The name Safari is still one of those mystery to me, I like the name, and my guess it properly came from the idea of Navigation -> Compass - > Safari. Although i was expecting a post to truly reveal the mystery behind the reason for such a name.
When I first heard the name "Safari"
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Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#12Calling the browser 'Safari' is weird, if you think about it. I remember trying to teach my mom how to use the iPad to access the internet: "First press the home button" "Ok" "Now tap on Safari" "But I don't want to see animals" "..." And that's when I realized why Internet Explorer was so successful.
I don't know - when I first heard the name, 'Safari' made sense to me after a moment of thinking about it. Netscape Navigator , Internet Explorer , and Safari - all named around the theme of discovery.
Or sports utility vehicles.
Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#13Calling the browser 'Safari' is weird, if you think about it. I remember trying to teach my mom how to use the iPad to access the internet: "First press the home button" "Ok" "Now tap on Safari" "But I don't want to see animals" "..." And that's when I realized why Internet Explorer was so successful.
Well, it fits with the theme. "Safari" is Swahili for "journey" or "trip" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari#Etymology)
That fits it in with the browsers of the time:
Netscape Navigator
Internet Explorer
Safari also has the right feelings associated with it with almost everybody. Some will think "hah, killing elephants", others will think "paying people to help me watch elephants, so that they no longer need or want to kill them", but nobody (nowadays) will associate negative thoughts (exploiting the natives; killing rare animals) with it. And, apparently, there also is a link with surfing the ocean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfin_Safari. I think that may have led to thinking of the name, but I doubt that is strong enough to choose the name.
Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#14“Please don’t let us name the browser after a feminine hygiene product!” Ironic that this was a concern, given the later iPad
Damn. I should have used that joke in the essay.
Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#15Calling the browser 'Safari' is weird, if you think about it. I remember trying to teach my mom how to use the iPad to access the internet: "First press the home button" "Ok" "Now tap on Safari" "But I don't want to see animals" "..." And that's when I realized why Internet Explorer was so successful.
Well, it fits with the theme. "Safari" is Swahili for "journey" or "trip" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safari#Etymology ) That fits it in with the browsers of the time: Netscape Navigator Internet Explorer I would guess the code name 'Alexander' came from 'Alexander the Great', who not only traveled a lot, but also conquered, just like Safari was aiming to conquer the Internet. They must have ignored the 'die young…
I'll write another post about why we called it "Alexander." You're not far from the mark about it being related to "Alexander the Great." But not for the reason you think.
Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#16I think many of you in the Hacker News crowd will recognize this problem that I'm yet to find a solution to myself: mkdir [blinking cursor] Then 30 minutes passes and you didn't end up making that thing anyway since you got distracted while thinking up a name for it.
As the famous, slightly modified from original, saying goes:
"There are only two hard things in computer science. Cache invalidation, naming things and off-by-one errors."
Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#17Great story. It shows that doesn't matter if you are Apple or a solo developer, product naming is hard. Actually, as the OP, I find coding easier. Nevertheless, we can't ship products with placeholder names. I have a little brainstorming process that goes like this:
1) List the name of all competitors that made into the business plan; // this is important mainly to avoid problems
2) List of nouns that evoke a basic understanding of the root problem the program tries to solve; // I know it's obvious, but finding a name right here create an instant connection with your target users
3) List all the features that make the program stand out; // Again it's obvious, yet this is a great source of names
4) Mix and match all these these words, throw them into a bucket, and sleep on it for a while;
5) Usually, after some days have passed I come back, and weed out the crapy ones; // and...
6) Work a little more on the rest with a dictionary, if needed go back to 3;
7) Finally, when I have a short list of good names I try to find domain names;
8) mkdir // or mv :)
How do you go about your process?
Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#18But why is the icon a compass though?
Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#19I think many of you in the Hacker News crowd will recognize this problem that I'm yet to find a solution to myself: mkdir [blinking cursor] Then 30 minutes passes and you didn't end up making that thing anyway since you got distracted while thinking up a name for it.
I always start with a codename. And for the longest time I've used the surnames of foreign scientists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_scientists
We use Pokemon. The reason? Nobody gets too attached to the name Jigglypuff.
Re: When I first heard the name "Safari"
#20I think many of you in the Hacker News crowd will recognize this problem that I'm yet to find a solution to myself: mkdir [blinking cursor] Then 30 minutes passes and you didn't end up making that thing anyway since you got distracted while thinking up a name for it.
I find just calling it app_number and moving on helps. I used to go in circles with names, until I realized how much time and sanity I was wasting. Spending more time on developing the product helps me understand it's core value better and, consequently, potential names to communicate that value effectively to new users.