The next version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser, IE12, could be using the internal code name "Spartan". If so, this is just the latest example of the company using a code name that has a reference to their Halo Xbox game franchise.
ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley stated that, according to her own unnamed sources, Microsoft has chosen "Spartan" as IE12's code name. A reference to "zSpartan" was spotted in the recent screenshot and video leaks of Microsoft's next version of Windows and Foley also notes that the same code name has been spotted in a number of Microsoft online job listings. Halo fans know that Spartan is the name used in the game series to describe members of the human super-soldier program, which includes the franchise's lead character, Master Chief.
Microsoft used "Cortana", the name of Halo's main AI character, as the code name for its digital assistant in Windows Phone 8.1 and then decided to go ahead and use it for its public release as well. Even the code name for the next version of Windows, "Threshold" has a Halo reference. It is the name of a gas giant planet that has appeared in the series.
What do you think of Microsoft continuing to use Halo references for internal software code names?
Source: ZDNet
