USB Wombat: What’s in a Name?
Oops. I belatedly discovered there’s already a Nintendo emulator called Retro USB, which means I need a new name for my USB/ADB input converter. After an exhaustive 5-minute naming process, I’ve decided to continue Floppy Emu’s Australian animal theme and call it USB Wombat. The Australians sure do have plenty of oddball animals to choose from. Coming soon: WiFi Wallaby and Video Platypus?
I’ll update the web site and documentation with the new name soon, but the hardware will keep the Retro USB logo until I exhaust the current supply of boards. The prototype enclosure will need to be updated too. It’s a time-consuming hassle when I’d rather focus on other work, but if a name change is required, it’s surely better to do it sooner rather than later.
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Wombat is my daughter’s favorite animal. She’s on board with this. She’d appreciate your next device to be called a Pug. 🙂
Hello Steve!
Too bad about the name! Usually I don’t interfer in cases like this but can’t help it since I’m planning to buy one for my self! And I don’t like rodents. 😉
I think this product would benefit from the name having something to do with what it does for the user.
And for me that would be: – 1. Sparing my M0118 Alps’ (from some intense day-to-day wear and tear) 2. Giving me chance to show off my M3501 at work, together with my new MacBook? (I already own a Griffin iMate, which does half the job.). Just to mention a couple.
Sincerely,
Kristian
Haha, if I can please the kids then I’m doing well! I agree that an ideal name would be more descriptive, but I didn’t want something verbose and dull, so Wombat it is. Coincidentally wombat is also the codename for a family of Macintosh Quadra logic boards that could benefit from the USB Wombat.
I was at Drupalcon and there was this vendor on the floor that had products named like that. One was the Echidna. I had to look it up. That animals has…some unusual…features.
I don’t want to upset the kids, and I’ll buy the Quadra explanation, but now it just hit me (it could be the Italian beer talking) ”ADB Current” in opposite to ”Retro USB”, (a fun word play with the noun and adjective). And here’s the brand promise ”Making ADB Current Again”. 😉
Bonus points if a silk screened wombat appears on the next PCB run 😛
Retro USB is a very generic name, I’m sure the NES controller adapters aren’t the only ones using it. I wonder what a Video Platypus would do? Its a heck of a lot better name then OSSC (another home brew project I own and use with my Apple IIgs to adapt it to modern monitors, highly recommended).
You mean this? 😉 https://www.bigmessowires.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/wombat-vector.jpg
WiFi Wallaby
Video Platypus
Imagewriter Dingo
You guys tell me what those things should do, and I’ll build them.
WiFi Wallaby is clearly an AppleTalk wifi bridge 😛
After a day’s reflection, it occurred to me that “ADB Wombat” would probably have been better than “USB Wombat”. While the hardware converts in both directions, putting USB in the name doesn’t tell you much, since practically everything under the sun uses USB in some manner. “ADB Wombat” at least tells you it’s something related to the Apple Desktop Bus (assuming you recognize the acronym), so you know it’s some kind of vintage Mac peripheral thing.