So I thought it was a fine name

[rhu]

I liked Microsoft's name for their new search engine --- I liked the onomatopoeia of the bell going off when you have an idea, and I liked the way they got it worked into the phone number, and I liked the simplicity of it.

And then, tonight, I saw the back of Tani's fortune cookie:

Comments

"Nova" redux?

[jikamens.livejournal.com]

Perhaps they're calling it something different in Chinese?

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I'm not seeing a fortune - what am I missing?

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Apparently Google images decided I was getting too many hits. I have moved the image to Greenehouse.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Ah, much better - thanks! This seems to be another case of "bite the wax tadpole..." (Though apparently that wasn't entirely true.)

[fauxklore]

Ah, but you have to realize that Chinese is a tonal language. That symbol over the "i" indicates a falling tone. The sound I would associate with the idea bell going off would have a rising tone, which would be a completely different word.

The classic example of this is "ma" which, depending on intonation, can mean "mother" or "horse" (or "hemp" or "scold").

Memories...

[rymrytr.livejournal.com]

Why BING? Because it's not Google...
Because It's Not Google. Cute! :o)
see: http://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/8pel8/why_bing_is_called_bing/

I also remember Bing Crosby
Bing Cherries (and the related, Bing Energy Drink)
Bing Surfboards (telling my age now!) from the 60's-70's.
Bingo If you will allow the extra letter

and my all time favOrite:
Bing International Carburetors (for BMW's, Airplanes etc).

\/\/ /\/\

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Funny; I think of a bell as having a flat tone, neither rising nor falling in pitch. And yes, I know that because Chinese is tonal it's probably not a match with how MS wants us to pronounce the trademark.

But it still made me laugh.

And if I were a bell, I'd go ding-dong-ding-dong-ding!