Thank you for all of the wonderful feedback during the past two weeks. Last week we decided it would be best to change the product name from aWebStorm to LoadStorm™. Several of you preferred the name, and it has some advantages.

First, LoadStorm™ sounds better. It more clearly describes the functionality of what we do. Storming your web application with a large load. So far, everyone likes it better.

Second, the "a" in front of WebStorm was problematic. Your feedback made that clear. Mindspring owns the www.webstorm.com domain, but they aren't using it. Our team just put the "a" in front so we could get the domain. Clever and yet potentially short-sighted.

Photo Courtesy of Douglas Berry

Third, a collaboration tool exists called WebStorm and there could/would be some market confusion. We created our WebStorm logo and began using the name nearly two years ago, but we didn't own the domain "webstorm.com". And we did not file a formal registration application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Lesson learned. The other company did file an application in April 2008, but they abandoned the trademark process. We probably have a strong case to fight for the name, but we decided against it.

As a young man, I was quite prone to dig in my heels and take on a battle with little consideration for the consequences. If I thought I was right, then I was going to prove it to everyone. Time, experience, and an answer to prayer for a little wisdom have taught me that you must pick your battles carefully. We concluded it was better to switch than fight. Switching to LoadStorm™ was an easy decision because aWebStorm wasn't worth engaging any legal resources to defend.

Notice the ™ symbol after each occurrence of LoadStorm. That is the primary way to protect a trademark until receiving federal approval; then we will use a ® symbol.

Roger and the team have done an amazing job of converting everything over to LoadStorm.com very quickly. If you see any vestiges of the old name, please let us know.

So we march on with the new brand. The trademark registration has been filed with the PTO. It will allow us to continue with the storm theme, and it really conveys what we do better than the previous name. All in all, we feel very good about the decision. We hope you like it. But even if you don't, we would like to hear from you. Please send any suggestions, complaints, or feedback to .

LoadStorm the product should be launching into beta testing in the next week or two. If you are interested in the beta program (free), please sign up.

Thank you again for helping us make our load testing product better for everyone.