How the names of Apple products came about and the mysterious role of John Appleseed.
Apple was founded in a California garage on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
Apple made its market debut with the “Apple I”, which went down in history as the world’s first complete personal computer, while it became a means of expressing a certain “lifestyle” and “status symbol” with a larger audience than most contemporary “pop stars”.
To mark its 48th anniversary, we’re sharing 10 fascinating things you probably didn’t know, including how its product names came about, some delicious details about its iconic logo, and what Wozniak sold for to finance the production of the “Apple I”.
The first Apple logo depicted Newton
Although the retro rainbow logo is now iconic, it is not the first. The original drawing depicted Newton sitting under a tree with an apple about to fall on his head.
It was designed by the team’s unsung hero, Ronald Wayne, who made the mistake of selling his share to his two partners for just $800!
Steve Wozniak sacrificed his scientific computer for the sake of the company
To raise money to buy the parts needed to build the first “Apple I”, Steve Jobs sold his Volkswagen van, and Steve Wozniak, then an HP employee, sold his scientific computer, a “Hewlett – Packard 65”, for 500 dollars.
The “Apple I” computer cost $666 and 66 cents
Not for some evil reason, but for convenience. As Steve Wozniak —who in the past liked to repeat numbers— once explained, the computer’s wholesale price in stores was $500. Therefore, the retail price, with the increase of 1/3, was 667 dollars. But because it was easier and faster to print on the label if all the digits were the same, he changed the number from 667.00 to 666.66.
Apple invented “dogcow”
In case you don’t know what the “cow dog” named “Clarus” is, it is a bitmap image designed by Susan Kare for Apple and its first “Macintosh”. The sound it makes is “muff”, that is, something between the “mmmm” of a cow and the “woof” of a dog.
The inspiration for the name “Macintosh” came from an apple
Although Steve Jobs had tried to change the name of the project to “Bicycle”, the code name of Jef Raskin, a company employee who was very fond of apples of the “Macintosh” variety, prevailed.
Apple made the 1st mainstream digital camera
The “Apple QuickTake 100” was released in 1994 in the US, cost $749, could store 8 snapshots and connected to a “Mac” via a serial cable. Its resolution was not even 1 megapixel, and it had no preview feature. See, how times change…
The movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” inspired the name “iPod”
As soon as he saw the white “iPod”, the mind of the flamboyant copywriter Vinnie Chieco went straight to the science fiction movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the phrase “Open the pod bay door, Hal!”. Then, simply add the “i” prefix, as was already done in “iMac”.
The first “iPod” hid an Easter egg inside
The first “iPod” was released hiding inside an… easter egg. In the form of a game, of course, which you could only access if you knew and pressed the right combination of buttons.
Who is John Appleseed?
The name John —or Johnny— Appleseed comes up often in Apple’s history and advertising campaigns, but until now no official explanation has been given as to why. For history, Johnny Appleseed was an American pioneer, missionary and gardener, a folk hero with a kind heart and a passion for apples.
With the same mako
Although all has been said about the “work uniform” worn by Steve Jobs —the black “St. Croix” turtleneck, the “Levi’s 501” jeans, and “New Balance” sneakers— in fact, other Apple executives have similar dress habits.
The company’s vice president of industrial design, Jony Ive, has been wearing an almost identical “T-shirt” in every Apple product presentation video for at least ten years.
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