Product Names: Everett, Whidbey, Orcas

I got a question from someone recently asking what the naming convention we have been
using for Visual Studio represents.  Is Orcas a character in Lord of
the Rings? Answer: No.  Here's the real answer: The versions of Visual Studio
represent cities/islands in the Northwest that are progressively farther away from
Redmond, WA.

- Visual Studio .NET 2003: Codenamed Everett is on the mainland 

Visual Studio "[Whidbey](https://www.whidbey.net/islandco/)" is an island  
a little farther away  

• Visual Studio "Orcas" is also an island
  farther away then Whidbey. 

For more information on what's coming in Whidbey and Orcas, check out the Visual
Studio Roadmap or come to PDC :)

Other snippets you may not know:

- The next version of Windows, codenamed "Longhorn" is named after a now infamous
bar close to Whistler and Blackcomb ski resorts.

The well-known Microsoft Duwamish Books Sample: Duwamish is the name of a [native<br> american tribe](https://www.duwamishtribe.org/) in the pacific northwest.  

• Seattle: Seattle is named after the chief of the suqamish indian tribe. 
  Here are some chief Seattle
  quotes brought to you by Google.  

 [Update] Adding a site with accurate chief
Seattle quotes thanks to Eric.

Comments

• Anonymous
  September 18, 2003
  I learned about single malt whiskies after I looked up the meaning of Talisker (Windows CE 4 or .NET). Even now Talisker is my favorite :)I am going to try to put together a wiki for creating a canonical list of all Microsoft codenames. I wonder if Microsoft Bob had a codename.
• Anonymous
  September 18, 2003
  Duwamish (the books sample) was actually named after a small river near campus. Somewhat smaller than another river used by a somewhat larger book seller.
• Anonymous
  September 18, 2003
  The comment has been removed
• Anonymous
  September 18, 2003
  The comment has been removed
• Anonymous
  June 24, 2006
  ok well i dont think tht u guys shoulkd