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Bluetooth takes its name from Harald 'Bluetooth' Gormsson, a 10th-century king who united the Danish tribes into one kingdom. In the 1990s the Intel engineer Jim Kardach suggested the name for a new short-range radio standard that would bring phones, computers and other devices together in the same way.

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Harald ruled Denmark from about 958 to 986 and brought Christianity to the country. A great runestone he raised at Jelling says he won all of Denmark and Norway, though his hold on Norway lasted only a few years. His nickname is traditionally explained as a bad tooth that looked dark, since the Old Norse word for blue also meant blue-black. Kardach first heard of Harald from the Ericsson engineer Sven Mattisson, who told him stories from The Long Ships, a novel about the Vikings. According to the Bluetooth industry group, he proposed the name in 1996 as a stand-in until marketing found something better. The favourite, PAN, was already far too common a term, and checks on the other candidate, RadioWire, could not be finished in time, so Bluetooth stuck. The logo joins Harald's initials, H and B, written in Viking-age runes, into a single sign.

Türkçe oku
Bluetooth (mavi diş), adını 10. yüzyılda yaşamış Danimarka kralı Harald Gormsson'un lakabından alır. Harald, Danimarka'daki kabileleri tek krallıkta birleştirmişti. Intel mühendisi Jim Kardach 1990'larda bu adı, telefonları, bilgisayarları ve öteki cihazları aynı biçimde birleştirecek kısa menzilli kablosuz standart için önerdi.

Harald, yaklaşık 958'den 986'ya kadar Danimarka'yı yönetti ve ülkeye Hristiyanlığı getirdi. Jelling'de diktirdiği büyük run taşında bütün Danimarka'yı ve Norveç'i kazandığı yazılıdır; ama Norveç'teki hâkimiyeti yalnızca birkaç yıl sürdü. Lakabının, koyu renkli çürük bir dişinden geldiği söylenir; eski İskandinav dilinde “mavi” sözcüğü mavimsi siyahı, yani koyu renkleri de karşılıyordu. Kardach, Kral Harald'ı ilk kez Ericsson mühendisi Sven Mattisson'dan duydu; Mattisson ona, Vikingleri konu alan The Long Ships adlı romandan hikâyeler aktarmıştı. Bluetooth'u yöneten sektör birliğine göre Kardach bu adı 1996'da, pazarlamacılar daha iyisini bulana kadar kullanılacak geçici bir ad olarak önerdi. Asıl ad için en güçlü aday PAN'dı, ama bu kısaltma zaten çok yaygın kullanılıyordu; öteki aday RadioWire için gereken marka araştırması da zamanında bitirilemedi. Böylece Bluetooth adı kalıcı oldu. Logo da Harald'ın baş harfleri H ile B'yi Viking çağının run harfleriyle tek bir işarette birleştirir.

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