How Microsoft Access got it's name

In light of the recent announcement that the next release of Windows will be called Vista, here's a funny story from Panopticon Central about how Microsoft Access got it's name:

Apparently, they’d hired an outside research firm that specialized in product naming. They paid them some big chunk of change to go off and think about possible names for Access and then come back and give their recommendations. They came back with a set of ideas, but the one that always stuck out in his mind was “Microsoft Cept.” Yes, “Cept,” as in “con-cept” or “pre-cept” or “ex-cept.” They apparently had some wacky ideas about how Microsoft could run a whole marketing campaign around words that ended in “cept.” (Apparently ignoring the obvious homophone that immediately springs to mind, namely “septic.”) Thankfully, the marketing department ignored the suggestion and took a look at the trademarks that Microsoft already owned. We’d apparently shipped a “Microsoft Access” product before – it was some kind of DOS dial up program that had died a quick death – and the name seemed to be perfect.

As always, Salon's article on research firm that develop product / company names is required reading.