This is the last of a two-part series.  Click here for part one. Many products are so ubiquitous that we don’t even try to think of where their name originated, but as the tagline says, “haven’t you ever wondered?”  In this part, I'll show you an ironic name, a name with less history than you'd think, and a product that had so many names it almost never had a name. BenQ BenQ is consumer electronics manufacturer most notable for their line of projectors. The name BenQ is actually an acronym which stands for Bringing ENjoyment and Quality to life. Ironically, I've only ever seen BenQ projectors in corporate meeting rooms, which usually do the opposite of bring enjoyment to life. TiVo I chose TiVo because I thought for sure that it would have an incredibly interesting story about its etymology. Boy was I disappointed. Originally a whole-home concept called Teleworld, this device was meant to control every aspect of your house. However, while in development, the company decided to hone in on one aspect of home control, which turned out to be the television. Multiple brainstorming sessions lead to the name TiVo, with multiple roots related to marketing as opposed to something interesting. Case in point, according to Michael Cronan, creator of the name and mascot, the name TiVo was applied because it sounded most like TV. I don't know why, but considering some of the other companies I've written about, I somehow expected more. For more insights into the origins of the name TiVo, visit PVRblog. Mozilla Firefox This one is a two-for-one deal, as the origins of both Mozilla and Firefox were worthy of sharing, and thus makes for a grand finale. Firefox is an open-source web browser based on the original Mozilla Suite, a collection of software of which the web browser was just a piece. The original Mozilla Browser was created by Marc Andreesen, the co-founder of Netscape, and while it was in development was named Mosaic-killer, Godzilla (Mosaic being one of the earliest web browsers). Firefox on the other hand, is actually a settled-upon name. Originally called Phoenix, the name had to be changed due to trademark issues with the BIOS manufacturer Phoenix Technologies. The name was changed to Firebird, but there was already a database server called that, and that user community didn't take to kindly to their name being borrowed. Finally, the name Firefox was chosen because it was similar to Firebird, but unique in the information technology field...or so they thought. Turns out that a software company in the U.K. already registered the trademark for the name Firefox. However, the Mozilla Foundation was given a license by the software company to use the trademark in Europe, and they were able to keep the name Firefox.

I think Firefox is great, and it is my browser of choice. If you don't already use Firefox, give it a try: