According to Twitter and a few reliable news sources, Microsoft’s successor to IE in Windows 10 will be called Spartan, and will be fully integrated with the Cortana voice assistant. These are both references to the popular video game franchise Halo, which, I don’t think it’d be controversial to say, is one of the few things people still like about Gates and Co.
Now I’m just an idiot shouting into the void, but this just seems like such a transparent and desperate marketing ploy. It might well be my fault for not really liking/getting Halo in the first place. But even if I did, I don’t think I’d want the voice assistant in my phone to be a sexy blue woman or have my web browser named after a solider.
It just seems a little sad and narrow minded, after years of attempting to cater to everyone and making by far the worst internet browser, Microsoft suddenly shifts gears to target a market that may already be over?
The internet should go beyond branding, not be caught up in. Do I use Chrome because I like the name or the company behind it? No, I use it because it’s the most functional at doing what I want it to do, both professionally and personally.
All this said, “Spartan Browser” might just to be a codename so perhaps I’m over thinking it, and regardless of what its called I’ll give the new browser a decent run out. But it’s little marketing mis-steps like this that just seem to put Microsoft further and further behind on everything.