XBMC is being renamed to Kodi

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in code on (#3S6)
story imageVersion 14 of XBMC, the popular HTPC software, is changing its name to "Kodi" to further distance itself from its Xbox origins.

The renaming announcement further explains their reasons:
Six years have passed since the Xbox Media Center became XBMC, and simply put, "XBMC" fits less now than it did even in 2008. The software only barely runs on the original Xbox, and then only because some clever developers are still hacking on that platform. It has never run on the Xbox 360 or Xbox One.

Beyond the nonsensical nature of the software's name, there is a secondary issue. Because "XBMC" was originally based on the name Xbox, the developers of the software (that's us) have never had any sort of legal control over the use of its name, which has resulted in a whole slew of problems.

Just Great (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-08-01 19:32 (#2RF)

Throw away your years of branding and reputation. That's what open source needs, more confusing nonsensical unneeded rebranding to another nonsense word. How many of these projects must we chase down every time we revisit them in a couple of years? Usually there's at least a valid legal reason, but this?

And without RTFA I don't believe that second paragraph. XBMC isn't tied to the Xbox name just because it originated that way. Has MS even hinted at a problem?

Case in point; I'm writing this and have already forgotten the awkward meaningless new project name. :(
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