(FORTUNE Magazine) – When Apple Computer announced plans to soft-pedal its Rhapsody operating system in favor of the forthcoming Mac OS X--pronounced "OS Ten"--we couldn't help but wonder, Why "OS X"? Apple spokesperson Russell Brady says the company chose the nonsequential number (the current OS is version 8.1) because "we wanted to signify that it's a major step in the evolution of the Mac OS." But why X instead of "10"?

The answer, perhaps, is that Apple was jumping on the same X-centric bandwagon that has already wrought The X-Files, the X Games, MTV's new digital channel MTV X, and the magazine Wine X. Brady shrugs off any connection. "We thought [the X] was quite dramatic," he says. But Macworld editor in chief Andrew Gore suggests that Apple may be trying to tap into Gen X cachet. "They haven't played that card yet, but I'm sure that's part of it," he says. "But we'll have to see if Gen X is still important in 18 months." A better question may be whether the whole X idea is getting old. Amy Cacciola, an X Games spokesperson, knows how fickle such trends can be: The event changed its name from the Extreme Games in 1996 because "there were a lot of 'extreme' things around at the time, so the X was unique." These days, she sighs, "X is everywhere." Which may not be the best sign for a company that wants to "think different."

--Alleen Barber