Project Codename: "Juniper"

If you're a computer geek like me, you may know that when big companies like Microsoft develop computer software, they give them codenames.

If you're not, then basically, project codenames are the names by which the project is referred to by all concerned, until the the 'final release name' is announced shortly before the product appear on the shelves.

Such as..?
An example is that of Microsoft Windows XP - it's codename during it's development was 'Whistler', which was named after Whistler, British Columbia, where design retreats were held. So, when 'Whistler' was very nearly finished and ready for release to the world, it was announced that it would be called 'Windows XP'. (More here)

So, as I'm a software developer, and technically speaking this baby is a project of ours (albeit a life-long project!), I thought it would be a good idea to give the project a name. Hence, Juniper appeared.

Why Juniper?
Good question. Sadly, it's not named after a ski resort in British Columbia; It's actually one of the ingredients in the Carex foam soap wash in our bathroom, and it didn't sound gender specific, as at the time, we didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl. T'is true. Daft, but true.

It turns out that, according to Wikipedia, Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America. (More here)

However, this codenaming of the 'project' needed a little explanation to those outside geeky-developer-world, as some people actually thought it was the name that we had chosen for the sprog, including family as well as friends. It probably didn't help that Claire and I didn't think twice about referring to the baby as 'Juniper' during mid-conversation, even up until very recently.

Claire and I have been thinking about a 'release name' for project Juniper for months and months, and have decided that we're going to call him Jack William Rigby.