Sometimes finding a name for a product line is challenging, but also kinda fun. Now I realize names for our products will never be quite as outrageous as those required for a successful craft beer, but believe it or not, it did take a bit of thought.

We have three lines of embedded DSP Crossovers: Snowbird, Bluebill and GreyWolf.

Snowbird was the first and frankly the easiest choice. The Analog Devices ADSP-21479 DSP processor that powers our Snowbird boards was code named Snowbird by ADI during development of the processor. Since we have a long relationship with the ADI DSP group, we are used to calling processors by their nicknames. So we stole it, with their permission, of course.

You might have noticed elsewhere on our site that we are a Minnesota based-company. Most of us grew up here eating hotdish, so we are perhaps obligated to promote our region a little.

Snowbird means several other things to native Minnesotans. The most common meaning usually refers to a retired person who travels south for the winter. We usually call these people wimps or grandparents. A Snowbird can also be a car that got parked along the road in the fall and never really moved until the spring thaw (or until it got towed). I like to think of Snowbirds as loons. These are really cool birds that you can find on many Minnesota lakes. The Canadians even call their money loonies, so they like them too.

GreyWolf came next. Grey wolves are actually indigenous to our state, and reside in northern climates including Minnesota’s Superior National Forest. You probably won’t see one unless they want to be seen. They are much smarter than your dog, (sorry). Our local paper has a nice article about grey wolves that is worth a quick read.

The Bluebill is a diving duck that also resides in our state. It was mostly picked for the color. We will have to create a better story going forward, oh well...

Maybe you can help us out in the future. Send your suggestions (along with your favorite craft beer) to us and we will consider it for our next product line!