What the Ukraine, a legend and that guy from 'Friends' have to do with Live Search

As the days go by and the seasons change, we hold out hope that one day Microsoft's branding schemes will begin to make a little more sense.

Today is not that day.

ZDNet's Mary-Jo Foley spotted a Wall Street Journal post in which some new names have solidified as candidates for a Live Search refresh. First there's Kiev, the largest city in the Ukraine and after which a tasty chicken dish is named. It also "seems to be the uber-brand for Microsoft’s upcoming search release," Foley writes.

OK. Then there's Kumo, which is still floating around but losing ground as the new name for Live Search, Foley says. Instead, it could be overtaken by Bing, which either reminds of the legendary crooner or a sitcom character, depending on your generation and/or culture level.

Is a Live Search rebrand enough to jump-start things for Microsoft in that end of the house? We're inclined to agree with Cnet's Ina Fried, who points out that MS could throw all kinds of marketing money at its search product and at least get it noticed. But getting people to switch to it is a whole 'nother matter.

What's this mean for Windows Mobile? At the moment, nada, as nothing's official yet. But can you imagine whipping out your phone in public and saying "Let me Bing that for you."?

Yeah, us, either.