Claptrap.

Not the copyright concern -- the sudden "Oh, that was just an internal codename!"

Chicago. Longhorn. WinFX. Those are codenames. WinRT and WoA were codenames. Metro was a product name. You can tell based on when they rolled it out, what it deprecated, and what how the company referred to other products as their codenames shifted to retail branding.

The stupid part is, this is the kind of knee-jerk PR move that only fosters contempt. You had a trademark issue. You chose to resolve it via name change. Fine. I'm not saying I agree or disagree; that's a neutral move.

But trying to pretend it didn't happen? *THAT* makes you look like morons.

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By 3vi1 on Aug 3, 2012

Agreed. I think that they're trying to preemptively distance themselves from the bad press that the Metro brand has been getting.

It's like when they re-branded Vista SE to Windows 7. Problem solved.

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By realneil on Aug 3, 2012

Hey!

They can call it the "RIDYT" interface!

(stands for Ram It Down Your Throats)

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By karanm on Aug 3, 2012

"ACID" interface, drop some and enjoy!!

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By AKnudson on Aug 4, 2012

Hey dude this isn't insanely zen apple, i mean imagine being locked in a stark white room with only apple devices and computers and then taking acid, you would start breaking things just to try and find some color.

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