I wanted to translate something in Babel Fish, so I did a Google search, and clicked on the link that said: "Babel Fish", and it took me instead to the new Bing Translator. It seemed to work (although being from Microsoft it must be full of bugs and other unwelcome "surprises"), but that's not even the point. I wanted to use Babel Fish, but apparently, Microsoft has crushed it. Lame.
I think most nerds love the name "Babel Fish" because it reminds us of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and it was a fun reference. But this name "Bing", it just sounds like a clown sound effect, or else it sounds like the second word in the name of that topless exotic dancer bar from The Sopranos: "Bada Bing". But either way, it sounds classless to me. And I want my Babel Fish back!
Look, Microsoft, I don't mind you taking over stuff, but can't you please leave us with the things we feel warmly about? So if you must take over Babel Fish (and apparently you must), then how about calling it: "Babel Fish, by Bing", rather than killing it. Yahoo! had enough class to do that when they took it over from Alta Vista, and I think we all appreciated it, because it's a fun name that makes us feel wistful and nostalgic for our youth, when we first read The Hitchhiker's Guide (or saw that BBC version of it on some grainy videotape). But now, every time I see the name: "Bing Translator", I will simply remember that this is the thing that killed my Babel Fish. (You dirty rat, you killed my Babel Fish! {<James Cagney impression, please.})
Here's the nauseating news:
http://www.liveside.net/2012/05/30/bing-translator-takes-over-yahoo-babel-fish/
