Channel 9 got its name from the channel on airplanes where travellers can hear to the communications the pilots have over the radio.
For those not in the know, Channel 9 is a Microsoft discussion forum used to promote conversations among Microsoft’s customers targeted at Microsoft Windows users. Robert Scoble was a huge reason for the popularity of Channel 9 – he was behind many of the videos produced for Channel 9.
Microsoft can be creative too. What a surprise!