How we got the “Command” symbol
I was in need of the ⌘ symbol for a top secret project today, and not knowing the proper Unicode combo by heart, I fired up the old character palette to copy it. While there, I noticed that while all the other symbols had the expected names (”Erase to the Left”, “Upwards White Arrow”, etc.) that for some reason, Apple was calling our beloved “Command Symbol” “Place of Interest Sign” instead.
Since that name is not nearly as cool, I decided a quick Google was in order, and at the risk of my more pretentious “I already knew that” fanboy readers ridiculing me for my ignorance, I found the story on folklore.org by Andy Hertzfeld (one of the key members of the original Apple Macintosh development team during the 1980s) interesting enough that I thought I should share with the class. Read more
Video: The Macintosh Software Dating Game with Bill Gates (1983)
Filed under: Apple Fanboyism, Awesomeness, Geek Love, History, Humor, video
I once told a friend that I got “douche chills” watching a comedian bomb on stage. He had never heard the term before, and asked me what I meant. I wish I had had this clip then…
“Apples are Red, IBM’s blue, if Macs gonna be the 3rd milestone, I need all of you!”
Yes, douche chills are that odd, physically “chilling” sensation that runs between your shoulders and down your spine caused by feeling incredibly embarrassed for someone, and I was pretty much embarrassed for everyone here. I had seen the excerpt of Bill gates talking up the Mac about 1000 times before, but I had never seen it in the full context of this clip. Bill’s professed love of Apple loses something now, as it is obvious he really thought he might get laid if he won the game.
Thanks to faithful Macenstein reader Mike for the tip!
Apple History: Interview with Apple co-founder Ronald Wayne
You know Woz, and Jobs, and Prancer and Vixen, but do your recall Ronald Wayne? Well, Dutch news show One More Thing did, and they managed to track down the elusive 3rd co-founder of Apple, and conducted a pretty interesting interview (well, interesting if you are obsessed with Apple minutia, like me). If you’ve ever wondered “Heeft u ooit spijt gehad van uw vertrek?” or “Heeft Steve Jobs uw adviezen overgenomen?”, you’ll finally get your answers. (Don’t worry, Wayne’s answers are in English, and he’s exceedingly candid). [Edit: These clips appear to be unaired portions of an interview conducted for the “Welcome to the Macintosh†DVD. Thanks Matthew and iShervin]. [Edit2: Nope, looks like it's an original OMT interview, shot during a promotion for the "Welcome to Macintosh DVD". Thanks Jan!]
Among the things we learn: Wayne created the horrible “Newton” themed Apple logo, once owned 10% of Apple, Woz needed everything explained to him 60,000 times using small words, and Steve Jobs was such a maniac when it came to making risky financial backroom deals, that he eventually scared Wayne into leaving the company.
One More Thing podcast #152: Ronald Wayne, medeoprichter Apple from One More Thing on Vimeo.
Thanks to faithful Dutch Macenstein reader Bor de Kock for the link!
When Steve Jobs says “Jump”, Phil Schiller asks “How High?”
When I heard Phil Schiller was going to deliver this year’s Macworld keynote speech, I admit I wasn’t all that excited. But all that’s changed after seeing this clip of Phil Schiller at Macworld 1999. Watch in amazement as Phil leaps from a 20 foot platform to demonstrate how tough the Tangerine iBook is (or, at least how tough the air mattress he lands on is). I love the way his pudgy legs flail.
So, what’s Steve got in store for Phil THIS year? Will he force Phil to stick his head in a lion’s mouth to test the new iPhone earbuds, or ride a tiny unicycle across a high-wire to test…um… well just to make him look foolish? Suddenly I am really looking forward to Macworld!
[via thinkingbricks.com]
Wow Steve, FireWire sounds really cool! When’s it coming to the MacBook Pro?
Filed under: Apple Fanboyism, Awesomeness, History, Steve Jobs, video
So far the only regret I have about my new MacBook Pro is the lack of a FireWire 400 port. It’s not a huge deal, but its absence became immediately apparent when I began attempting to transfer the files from my old white MacBook (which has FireWire 400) to the new MBP which does not. Luckily I was able to find a spare piece of Ethernet cable at work and use the migration assistant that way, but during the MUCH SLOWER 6.5 hour migration, I had plenty of time to count up just how many old FireWire drives, card readers, video cameras, and peripherals I owned that I would no longer be able to directly access via my new top-of-the-line machine.
The sad death of FireWire 400 on the Mac reminded me of its joyous birth. The video below is from the infamous 1999 MacWorld Stevenote where Jobs introduces FireWire to the crowd, explaining the lameness of SCSI, and how magical FireWire is (I still remember the red VST drives that we drooled over then – and I think I still have one somewhere  (not that I can hook it to my new MBP…)). While I certainly understand that progress is progress, I’m not Read more
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