Microsoft Longhorn Loses ‘My’ Prefix

Those folders on your Windows desktop will still be yours, but in the future you’ll need to figure that out on your own, says seattlepi.com:

Ending a longstanding tradition, Microsoft Corp. plans to stop using the word "my" as the default prefix for such folders as "My Documents," "My Music," "My Pictures" and others along those lines. Starting in the next Windows version, due out next year, folders will be known simply as "Documents," "Music," and so on.

With any other product, such a minor change probably wouldn’t even be noticed. But the Microsoft operating system runs on more than 90 percent of the world’s personal computers, and its persistent use of the word has been one of its most conspicuous characteristics — helping to fuel widespread use of the "my" prefix in the technology industry.

"People got carried away," [Jim Allchin, Microsoft VP] said in a recent interview. "Anytime Microsoft does something, everybody wants to do it. … It became a worthless descriptor."

WebProNews - The My prefix… will live on beyond Microsoft, beyond Bill Gates’s influence and wealth. The search engine and portal site Yahoo features My Yahoo, while Google recently debuted My Search History. There’s My eBay for auctioneers, and MyFlorida.com for state residents there.