A bit of music-related geekery today:
Ubuntu Linux has made something of a tradition of christening each release with an alliterative animal name, perhaps as a both an homage to and parody of Apple’s own feline operating systems. The current release is "Gusty Gibbon," while the upcoming April distribution is referred to as "Hardy Heron."
Last week, a list was published that itemized all of the upcoming release names, thusly:
* 9.04 - Jovial Jackal
* 9.10 - Kissy Kipunji
* 10.04 - Loyal Lemur
* 10.10 - Modest Mouse
* 11.04 - Nifty Nematode
* 11.10 - Open-minded Ostrich
* 12.04 - Petulant Porcupine
"Modest Mouse." Well. Clearly someone on the Ubuntu team is an indie music fan. Now when I first heard the news, I thought it was quaint and all; pop-culture crossovers always are. After a little bit more thought though, I imagine that this particular name would hurt both Ubuntu and the band, at least from a search perspective. It’s already happening right now: typing "ubuntu modest mouse" on Google gives you a weird mishmash of music-related and Linux-related links. What happens when Ubuntu actually releases "Modest Mouse," or when Modest Mouse releases a new album? Absolute chaos, folks, absolute chaos.