Fall Update

Fall in the Appalachians. © iStock.

On July 16, the Windows Central Web site discovered that the Microsoft sites for the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and India had changed the name of the next Window 10 update from Fall Creators Update to Autumn Creators Update. As we know, these countries call the colourful season “autumn”, while the North-American word for it, “fall”, keeps its original, negative meaning. After the news became known, Microsoft changed tack and banned any localisation. So it’s now Fall Creators Update for all, including in the Southern hemisphere, where version 1709 of Windows 10 will come out in Spring… for an America-centred vision of the world. Peter Bright, columnist for Ars Technica, cheekily writes: “Perhaps Microsoft could use names that are more abstract and not tied to any particular features or times of year. The names of big cats, or possibly even regions of California, come to mind as good candidates.”

⇨ The Verge, “Because English isn’t the same in England, Microsoft renames Fall Update for some.”

⇨ Ars Technica, “‘Autumn Creators Update’ was ‘mistranslation’—it’s ‘Fall Creators Update’ for all.”