Steve Ballmer owns the mods

The shy and soon to be retiring Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has started a Brighton riot over the word "mod".

Ballmer, who describes himself as a "bit of a rocker" apparently, wants to re-open the long dead 1964 war with the "mods" by claiming he owns the rights to the word. If any Vesta driving fur-collared anoraks describe themselves as a mod he is threatening to sue them.

Mary Jo Foley on ZDNet found an odd trademark from Vole for the word Mod. She thinks that Vole wants to use the word as a replacement for 'Metro',

In August 2012, just before launching Windows 8, Microsoft officials admitted that the name Metro to describe the tiled interface and design language at the heart of its Windows Phone and Windows operating systems would have to go. One of the problems is a naming dispute with the German partner Metro Group.

Since then the Voles have been scratching their furry heads trying to come up with a better name. Some teams have favoured "immersive," while others have used "Windows Store" or "Windows 8".

Then on December 28, Microsoft applied for trademarks for "Windows Mod," "Office Mod" and "Microsoft Office Mod" which means that Mod will be the new Metro.

It could be something else. It could just be simply Steve Ballmer having a touch of the Quadrophenias and trying to wipe the mods from the face of the planet. Certainly if he attaches the name to Windows 8 he will do more damage to the movement than a baseball bat wielding "Mick the Wild One".